Nathan Buckley says his focus is on Geelong assistant coaching role rather than Tasmania job
Nathan Buckley wants to be a senior coach again. Will that be at Tasmania? The former Collingwood coach gives an insight into his return to coaching.
Nathan Buckley insists his full focus is on his new assistant coaching role with Geelong rather than the vacant Tasmania position, but his desire to be a senior coach is behind his coaching comeback.
The Cats reached out to the former Collingwood coach during the off-season and signed Buckley — in Tasmania’s sights to be their inaugural coach — as an assistant in October.
Back in coaching for the first time since July 2021, Buckley has been vocal and in the thick of the action since Geelong returned to training last week, which he said was part and parcel of being an assistant coach.
Buckley even pulled on a pair of old footy boots he found in the ‘boot room’ for Monday’s wet and windy session at Deakin University Waurn Ponds, which marked the return of Geelong’s senior players.
The 53-year-old will be following the upper house vote on Tasmania’s contentious Macquarie Point Stadium with interest this week, but said leading the proposed 19th side hasn’t been in his thoughts since starting at the Cats.
“It’s not something I’ve thought much about the last couple of weeks,” Buckley said.
“Obviously it is a big week for the Tassie Footy Club and getting that stadium licence over the line.
“I’m an observer watching that, and I suppose optimistic about what that means for both Tasmania and the competition.
“I’m head down, bum up at the Cats at the moment.”
Asked if he had been lobbying with cross bench MPs, Buckley said with a smile: “I think I’ll leave it to the politicians,” Buckley said with a smile.
Buckley was eager to take on a coaching role with one eye on being a senior coach at the top level.
A football pundit with Fox Footy since leaving Collingwood, Buckley is set to continue working part-time in the media this year.
He said he will be taking a back seat with Geelong until Christmas as he adjusts to the new environment, but he has loved his short time at the Cats.
“Would I have stepped into this if I didn’t want to get back into the main role? I don’t think I would’ve,” Buckley said.
“This opportunity, I pinched myself when it came around. I pinched myself when I came around, it happened really quickly.
“I was determined over the last month, and moreso over the last couple of months before this opportunity became available, that I’d like to get back into the team environment.
“And already the early stages of the smile on the face to jump out of bed and get involved with a group that are working towards being better, supporting each other.
“That’s what footy clubs are all about and I’m loving it.
“It’s obviously a program that I’ve respected from afar for a long time, so to be able to get a look under the bonnet and then obviously play a role and contribute where I can is something that I’ve been energised and excited by.”
Buckley has been intrigued by Geelong’s personalised training program and their emphasis on athleticism and running ability, highlighting Max and Hunter Holmes and All-Australian Bailey Smith.
“This group have been successful for a long time, and I suppose it’s a little bit how much onus is on the players themselves to drive their program and their own development, which is something that’s been very Geelong, it’s been something that I’ve known about,” Buckley said.
“But to witness that and to see to see practice, the players have a lot of autonomy and a lot of control on what takes place at this early stage is pretty fascinating, to be honest, given that they’ve been so successful for a long time.
“There’s a lot of grey area in this in this program. They leave the question hanging, they don’t have to come to an answer in the immediate tense, and that provides for a fair bit of creativity.
“The group, they’re so fit, so athletic, cover the ground so well at speed, and that speed endurance is something that really stands out for me.
“Geelong have put opposition to the sword with that for a long time now, and the recruits from this year show that they really put that on a pedestal.”
Buckley has been reunited with Cats draftee Hunter Holmes, who he coached at under-12 level at Prahran with his eldest son Jett.
Forward Ollie Henry made his debut under Buckley at Collingwood in 2021 and the two had a a laugh at one stage during the session.
“Spent a year with Hunter, he was no different than what you see now. A hard runner can get up and down the ground, he was very in and under as well, very tough young football. He’s a lot lankier and a taller than he was five or six years ago,” Buckley said.
“And he has shown really good signs in terms of having a real crack. Some young players sort of sit on their heels a little bit and watch and wait, but he has fitted himself in really well.”
Originally published as Nathan Buckley says his focus is on Geelong assistant coaching role rather than Tasmania job
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