Family first for Giants’ Buckley
The GWS Giants’ incredible run to the preliminary finals last year meant almost more to Jack Buckley than it did to any of his teammates.
The 26-year-old defender had the best season of his footy career in 2023, playing every game just a year after a devastating ACL injury. Being picked up by the club as a category B rookie in 2017, he is forever indebted for the support he received from the Giants and his teammates.
But it was in those moments celebrating victories against both St Kilda and Port Adelaide that he appreciated just how far he had come.
“The best part of that was when we were playing finals, and won a couple, having my dad, sister and Nan down in the change rooms after,” Buckley said. “To have those moments together is something that I’ll never forget.”
The Buckley family have been incredibly close for as long as Jack can remember due to unimaginable heartache early in his life.
Buckley’s mother, Kim, died from breast cancer in 2004 when he was just six. She bravely fought a four-year battle after being diagnosed in 2000.
And while she didn’t get to experience those incredible inner sanctum moments, he knows she would have been watching on with a smile.
“Certainly, I wish Mum was there,” Buckley said. “But I’m sure she was watching somewhere with a champagne in her hand celebrating as well.
Buckley’s memories of his mother are mainly limited to her cancer fight given he was so young. But he continues to build on her legacy and he aims to make her proud every time he steps on to the footy field.