Collingwood’s 2010 premiership captain Nick Maxwell has confirmed his retirement from the AFL following his season-ending ankle injury suffered last weekend.
The 31-year-old defender has played 208 games and was an All-Australian in 2009, leading his side to a flag the following season.
Maxwell captained the Magpies from 2007 to 2013 and played 10 games this season under new skipper Scott Pendlebury.
The former Magpies premiership skipper seriously injured his ankle in Sunday’s heavy loss to Essendon at the MCG.
It was his first senior game back since round 11 after recovering from a calf injury. Maxwell appeared to be downbeat when he fulfilled his media work on Monday.
Maxwell’s retirement is a major loss for a defence that has struggled in recent weeks.
Former West Coast Eagles premiership player Karl Langdon, now a radio commentator in Perth, tweeted on Tuesday night that Maxwell would retire.
“I believe Collingwood’s Nick Maxwell with retire tomorrow. Well done on your career. Not a star but had a crack,” he said.
The 31-year-old has played 208 senior games since his 2004 debut and captained Collingwood’s 2010 premiership team. He was runner-up in Collingwood’s best and fairest count in 2009, when he was named All-Australian. He was named Collingwood’s best finals player in 2009 and 2010 (shared) and was the Darren Millane Memorial Trophy as best clubman three times.
He was originally selected with pick 15 of the 2003 rookie draft, having been passed over at several national drafts. Collingwood great Nathan Buckley anointed him a future leader when he retired, and urged the club to give Maxwell his famous number five guernsey. He went on to captain the Magpies in more than 100 games.
His media conference comes a day after St Kilda star Lenny Hayes announced he would retire at the end of the season.
West Coast captain Darren Glass and Brisbane great Jonathan Brown are other big names who have retired in the last few weeks. Former Carlton captain Chris Judd is reserving his decision about his playing future until the end of the season.
If Nick Maxwell was to retire, it would be a major loss for a defence that has struggled in recent weeks. Photo: Getty Images
