Nathan Buckley press conference transcript
COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley held an open media press conference today. Here is a transcript of every question and answer.
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COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley held an open media press conference today. Here is a transcript of every question and answer.
REPORTER: Nathan, most of the seemed to get through training, What can you tell us about those injured guys who got through? Ben Reid was good.
NATHAN BUCKLEY: Yeah, so we’ll have four players that’ll come back off the injured list and available. So Reidy, Tyson Goldsack, Jesse White and Rupert Wills will all be available for selection this week so that’s a positive. So we got more coming in than out and that’s always a good sign. But yeah, training week went relatively smoothly and off a couple of days off. We’ve seen it as just a longer lead in to this game on Saturday and we’ve tipped into what we need to and looking forward to attacking it the second half of the year.
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R: Around that, what’s your thinking around changes that you make? Do you make a lot of changes or do you just tinker with the Senior side with this added availability.
NB: Yeah they’re decisions, I mean the marginal decisions to be honest, that need to be made. I
suppose tall-small balance up forward has been something that has shifted and that has been optimal for us at this point. Whether to use Reidy forward or back is clearly a discussion point. When he’s up and about and fit we have the option of doing both and we need to decide whether coming straight back in is the best thing for him in that as well. Goldie’s been in our best 22, he has been clearly one of our better tall defenders so he’ll come back in into the side. And then the balance of it in and around that is something that sometimes it’ll be what the opposition is asking of you but almost always it’s how you’re going to play your best footie and how you need to structure up.
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R: So Reid’s not guarantee to play AFL at this stage?
NB: Oh he is likely, he is likely, yeah. But it is a marginal call because we’ve had some guys that have performed pretty well. I mean, any players that aren’t favoured going into the game on Saturday will probably not miss due to form, it’ll be just a balance of the side and how we think we’re going to best present, which is a pretty good position to be in.
R: On Reid and just looking at the bigger picture, you get the impression that you prefer to play him down back but sometimes you need to play him up forward for the sake of the side.
NB: Yeah well, he’s an all Australian defender and I think the idea of the swing man is a nice bit of armoury to have. It’s a nice thing to have in your arsenal. And I think that you know we probably think that Darcy eventually can go forward or back at any point. You know Howie’s been excellent down back but we know he can probably hurt up forward sometimes. Will Hoskin-Elliott’s played back and forward this year. Goldie’s played a lot of his career as a forward and is really settling in down back. I think, we like to specialise, we like to specialise and we know that it’s a fairly adaptable game. The midfield is getting bigger and bigger and the forward lines and back lines are getting smaller. But Reidy is probably one of those bookends that can go both ways. He’s clearly proven it as a defender but his aerial capacity is enticing as a forward.
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R: What’s your read on Port Adelaide at the moment?
NB: Their first 12 games have been exceptional. Their percentage is generally a pretty good indicator on what type of football you’re playing and the consistency of it. And they’ve … up with Adelaide they had the strongest percentage for the most part of the front half of the year. They’re a very good contested ball side, put good heat and pressure on. Seem to be able to find many different avenues to score and they’re defending really strongly. They’re at the pointy end and they are going to be a great challenge.
R: Can you give us an update on Jamie Elliott?
NB: Yeah, Jamie is going pretty well. I suppose we’ve been a little bit vague with where Jamie’s at. And it’s hard to put a time frame on when he’s coming back because we’re still finding out about how quickly it’s going to return. I think the syndesmosis concerns aren’t as significant as his injury pre-season, so we might be looking at more ligaments and that may mean a quicker return. I think he’s improved over the last two or three days and feels like he’s ready to start sort of putting weight on it and seeing how that goes over the next week or so. I think it’s probably more likely that he’ll miss this week and next and then potentially push for the week after that. But once again, that’ll be guided by how he takes the steps along the way.
R: Naturally you mean you’ve got to be more cautious when he’s right to go, then give him another week?
NB: Well, it depends like how his ankle responds. There’s plenty of players that go out with sore ankles, they might play at 85 per cent, 90 per cent, and that might be because in three or four weeks time it’ll improve to 95. If you’re going to play with a sore ankle but it’s only going to go downhill, well then that’s a different decision to make. So we clearly want to make the right decision for Jamie, but we clearly think we’re a better side with him in it. So it’s a balancing act, but we’ll make the right call as we go along.
R: Was Trav Varcoe close? And where’s Daniel Wells at too?
NB: Varcs, not this week, maybe next. And Wellsy’s still working back, still, you know, building his load and building his strength in the calf. It was a gastroc tear which he’s mainly torn his soleus at times, had little aggravations in his soleus. So the gastroc’s a bigger muscle but not necessarily a greater issue but it’s probably going to ... we’ve gone a little bit slower at the front end.
R: What’s your thoughts on AFLX and making players available for it? I suppose State of Origin, we don’t have … but this is obviously taking players away from clubs.
NB: I don’t have an opinion on it. I haven’t spent a whole lot of time on it, so when I do I’ll let you know, mate.
R: So potentially if the club doesn’t make the finals, you may have to provide some players …
NB: Is that right? R: Well, potentially. NB: As I said, I’ll have to read up about it, mate, I’ve got no idea.
R: We haven’t seen you since the Queen’s Birthday, you know, very much a near miss, what have you been doing? What’s been the focus for you guys since then?
NB: Umm … well preparing for Port, that’s largely been our focus. When you lose a game, or when you get to the other side of a game of footy, you review very quickly and you take the lessons out of it and then you get set for your next opportunity so. We’ve had this Saturday in our sights for longer than normal, a 12 day prep. Our players have presented really well early this week and we’re looking forward to jumping into it.
R: Sort of, it’s a chance to reset and sort of take stock … the week off. What are your thoughts about launching into this make or break sort of ten week block …
NB: Yeah, no, we haven’t seen it like that. This is our next game. We’ve played, we have been in relatively consistent form that has put us in winning positions more often than not and we need to bring that type of footy and then better it, to be able to turn those close loses into wins against any opposition. And there’s not a lot of margin for error, so we’ve just got to take every opportunity as it comes.
R: What did you make of Pendles’s comment about 2011? It’s obviously getting a bit of traction today? Is there any truth in that do you think?
NB: I wasn’t out with them
R: No, I’m not suggesting that.
R: That would be a story.
NB: I would’ve thought that most of that, you know, happens in and around the playing group and in and around the locker room, you know, to be honest and as such, Pendles would have a really good sighter on it wouldn’t he? It’s six years ago now so it’s not really something we dwell on too much
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