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It was a grand plan: Mick Malthouse out, Nathan Buckley in.
Two years under Malthouse as assistant coach (2010 and 2011), before taking over the reigns as head coach in 2012, Buckley was supposed to underpin the future of Collingwood.
But Buckley’s Collingwood have been on the slide down the AFL ladder for four years. Now, three rounds into the 2016 season, Collingwood are one win (a thriller against Richmond, and even that was lucky) and two losses.
An absolute belting from Sydney in Round 1 and an unexpected carve-up from St. Kilda in Round 3, and all of a sudden that pre-season talk of playing finals is fading fast.
A promising NAB Challenge series got Buckley a contract extension before the 2016 season even started. He’s signed on until the end of next year, and, as of last night, it’s a move that Collingwood president, Eddie McGuire still backs. At least he does publicly. Behind closed doors, the noose is surely tightening, not just on Buckley, but also on the entire Collingwood board.
Let’s look at the team.
The forward anchor is Travis Cloke. He’s an $800,000 a year misfire. He rarely looks like he’s capable of kicking a bag of goals, which at his salary, is his primary job.
He’s now being periodically moved to the ruck just so he can get a touch of the ball to get his confidence up. His pre-goal ritual of throwing a handful of grass into the breeze to help adjust his aim is merely that – a ritual and a laughable one at that!
Last week, with ball in hand, the grass was plucked and thrown, but he didn’t even look to see which way the grass blew before kicking the ball. At 29 years of age, we must accept the fact that Cloke doesn’t need help to get back to his best. His best is behind him. When does the word ‘inconsistent’ equate to ‘average’?
Collingwood have gaping holes in defence, and their once powerful mid-field is severely decimated. Like most clubs, they’ve lost players to retirement, trade and injury, but from end-to-end, Collingwood are in trouble.
Since mid-2015, they’ve lost eleven of their last fourteen home-and-away games, and they’re facing a spirited Melbourne this week. A few weeks ago, it’s a game that would have been pencilled in as a win or maybe even a percentage booster.
Not now. The competition is more even than it’s ever been. There is no such thing as a certain win anymore. If the team favoured to win on the day isn’t mentally and physically right, every game is in the balance.
Then, nothing is guaranteed.
The Collingwood players look dejected. They lack energy, team spirit and pace. If there is a game plan, I can’t even describe what it is.
We see a team of men who appear to have lost faith in not only themselves, but also in their leaders. When those hardheaded leaders refuse to see there’s a problem, it surely stems from arrogance, denial, and most of all fear.
There is a fear that their own demise is imminent. Week in and week out, the sergeants are sending their wounded black and white soldiers back into battle. Undermanned, unprepared and underdone, in life, in war, and in footy, that situation will get you slaughtered each and every time.
The bleeding must be stopped. It starts from the top.
Somehow, the words ‘Malthouse’ and ‘karma’ seem closer than ever before. Would Eddie McGuire wind the clock (and his ego) back and appoint Mick Malthouse coach of Collingwood again?
It’d be the stuff fairy tales are made of.
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