Collingwood Rat Pack torch AFL greats Nick Riewoldt, Nathan Buckley

The feelings between the infamous Rat Pack and Nathan Buckley still run deep, with St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt also in the firing line.

Collingwood great Dane Swan and members of the infamous “Rat Pack” have come out swinging at footy greats Nick Riewoldt and Nathan Buckley.

Swan, along with Heath Shaw, Alan Didak, Ben Johnson and Chris Tarrant, earned the Rat Pack moniker as the Pies dealt with on and off-field issues with the playing group en route to the 2010 AFL premiership.

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Riewoldt, whose St Kilda side lost the grand final replay to Collingwood that season, sparked the controversy this week when he spoke about Buckley’s possible appointment as head coach at the Tasmanian Devils AFL expansion side.

Buckley, 51, hung up the boots with the Pies in 2007 before coaching the club from 2012-2021, failing to win a flag in either role.

“I love it, I think it would be a fantastic acquisition,” Riewoldt said on the Footy Talk podcast.

“He’s an Elliot Yeo (sic, it was Dom Sheed) amazing kick at goal away from being a premiership coach (in Collingwood’s 2018 grand final loss to West Coast), so he can coach.

Footy greats Dane Swan and Nick Riewoldt. Photos: News Corp

“I think at times the reason ‘Bucks’ gets a bit of a bad rap as a coach is because of a certain segment of Collingwood players that like to hang it on him from time to time.

“The Rat Pack, they like to hang it on Bucks.

“No I think it would be a great acquisition (to Tasmania), football person, a big personality and he’s very well-balanced as a person.”

Swan and Shaw were among those to jump on those comments and give their take as members of the group.

“The Rat Pack hang it on everyone, not just Bucks,’’ Swan said on his podcast Hump Day with Swanny and Friends.

“With all due respect, what the f**k would Nick Riewoldt know about Nathan Buckley being a coach?

“I don’t know if he’s having a go at us … the Rat Pack beat him in a grand final.

“Heath Shaw’s smother, one of the main leaders, smothered him and he cost them the granny.

“Unless Bucks has fed him that, how would he know?”

Shaw chased down Riewoldt and spoiled a certain goal in the first quarter of that game, as you can see above, in one of the more famous moments in AFL grand final history.

Shaw and Dale Thomas, who was considered a “second-tier” member of the Rat Pack, also discussed Riewoldt’s comments on the same Footy Talk podcast a day after the St Kilda great’s comments.

Thomas asked Shaw directly: “Which bit in particular (of Riewoldt’s comments) pissed you off?”

Shaw replied: “Well, the bit that (Riewoldt) said, ‘a certain segment of Collingwood players like to hang it on him (Nathan Buckley) a bit’.”

Thomas followed up with: “Is there any falsity in his statement?”

Shaw said: “No. But, that’s got nothing to do with why he gets a bad rap as a coach.

“It’s because his record wasn’t that good, for most of the time.

“Yes, they made a grand final and yes, they were a kick away, but they went slowly down hill for five years straight.

Members of the Rat Pack (left to right), Ben Johnson, Dane Swan, Dale Thomas, Heath Shaw and Alan Didak at a 2010 premiership reunion. Photo: Michael Klein

“Took a team from the grand final, that way (pointing down). We’re talking about stats, the AFL loves stats at the moment, that’s not an ideal stat.

“I just don’t know why he would mention the Rat Pack, it’s got nothing to do with us.”

Thomas was extremely highly rated when he joined Collingwood with pick two in the 2005 AFL Draft, playing 157 games at the club before he left to join Carlton after the 2013 season.

He played another 101 games for the arch enemy Blues.

Shaw also left the Magpies in 2013, traded to the GWS Giants for Taylor Adams.

Thomas stated his belief the public has a misconception over why the Rat Pack group had an issue with Buckley, which clearly still exists today.

“Do you think it’s misunderstood, the relationship between the Rat Pack and Bucks?” Thomas asked.

“Because I go as far as saying that the general public believe it’s just that they don’t like him because he’s not Mick Malthouse.

The launch of the 2022 AFL Season on Fox Sport Jonathan Brown, Kath Loughnan, Nathan Buckley and Nick Riewoldt. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“Rather than my reason for being slightly aggrieved is not only having to leave the club, but also because we thought there was an opportunity to win or have an opportunity to be in contention for three, four, five years, like the Tigers.

“We thought we were in a (premiership) window, so a lot of the frustration is on the back of that, rather than just making it a personal agenda.”

Shaw went much further, claiming Buckley held a grudge over Collingwood’s ability to snap a 19-year premiership drought when he was no longer at the club.

“Obviously it is personal for me because he traded me,” he said. “The whole team didn’t get traded – it was just you, me and a couple of mates.

“I think (Buckley) was the one who had the issue with us, in a way, because we got the ultimate glory.

“At least those two have something in common, Bucks and Nick Riewoldt, they’re not premiership players.

“That’s probably why they’re hanging out and talking up each other.”

Buckley (right) replaced Malthouse (centre) as Collingwood coach after the 2011 season. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

The duo then debated Buckley’s suitability to coach the new Tasmanian outfit.

While Thomas felt Buckley would be an improved coach in his second stint, following 117 wins, 99 defeats and two draws in a decade at Collingwood, Shaw expressed doubts the 51-year-old would be the right fit.

“It’s a hard gig (being Tassie coach), you’re starting from zero,” Shaw said.

“I’ve been near zero, I was close to (zero at the Giants). It’s different when you’ve taken over a team that’s played off in a grand final.

“You’re trying to build up a whole club. In this regard, you’re building up a whole state.

“The pressure is on from the AFL, you’ve got to win early. They need to hit the ground running. It will be a tough gig for whoever takes it.”

Thomas replied: “He’s a big enough name though that gives them instant relevance.”

That gave Shaw an opportunity for one last clip, firing back: “Do we just want a big name or do we want a good coach?”