Pies urged to make call on Buckley now

HISTORY shows that Collingwood would be better placed to move on Nathan Buckley now.

Kane Cornes saw first-hand a similar scenario play out at Port Adelaide in 2010 when premiership coach Mark Williams departed before the end of the season.

“In 2010 Mark Williams lost his job with seven games to go and Matthew Primus took over,” Cornes said yesterday.

“It was a massive distraction for the players – we went on to win five of the last seven with Primus as a caretaker coach.

“I just feel the story is Nathan Buckley. I think it would be a good move to step down because then we start talking about the Collingwood Football Club and where to next, rather than constantly making it about Bucks, as harsh as that sounds.”

Buckley conceded after Saturday’s 37-point loss to Essendon that the Pies had reached “a bit of a tipping point” after their fourth consecutive defeat.

“I thought it was the first time that I’d seen the players look like they’d lost a bit of hope,” he said.

Collingwood is stuck in the bottom four with just five wins and is headed for its worst season of Buckley’s six-year reign.

The Pies finished fourth when Buckley took over from Mick Malthouse in 2012 and progressively got worse, coming 12th in the past two years.

There is also a concern that the continued speculation about Buckley’s future could turn away potential recruits, according to former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd.

“If Collingwood are looking to attract some players, the first thing a player will ask is, ‘Who is going to be our coach next year?’ ” Lloyd said.

“They are all the decisions Collingwood needs to look at moving forward for next year.”

St Kilda veteran Leigh Montagna agreed: “It would make it much more difficult absolutely if you weren’t sure about the coach’s future.”

Key Collingwood officials met on Saturday night after the horror loss to the Bombers.

President Eddie McGuire is overseas so any decision on Buckley’s future will be delayed until he returns.

The Magpies commissioned a strategic review of their entire club operations in May.

Businessman Peter Murphy is examining every department, including the men’s and women’s football setups and netball division.

The “strategic blueprint” could form part of the end-ofseason analysis of Collingwood’s coaching staff.

The Magpies’ recruiting and list management has come under fire, with former Sydney and Melbourne coach Paul Roos labelling it as “appalling”.

Former Fremantle Docker Chris Mayne was controversially brought in this year on a four-year, $2 million contract but is languishing in the VFL.