Mick Malthouse stunned by Nathan Buckley criticism as former Pies coaches reveal bitter fallout
Mick Malthouse says he was astounded by criticism from Nathan Buckley, calling him a ‘master manipulator’ just hours after he entered the Hall of Fame.
Collingwood
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Three-time AFL premiership coach Mick Malthouse has revealed he tried to reach out to Nathan Buckley two years ago when his AFL coaching career was in jeopardy, but said he never received a response.
As the feud between the pair was publicly laid bare, Malthouse expressed his shock when told Buckley criticised him in a radio interview Wednesday morning, just hours after he had been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
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Buckley told SEN he accepted Malthouse viewed him as “an enemy” and conceded he had no relationship with the man he replaced as Collingwood coach.
He also accused Malthouse of trying to “rewrite history” about their relationship, and described him as having “rat cunning” and being “a master manipulator”.
A stunned Malthouse told the Herald Sun he found it difficult to process the comments, and said he had tried to make contact with Buckley in 2017 when his future at Collingwood was under extreme pressure.
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“I did try to make contact a couple of years ago when he was in real trouble, as in not winning games,” Malthouse said. “I texted him and left a message, and never heard back.
“What I wanted to do was to say I understand how he feels, because he wouldn’t be feeling for himself, he would be feeling for his two boys and his wife Tania.
“If he wanted to chew the fat … I was available. That’s the message I left.
“He never replied … and I never took offence. Under those circumstances, I thought that’s fine.”
Buckley’s position was under intense review in 2017 when the Magpies missed the finals for a fourth successive season.
But he won a reprieve off the back of a football department review in which the players overwhelmingly backed him.
The Magpies responded with a magnificent 2018 and finished runner-up to West Coast.
Buckley has mostly remained silent on the issue of his relationship with Malthouse, but didn’t hold back when quizzed on Wednesday.
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“Mick and I don’t get on,” Buckley explained. “He doesn’t want to know about me. I am now an enemy in his eyes. He will rewrite history to make sure that was always the case.
“But I think I understand Mick. He was a young kid scrapping to put that next meal on the plate and that drove him. That was his attitude through his whole life.
“I think understanding that, I can see the positive in who he is and what he has been able to do, let alone the numbers.”
Asked if he had a relationship with his former coach, Buckley said: “No, I am one of the bodies on the side of the road” referencing a comment Malthouse made at the Hall of Fame.
Malthouse said Buckley’s comments were “so disappointing — I have never treated him as an enemy in my life”.
“I would never regard myself as an enemy of Nathan Buckley,” he said.
“I have got the utmost respect for his playing career and for the way he has been able to turn around his coaching career.”
Malthouse was Collingwood coach from 2000-11. He took the club to four Grand Finals and won the 2010 flag.
The pair fell out after a coaching handover agreement struck in 2009 designed to have Buckley take over as senior coach and Malthouse installed as director of coaching from 2012.
But Malthouse walked away from the deal, unhappy with what the role ultimately looked like, and went on to coach Carlton for two-and-a-half seasons.