Adam Treloar has confirmed claims that Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley told him senior Magpies players no longer wanted him at the club before the midfielder’s bombshell AFL trade.
The 27-year-old became a Western Bulldogs player right on the deadline of the AFL trade period.
It followed weeks of rumours leaked out to the media detailing discontent between Collingwood and Treloar, who was contracted at the Magpies until 2025.
Treloar said that, in a meeting with Buckley, the Magpies mentor expressed the concerns some players reportedly had with the 27-year-old and that they believed it was in his best interests to leave.
“That was told to me in no uncertain way,” Treloar told reporters at Whitten Oval on Friday.
“That did hurt because I know how close I am with the players; to be told that when I don’t think that’s the truth (hurts).
“To be told there’s some players who don’t want you there when I know that the majority of players love and care for me.
“They were adamant on moving me on so no matter how they were going to go about it, it was going to happen.
“It was a fight up until the end because that’s where I wanted to be, at Collingwood.
“I guess anything was going to be said to move me on.
“There’s not been one player that has come to me and said ‘yeah, I was a part of moving you on’.”
Treloar was one of four Magpies to be traded out on Thursday night as the club attempts to rectify challenges with its salary cap.
Collingwood list manager Ned Guy on Thursday night claimed the Magpies would have been unlikely to explore a trade if Treloar’s partner Kim Ravaillion had not signed a Super Netball contract to play with the Queensland Firebirds next year.
But the couple have committed to a long-distance relationship next year and Treloar says he never thought about moving to the Brisbane Lions or the Gold Coast.
Ravaillion attended Treloar’s first press conference as a Bulldogs player with their daughter Georgie.
“That’s really disappointing (Guy’s comments),” Treloar said.
“The club has known that I never wanted to play anywhere else and I never wanted to move to Queensland.”
Despite his acrimonious exit, Treloar says he holds no grudges towards Buckley or anyone at the club where he played 94 games after arriving in 2016 from Greater Western Sydney.
Treloar “instantly fell in love” when he began talks with the Bulldogs and coach Luke Beveridge immediately made him welcome.
“There’s so many things going on in my head at the moment and I’m just super proud and super glad to be a this footy club now,” he said.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Yes, I've made comments about that recently. The point is, you can't shift the goal posts and then be tardy re-positioning them but still blame club managers for missing the target. They established these contracts when the old goalposts were still in place.
Cat
Roar Guru
It’s not solely up to the AFL to decide on list sizes and TPP. Half the blame lies with the players association and the slow negotiations regarding list sizes and TPP
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Yeah but you still need to match FS selections.
John
That should have read 1 step forward according to Ned Guy. No one is buying this line at all. I’d like to add that while everyone has full empathy for players suffering mental health issues, can’t believe a feeling that all was not well with Dayne Beams wasn’t picked up during negotiations.
John
Hasn't he been put forward as a father/ son recruit?
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Collingwood,and every club, should have just kept highly played players and only dealt with these issues once the AFL communicated list sizes and new TPP caps. Impossible to operate in the dark.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Could it be that the pies are tanking? Because the next Daicos is an early favourite to go pick 1 next year
John
Collingwood has lost a lot of credibilty over this trade period. The triumvirate of Eddie, Bucks and Ned Guy must take full blame. What a case of shooting yourself in the foot! Quite shameful how the discarded young players have been shoved in front of a bus and blamed for the salary cap woes. If the two highest paid Treloar and Stephenson were considered overpaid and not value for money, why were they given such lucrative contracts in the first place? The club can say we got it wrong, they will not go on to be the players we expected them to be, but how can you seriously suggest that on the basis of a Covid interrupted season. Stephenson will continue to be a game breaker when fully fit. Treloar will fire and has plenty to prove. As for the picks we have got in exchange, I'd say our future is in flux. Let's hope what we already have is enough, though the lack of scoring power seems exacerbated, still no monster full forward. We have some great players, but the strength subsides as you go from the backline to the forward line. Our team is unbalanced and can't win a flag with this inbalance. Feel we will drift in and out of the 8 over the next 4 -5 years. Also feel that we will have the odd win ala the West Coast final, but doing that consistently is beyond us. Let's hope we don't lose players of the calibre of Jeremy Howe or say Jack Crisp to long term injuries, if we do put a line through our chances straight away. To sum up, I feel we have gone 3 steps backward to go as Ned Guy would say is 2 step forward.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
Best for everyone to just move on. Collingwood need to focus on getting player contracts and the salary cap in order. Treloar doesn’t need to say anything and he is just putting pressure on himself.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
It is not in the interests of either Treloar or Collingwood to continue this discussion. We wish him all the best. Thank you for my time at Collingwood, I have made many friends there. I look forward to my future career at the Bulldogs. We all move on.
