Straight away when addressing the media after Collingwood’s shock loss to Port Adelaide over a week ago, Nathan Buckley said he had to ask if the club is making the right decisions.
Of course 2010 is long gone now as a memory and there is no longer the powerhouse team that was around in 2010-2011 – it’s a different team.
The main core of the side is there, though.
When you compare Collingwood to teams like Sydney, Geelong and even Port Adelaide this season they all have discipline measures in place that are effective and successful.
Buckley spoke about how this is his team and changes have already been made with Alan Didak, Andrew Krakouer and Darren Jolly being delisted.
Not that they were necessarily delisted for discipline reasons, but the fact it is time to change face and rebuild a side with the right attitude to go about it on and off the field.
Of course now it means that players won’t get special treatment and this has been seen early on in Buckley’s reign by suspending Dane Swan last year for breaking team rules.
This year Harry O’Brien found out it’s the team that comes first when he had his way of trying to protest after getting upset about a comment from Buckley.
It remains to be seen what happens to the likes of Heath Shaw and Dane Swan.
Almost every game he plays for Collingwood, Heath Shaw is arguing with a umpire after doing something silly like touching Angus Monfries in the throat.
Yes, he may have been upset but it doesn’t mean you can just shove him in the throat.
Showing a lack of respect for the umpires and making it harder for your team in the process doesn’t make the coach happy at all.
That ‘double goal’ was crucial in the context of the match and ill-disciplined acts like that in a final do not help an already tight situation.
Dane Swan is a different character and footballer altogether, but at the same time he has publicly said before he plans to retire after the end of the 2014 season.
It remains to be seen if he will retire and be true to his word but this is the elephant in the room that will cause most trouble in deciding what to do at Collingwood next season.
He has been shown in the past that he doesn’t get special treatment.
Sure, he is a good player but it’s the impact he can have off the field in situations with the younger players that would be of most concern, because he won’t be around in five years but they will.
There are calls for Scott Pendlebury to be captain and start a new era, which is sensible as his performances warrant such an honour.
There is enough of a team to remain competitive and compete for a top four spot but it does take time.
It won’t be easy that’s for sure but the need for change is badly there and a new belief system after some of the Mick Malthouse attributes of being able to run amok is still there.
With a coach coming in trying to change a side into his own team and bring in new beliefs it does take time to mould the list and set new team cultures.
Hopefully this is the start of it after a huge wakeup call of relying on past glories to carry the team over.
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