Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley on a hiding to nothing with finals expectations, writes Jay Clark

CARLTON is rebuilding and Geelong’s fighting to stay in the flag window, but what about Collingwood? It seems not even the Pies know what their on-field expectations are, writes JAY CLARK.

The Hawks put the clamps on Jamie Elliott. Picture: Michael Klein

THEY say clubs have to know where they are at.

Even in one of the most unpredictable seasons, there is a sense of surety around Carlton’s rebuild from the bottom, the Cats’ fight to remain in the premiership hunt and the Dees and Saints quest to jump into the eight.

While the Dogs shook things up last season winning an unexpected flag, most clubs are at an identifiable spot in their evolution.

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Except for Collingwood.

When it comes to the Magpies, there are conflicting forces that have clouded reasonable on-field expectations of Nathan Buckley’s men this season.

The senior coach set the bar high last year when he said it was essentially finals-or-bust for him in his sixth year in charge in 2017.

Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury leads his teammates off the MCG after Sunday’s loss to Hawthorn. Picture: Michael Klein

While the club has since corrected the narrative somewhat, saying all sorts of factors will be considered in the decision to reappoint him, the top-eight seemed to become the overriding pass mark for the Pies this year.

Fans, and maybe the administration, didn’t want to stomach a fourth-straight year out of the finals.

But were the Pies ready to make that quantum leap into September this year?

Clearly, we didn’t think so.

In the Herald Sun pre-season magazine, only three of 18 tipsters had Collingwood making finals. (And two of them had the Pies finishing in eighth spot). Michael Malthouse was the lone ranger who had the Pies in sixth, but that’s another story.

The big question is, should we be all that surprised to find them 5-9 now? Not really.

The truth of the matter at Collingwood is the make-or-break discussion around the coach conflicts entirely with the likely proposition that this year was always going to be something of a development year or stepping stone than a finals breakthrough, anyway.

If it was ever all about the eight, the coach was on a hiding to nothing from the get-go.

Buckley made the valid point after Sunday’s 24-point loss to Hawthorn that the core group of the list was under 24 and still learning harsh lessons about the “pain and process” of becoming a top side.

Many are yet to enter the prime parts of their careers.

And the recent recruiting moves, which were meant to add the icing on the cake, had been “appalling”, Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos said on Sunday.

Of course, Buckley signed-off on it all as part of the list management committee.

The significant turnover since 2012 was unexpected after back-to-back grand finals, but necessary, the Pies say.

Now, the two key forward prongs Darcy Moore and Mason Cox have played only 56 games between them. Daniel Wells and Jamie Elliott have been mostly injured.

The decision to recruit Chris Mayne on $500,000 a year has failed.

Then there is the game of musical chairs in the footy manager’s role, undermining any sense of stability in the footy department.

Not exactly a stable foundation for success and a key factor in any determination on the coach’s performance.

Nathan Buckley says the Magpies will keep fighting for wins. Picture: Michael Klein

Now Collingwood faces another key decision about the next two months.

Do the Pies put their eggs in the basket of chasing double-digit wins to improve on last year and save the face of this season?

Or does the club adopt a longer-term focus to explore the developmental prospects of some of their youngsters, at which point the scoreboard becomes much less relevant?

You could understand if the coaches feel torn on this.

Matthew Scharenberg, Callum Brown, Rupert Wills, Josh Daicos, and maybe even Kayle Kirby should be given their chances. Play Mason Cox to learn more about his AFL future.

Buckley said the Pies will keep fighting for wins, with finals still a mathematical possibility. Seven victories out of eight is what they need to crack the eight this year.

It’s a long shot, no doubt, but maybe that’s always been the case.