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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley wasted no time dismantling a premiership team in an attempt to remodel the Magpies in his own image. But will the short term pain translate to long term gain?
Since the Mick Malthouse era ended with a 38-point defeat to Geelong in the 2011 grand final, Collingwood have been slowly but steadily sliding down the league rankings.
A preliminary final defeat in 2012 was to be followed by a shock home elimination final exit at the hands of Port Adelaide in 2013.
The Magpies are ninth on the AFL ladder, underlining the sustained nature of the club’s slide from the league’s summit to middle-of-the-pack battlers.
On the face of it, these results represent regression. But Buckley still believes the tough decisions made in the early years of his reign will produce dividends in the future.
When Buckley took over as senior coach ahead of the 2012 season, 21 of the victorious 22 from the 2010 grand final replay remained on the playing list. Today, just 13 premiership players remain.
Gone are Dale Thomas, Heath Shaw, Sharrod Wellingham and Chris Dawes, traded to opposition clubs. Nick Maxwell, Alan Didak, Ben Johnson and Darren Jolly have retired, some more willingly than others. Clearly, these are considerable losses, leaving the coaching and recruiting staff with significant gaps to fill.
Buckley did not hide his desire to quell the influence of the so-called ‘rat pack’, preferring professionalism over larrikinism, discipline over indulgence, leadership from the top rather than from the collective.
To this end, the formative years of Buckley’s coaching tenure have been more about bringing together a group of young men willing to create the type of environment seen by the coach as essential to team success, rather than purely achieving results on the playing field.
In Scott Pendlebury, Buckley has a captain laced with class, on and off the field. He is now an experienced senior player and the perfect leader for the next generation of Magpies.
Alex Fasolo and Jamie Elliott have been around the mark for a couple of years. Both have only scratched the surface of what they may eventually be capable of. Fasolo has played bits and pieces as a forward and a backman. He is an elite user of the football and the perfect size for a modern footballer, meaning he is likely to develop into a midfielder as the years progress.
Elliott has averaged over two goals a game as a small forward in 2014. In his 50 games for the Magpies, Elliott has already compiled a highlights reel of spectacular marks and freak goals. He is one of the most exciting talents in the game.
Lachie Keefe, Tom Langdon and Jack Frost form the nucleus of Buckley’s future backline. Though raw, all three have shown enough to suggest bright futures at AFL level.
In Jarrod Witts and Brodie Grundy, Collingwood have an aggressive young ruck duo already blessed with great size and still harbouring great untapped potential.
Marley Williams, Josh Thomas, Tim Broomhead and Nathan Freeman represent further young talent with potential for growth and improvement over the coming seasons.
As for 2014, Buckley will be hoping to produce an upset or two over the next month to avoid the September play-offs being devoid of the black and white army for the first time since 2005.
But if a spot in the finals does not happen to eventuate, you get the feeling that Buckley’s investment in the long term might just produce far greater gains sooner rather than later.
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