EFL 2022: How Knox landed triple premiership coach Steve Buckle
One of suburban football’s most successful coaches of the past decade will lead EFL Division 2 club Knox in 2023. Here’s how the Falcons landed the coaching coup ...
Eastern
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TRIPLE Eastern league premiership coach Steve Buckle “jumped at” the challenge.
The former Heathmont and Doncaster East mentor has been unveiled as Knox’s senior coach for 2023 in what he describes as an “exciting prospect”.
Buckle is no stranger to challenges.
His Eastern league coaching career took a struggling Heathmont to the 2011 Division 4 flag in the space of two years, before lifting Doncaster East into Premier Division for the first time in club history.
Buckle’s eight-year stint at Zerbes Reserve took in five finals series, four grand finals and back-to-back flags across 2018 and ’19 before finishing at the end of 2021.
A number of local clubs enquired about the premiership coach’s services for next season – but Knox stood out.
The job, vacated by ex-AFL Hawk Brendan Whitecross who stepped down for family reasons, was described as the “best fit” by Buckle.
The ex-Lions mentor lives a stone’s throw from the Falcons’ Knox Gardens Reserve where he coaches his son in the juniors.
He noted following his Doncaster East exit that the challenge of developing a young list was an appealing one, should he entertain the thought of coaching senior football again.
“I’ve seen first-hand what a great junior club (Knox) is and how strong the junior program is, and combine that with watching and not coaching this year, I’ve been able to get over there and watch a couple of the senior games,” Buckle said.
“I understood and saw that they had a very young list, it’s a very talented list – it just probably lacks a bit of experience in age … the young fellas get in and have a crack, there’s no issue with that.
“With the (age) demographic of the list as well, it’s in that right bracket that I like to take on.
“That was an exciting prospect – when the call came in, I jumped at the opportunity.
“It was the best fit not just for myself, but for my family as well for where we sit at the moment.”
The Buckle-led Doncaster East fell to Knox in the 2017 grand final in the second tier – the Falcons earning promotion back to the top division.
They’ve spent 10 of the past 15 seasons in the league’s top-flight – a mindset still present at the club, the incoming coach believes.
“They’ve still got that Premier Division mentality – they might not be ready to go up as far as that just yet, but the mentality around that and the culture around the place is still one of success,” Buckle said.
Recruiting is on the radar this off-season, with a view to bolstering experience – a key forward and bigger bodies in Buckle’s sights.
“We’ll try to be active in that space,” Buckle said.
“We’ve only got about five guys over the age of about 26 playing in the senior list … (we’ll aim to recruit) round about that sort of 27-28 (age group) … even if it’s older and they’ve got a few years left.
“Trying to get the natural progression of the development as well from the younger guys, there’s plenty to work with, that’s for sure.
“If we can’t get a heap of recruits, I’m still comfortable where we sit at the moment from what I’ve seen – I think there’s a lot of upside.
“With the current list, they’re very quick, they’re very aggressive, they get in and have a crack, there’s never any question on that.”
The 2022 season yielded just four wins and a draw for the Falcons, who finished ninth of Division 2’s 10 teams.
While not underselling the task ahead, Buckle is optimistic the club’s fortunes can turn quickly.
“We know it’s not going to happen overnight,” Buckle said.
“We’ll aim to play finals – I’m a big aspirant in trying to be as successful as we can.
“I know it’s going to be a tough road finishing second-bottom, and we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I believe we can turn things around pretty quickly.
“As long as we start seeing improvement incrementally, that’s the main goal from the club’s perspective at the moment.
“We’re looking to change a few structural things, be a bit more risky, and take the game on a little bit more and play some corridor footy.”
Buckle said a year off coaching had reignited the flame.
“On a Thursday night I could hear the (Knox) boys training (from my house), and the itchy feet were still there. I definitely wanted to get back into it – now I’m all refreshed, ready to go and excited about the list I’ve got,” he said.
“There couldn’t be a better time.”
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