Big Daddy
Guest
Buckley seems to have a bad memory when it comes to major issues at the club. Not aware of the racial problems with Lumumba , not aware of senior playing group not wanting Treloar. This is a guy in denial who is constantly backed by McGuire. While these 2 are there the problems will continue.
Nick
Guest
Those comments don't make sense. Moved him on because players didn't want him and partner in Qld. However if wife not in Qld would have disregarded the players didn't want him part. Someone should have thought their excuse through better.
Kane
Roar Rookie
Because his mate's the boss, this could hurt the club for years to come.
Kane
Roar Rookie
So did I Dan, the media have taken it and run with it. Sensationalist journalism at it's best. Not once did I hear him have a crack at Buckley, he was justifiably shocked and upset but he didn't give them a clip on the way out which can't really be said about how the club treated Treloar. Jaidyn actually handled it quite well.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Stevo said the right things, but there was a lot to interpret in what he said and how he kept repeating "Bucks said he was happy to trade me". They didn't even tell him he was being offered for trade. Piss weak!
I thought Stephenson was quite complimentary of Buckley. In any case, I believe Stephenson had a falling out with some assistant coaches over his role. If this was the case, following his suspension for gambling and his poor form, then he needs to shoulder some of the blame for his own demise.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Collingwood 2020 Leadership group = Scott Pendlebury C, Steele Sidebottom VC, Taylor Adams VC, Jeremy Howe VC, Jordan Roughead, Brodie Grundy. If some of these guys did express doubts of Treloar's ability to give 100% next year, then Collingwood has a culture problem. More so if those doubts were connected to Adam's mental health issues. They should 100% have been supportive of him and been ready to fly the flag for him if the media took his situation in the direction it has gone. Conversely, if Nathan Buckley has fabricated or embellished the sentiment of the leadership group then he's a dead man walking. And Eddie McGuire needs to be toppled too because he's been the one in Buck's corner all along. Furthermore, we also know what Jaidyn Stephenson has said about Buckley and the non-comminication from the Collingwood list management team, which is damning. Even though Tom Phillips is toeing the club line, he was a salary dump they identified who is going to a rebuilding club against his wishes. Collingwood backended Treloar's contract year after year, so any suggestion that he's being over paid is ridiculous because he's been intentionally underpaid all this time. Now the Pies will essentially have to carry the minimum 37 Senior players while paying the equivalent of an average player wage to Treloar. It is an unmitigated disaster. Next we'll be hearing rumours of u18 draft hopefuls giving flat interviews and starting rumours that they don't want to be drafted to Collingwood and I can't see any out of contract players asking to be traded there in 2021.
Gary
Roar Rookie
100% agree. Don’t know how coll can get trust and unity between playing group and buckley moving forward… this can only make things worse, and bucks will then continue gutting the playing group, similar to post malthouse era, in order to build another list to his liking. We still have yet to hear everyone’s ‘truth’, so this story will get a bit more mileage.
Marty
Roar Rookie
So you get put on the spot about a decision you’ve made and instead of copping a bit of flak yourself you choose to palm it off onto others.... and then deny you did it? This is such appallingly bad leadership it almost beggars belief. How does this guy still have a job?
Kane
Roar Rookie
This won't end well.