Robbo: Nathan Buckley and Collingwood are at the crossroads
It seems like it’s the beginning of the end for Nathan Buckley at Collingwood but there are a few reasons why we can’t assume anything yet, Mark Robinson writes.
Mark Robinson
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It’s difficult not to think it’s the beginning of the end for Nathan Buckley at Collingwood.
His team is 1-3, injuries and poor form plague selection, their game style has been questioned, as has their work rate, commitment and personnel.
That’s a fearful spectrum of issues at Round 5 as they travel west to play the Eagles, and for a coach in his final year of his contract.
There’s a familiarity about the downfall of any coach.
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Poor performance leads to losses, which leads to questions, which leads to opinions — which are fact or fiction — and then always there’s accusations of splintering and disenchantment among the players.
At Collingwood, that’s already started.
Fox Footy’s Tom Morris wrote on Monday: “Leaders such as Brodie Grundy and Jordan Roughead have been vocal in their frustrations internally.’’
He might be wrong. He be might be right.
Buckley wasn’t asked about those players in a press conference on Tuesday.
Regardless, the Pies are in free fall. But it could change.
Mason Cox could start marking the ball. Jordan De Goey could get fit and play to his reputation and money.
Josh Daicos could play in the centre square. Scott Pendlebury could play half-forward. Brayden Maynard could play in the middle.
The ruckman could connect to the midfield. The midfield could connect to the forwards and altogether the team could play consistently with an edge, which, in victory, is readily identifiable.
And they could attack the 50m with more verve.
St Kilda turned it around last week. In fact, the Saints turned it around in a half.
So, why can’t Collingwood? Anything’s possible.
If this season is not corrected, however, discussion turns from Buckley and his team to Buckley and the board.
Hopefully by then, the Magpies board has a genuine leader, not two bulls supposedly fighting over the honour.
Collingwood is in a self-inflicted mess — the trade period, the racism report, the presidential overthrow and now the realisation this team is not what it was hoped to be in 2021 — and it heaps pressure on everyone.
A lot of the pressure will come on top of individuals such as new footy boss Graham Wright, leadership boss Nick Maxwell and football director Paul Licuria as they manage the transition — and brutalities — from contender’s spot to a seismic rebuild.
And there’s the coach.
The board will have to ask itself: Does Buckley deserve the opportunity to coach the rebuild or, after 10 years, and amid the whiff of change at Collingwood, has his time come to an end?
If it’s the former, and their belief in Buckley is resolute, they could reappoint him now for another two years and get on with the job.
They could still do that at the end of this year, but just like the troubled 2017 — before the Pies embarked on an overhaul of their game style for 2018 — it will be a season of destructive headlines.
If it’s the latter, then Collingwood is in for a torturous five months, anyhow.
And who would make that decision on Bucks?
Wright, who’s been there for two months? Licuria as football director? Or either of the two bulls — Mark Korda or Peter Murphy — who, you never know, might’ve made up their minds already.
And to make it even more murky, part of the reason why Buckley and his team find themselves in this position is because the board allowed so many top-end contracts to be signed in the first place.
The spectre of Buckley’s manager, Craig Kelly, looms large over his future.
If the season continues to splutter and speculation on Buckley is fuelled biweekly, Kelly won’t allow his star client and close friend to wither on the vine. He will have a plan, as Ned always does.
What happens if the Pies are 1-6 or 3-10? Surely the new chairman will be speaking by then.
In the meantime, Buckley has a game to win and a season to restore.
Buckley said on Tuesday he would play kids when they were ready and not because the football world was demanding he plays kids. You have to agree with him.
It means he will likely persevere with some of his out-of-form senior players.
At Round 5, it’s already crossroads time for Collingwood and the coach.
It was expected, but maybe not this early in the season.
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