Buckley’s focus on the future

COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley has revealed his club’s two-step approach to helping his players manage the greatest disappointment in the game: losing a grand final.

In the aftermath of the defeat, there was a focus on the positives. And at the start of pre-season, Buckley tried to downplay the significance of the occasion with a regular match review process that replicated their 2018 campaign.

Collingwood was gallant in the five-point loss to West Coast last September, leading with less than two minutes remaining before Dom Sheed’s sharpshooter effort gave the Eagles victory.

The last-gasp nature only accentuated the hurt, and Buckley admitted as much when speaking yesterday at a function for A-League club Melbourne Victory.

“On the night I was no good,” Buckley said. “The healing started for me the next day, we got back in and started getting around each other and the team.”

The first step was a huge confidence boost.

“The boys got together on the Sunday and had exit reviews on the Monday or Tuesday,” he said. “By the time we’ve got to Tuesday arvo it’s only three days, four days post-GF but you’re feeling a whole lot better about your year and your prospects going forward if you actually look at the positives.

“We handled the occasion. We weren’t overawed. We jumped into the game early.”

Captain Scott Pendlebury took grand final recovery into his own hands, watching a replay a week after the loss, but others still had not watched the game in full.