Take your pick between Mick Malthouse and Nathan Buckley

VOTE NOW: As two coaching heavyweights prepare to clash for the second time, we pose the question - would you rather Bucks or Mick?

BUCKS or Mick?

The football world had to wait only until Round 2 this season for some sort of answer as to whether Collingwood or Carlton got the better of the coaching merry-go-round.

Could Mick Malthouse - a year out of the coach's box and at the helm of a side that had played finals only three times in the last 11 years - trump a 'Pies outfit that believes its premiership window is still ajar?

Talent poor Blues need to play long game

Not quite, with the Nathan Buckley-led Collingwood taking the spoils by 17 points after the Blues faded in the final quarter.

Robbo and Gerard from FoxFooty's AFL 360 join the debate in the exclusive video above

But 13 rounds on and with the clubs set to face off for the second time this weekend, has the picture changed?

Though Buckley's boys are in the top eight and a couple of games clear of the Blues, the drop-off in performance is significant when compared to the same time last year.

Blues upbeat despite underwhelming season

Collingwood is 8-5 but at the same stage of 2012 were sitting pretty at 11-2, including a 10-match winning streak between rounds four and 14.

Carlton, on the other hand, remains outside the eight but has managed to avoid losing ground under Malthouse.

Their win loss ratio in both years after Round 14 is identical at 6-7.

Weigh up the pros and cons for both coaches below, have your say in our online poll and tell us on Twitter why your man in the better bet. Use hashtags #pickbucks and #pickmick when tweeting.

NATHAN BUCKLEY

Pro: The most impressive media performer in the coaching ranks.
Con: You can't polish rust, and this team is showing signs of decay.

Pro: Wins the games he should.
Con: Geelong aside, has failed to coach his team to wins against genuine flag fancies.

Pro: Knows his senior players inside-out.
Con: May have struggled to control some of those senior players.

Pro: Has the Pies in finals contention.
Con: Team has dropped off on last year's form.

MICK MALTHOUSE

Pro: Is bloody angry.
Con: Is bloody angry.

Pro: Getting All-Australian form out of players like Andrew Walker.
Con: Picked a leadership group that can't get on the park. Duigan, Carrazzo and Waite have all had extended stints on the sidelines this year.

Pro: Team kicks big scores when everything works, including seven scores over 100 points.
Con: Yet to find an answer when his small forwards fails to deliver.

Pro: Three premierships as a coach.
Con: Almost 30 years for those flags.

@superfooty no contest - picmick . Buckley is riding on his coattails.

— rob Hansen (@Ausdan77) July 5, 2013

@superfooty @FOXFootyLive pushing #PickMick out the door for Bucks will be a MASSIVE Eddie/Collingwood blunder. Cracks already showing...

— Modus Operandi (@stat_mode) July 5, 2013