‘No doubt’: Nathan Buckley makes massive Collingwood call
Nathan Buckley has made a huge call about the immediate future of the club where he made a name for himself as a player and coach.
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Nathan Buckley says there is “no doubt” Collingwood will play finals in its first full season since his departure.
Almost a year ago to the day, Buckley resigned as coach of the Magpies, for whom he played 260 senior games, and the side went on to finish lower on the ladder than in any previous season.
But in his first year as an AFL senior coach, Craig McRae has breathed new life into the Magpies, who are playing an electric brand of footy under his watch.
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Most recently, Collingwood held off a fast-finishing Hawthorn outfit to record its seventh win for the season and move into the top eight.
The Magpies have now won three in a row and boast wins against Carlton, Fremantle and St Kilda – all of whom sit higher on the ladder.
The fixture could work in Collingwood’s favour as well; the Magpies play only four sides in the top eight on their run home.
Collingwood’s form this season has been enough to impress Buckley, who made a bold call on SEN on Monday morning.
“The Pies will play finals this year, there’s no doubt,” Buckley said.
“They’ll play finals this year off the back of the form, off the back of the type of football.
“Outside of that loss to West Coast, which is nearly unfathomable when you look back on it, their form has been relatively consistent.
“They’ve been really consistent through the midfield … the back six has been really consistent.”
Melbourne legend Garry Lyon quizzed Buckley as to whether the Magpies would be able to put enough points on the board to challenge the premiership heavyweights at the business end of the season.
Collingwood has scored more than 100 points only three times in its first 12 games but has scored the sixth-most points in the league in total.
Buckley said young forwards like Jack Ginnivan and Oliver Henry had proven they were well and truly AFL ready and the side’s forward line had enormous potential.
“The best Collingwood were going to be able to put on the park if they got a good run of injury, if their experienced players were there consistently for them, there’s a skeleton there to build around,” he said.
“The young players are coming through, so I think they’ll play finals this year.”
Buckley also rushed to Ginnivan’s defence after he was accused of deliberately playing for free kicks in the tight win over Hawthorn.
“I don’t agree that he ducks,” Buckley said.
“I can’t disagree with the fact that his exit strategy for some of his ground ball inside forward 50 is to be caught high and to get a set shot at goal.
“That tests the rules.
“(But) I love it when I see players play the game on the edge and sometimes when it’s a physical challenge, we think that as blokes we beat our chests about it, but there’s the rules that you can play to.
“And with guile and smarts, that’s got to be part of the game.”
Originally published as ‘No doubt’: Nathan Buckley makes massive Collingwood call
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