Buckley encouraged by Magpies' AFL heart
Mar 14, 2017 - 11:23 PM Whatever is about to hit them, Nathan Buckley has the utmost confidence that he and Collingwood are ready.Seven years after their last AFL premiership, six years since the momentous coaching succession of Mick Malthouse to Buckley and four years beyond their last finals appearance, this season is make or break.
Last August, Buckley noted he was only saying what everyone was thinking when he linked his coaching future directly to making this year's finals series.
And a lot of the pieces of the jigsaw are there for the Magpies - much as they were this time a year ago.
What happened next in March last year is worth remembering, because it has fuelled Buckley's growing confidence in himself and the Magpies.
Collingwood were also coming off a solid pre-season when, the day before round one, a story broke that 11 of their players had tested positive to illicit drugs.
Then Dane Swan suffered a horrendous foot injury in the opening minutes of their season opener against Sydney, ending his career.
The Swans smashed Collingwood by 80 points and in a matter of days they went from having a healthy list to a lengthy injury list.
Collingwood only won two of their first seven games and finished 12th, three games outside the top eight.
But the Magpies did not collapse, with their season featuring big wins over top-four sides Geelong and GWS.
They closed out the season with narrow losses to the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn.
Through adversity, Buckley and Collingwood learned more about themselves.
"Twelve months down the track, if exactly the same scenarios were to occur - losing players, a thunderbolt from the media outside of us - I'd like to think we have to be better for it," Buckley told AAP.
"We've been through a fair bit.
"We've had an even greater sense of ourselves over the last 12 months."
Buckley speaks of the absolute trust he has in his coaching staff and his leadership group.
That guarantees nothing but it leaves them better prepared for the inevitable rocky patches.
"You actually build resilience but you also build belief - 'I know things couldn't get much worse, but that bloke was prepared through the hail of bullets to just stand up and do what he needed to do'," Buckley said.
"That gives me more confidence going in, because we couldn't have swum against the tide any harder last year and we were able to bounce back."
There have been challenges - they lost football managers Neil Balme and Graeme Allan in quick succession late last year before recalling Geoff Walsh.
Daniel Wells and Chris Mayne are big-name recruits who have struggled.
Wells remains a high-risk proposition who has not played at all in the pre-season because of injury, while Mayne finally showed signs of form in their last trial match.
But key defender Ben Reid is back, while their midfield is overflowing with talent and depth.
Their attack no longer features Travis Cloke, but Buckley is confident they are developing multiple scoring options.
"We believe you need to be a hydra - to be able to hurt in many ways," he says.
Most importantly for Buckley, Collingwood have shown they are tough enough.
Now they find out if they are good enough.
Source: AAP
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