‘Can’t do it’: Nathan Buckley delivers brutal Oscar Allen truth amid secret meeting with Sam Mitchell

Colingwood legend Nathan Buckley has delivered some pointed advice to under-fire Eagles captain Oscar Allen after he was caught meeting a rival coach.

Nathan Buckley has laid into West Eagles skipper Oscar Allen for his carelessness in meeting a rival coach as he urged AFL players to learn from Allen’s mistakes.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Allen had “secretly” met with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell while he was in WA as speculation over his future in Perth grows.

The fact an AFL captain met with a rival club’s coach has understandably attracted significant criticism, and Buckley told news.com.au it is why players simply must have managers who can handle their contract business.

“As a player, this is where having a good manager is really important,” Buckley told news.com.au.

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“I don’t think meeting with an opposition manager around 3pm is a great idea for anyone let alone a captain.

“And that’s where the manager sort of becomes the stop gap between Oscar Allen, the West Coast captain focusing on his footy and what he has got to do now, and the Oscar Allen who is exploring his options and opportunities for the remainder of his career.”

There are reportedly big offers on the table for him from Brisbane and Hawthorn and Allen is understood to be considering his options.

Oscar Allen has been delivered a harsh truth from Nathan Buckley. Image: Getty

But the 26-year-old having a meeting with a rival club during the season is something many believe was simply the wrong thing to do, especially as an elected captain.

However, while disagreeing with the way he went about it, Buckley sees nothing wrong with Allen being open to offers from rival clubs, especially as an impending free agent.

“An AFL career is finite it isn’t going to last forever so I don’t begrudge Oscar or Hawthorn for meeting, it is just the fact that it becomes public that is tough on everyone.

“It’s tough on West Coast, on Oscar, on Sam Mitchell and Hawthorn and will create questions in the locker room around his commitment.

“I think there’s so much noise and innuendo that doesn’t need to come out at this stage of any campaign. So that’s why you can’t do it, you just can’t afford for it to happen.

“It’s a real slip up and it’s not to say it doesn’t happen. It should happen as players are entitled to consider their futures but it is how it happens and how public it is that matters and when players aren’t careful that’s where the trouble is.”

However, Demons great and former club captain Garry Lyon was far less forgiving, stating if he was an Eagles player he couldn’t look at Allen the same ever again and believes he may need to step down as club captain.

“If I’m a player, I would look at Oscar Allen differently today than I did yesterday,” he said on AFL 360 on Tuesday night.

Oscar Allen has come under fire for meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

“And I’m sure there’d be conversations had, and the coach Andrew McQualter has got to deal with it, and it wouldn’t totally surprise me if he stood down as captain.

“Now, that might be overdramatising it, they might all just shrug their shoulders, the modern-day player … I don’t (accept that), as someone that coveted the captaincy and loved it and understood the responsibility that comes with it.

“That’s not to say that his manager can’t go and talk if that (contemplating his future) is the case.

“This is what gets me. The minute you take that meeting, you put yourself in this position.

“The minute you sit down with an opposition coach — as the captain of a club — then you anticipate what is unfolding today and tomorrow and for however long.”

Lyon also suggested the Eagles have stalled on a new contract for Allen due to his previous knee issues, saying: “I think they are, I think they’re worried about his output and his capacity to do it.”

Nathan Buckley has warned Collingwood to beware of a wounded Carlton. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Nathan Buckley’s Collingwood warning ahead of Carlton blockbuster

Meanwhile, Buckley has sounded a warning to Collingwood ahead of their clash with the struggling Blues on Thursday night, reminding them that form counts for nothing when it comes to rivalries.

Collingwood are looking to continue their winning ways after dismantling Port Adelaide and edging out the Bulldogs to start the season, while Carlton are desperate to get the first win of the year on the board, after falling to a horror 0-3 start.

But Buckley believes the Pies need to be prepared for a dogfight, warning them not to underestimate their wounded old enemy.

“It’ll be a tough one for Collingwood on Thursday because it comes at a great time for Carlton,” Buckley told news.com.au.

“If you’re going to break your duck and kickstart your season, who better to do it against than against the arch-enemy? It’s sort of worth three wins to the Carlton faithful.

“Carlton are trending in the right direction whereas Collingwood will come in off the bye.

“Carlton’s last two opponents are arguably the two most competitive and consistent teams in the comp, in the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn, and they have improved their football since the second half against Richmond which they were terrible.

“So they are trending the right way it just hasn’t shown on the scoreboard yet.”

Originally published as ‘Can’t do it’: Nathan Buckley delivers brutal Oscar Allen truth amid secret meeting with Sam Mitchell