New Geelong assistant coach Nathan Buckley has labelled his new role as “energising” in his first foray into clubland in four years.
Buckley hasn’t had an official club role since stepping down as Collingwood coach in mid-2021 after nearly a decade in charge.
He is using his first few weeks to observe how the Cats go about their business, with the New Year likely to bring greater input from the Magpie great.
“It’s obviously a program that I’ve respected from afar for a long time,” Buckley said as Geelong’s senior players returned to training, 65 days after the disappointment of their grand final loss to the Brisbane Lions.
“To be able to get a look under the bonnet and then obviously play a role and contribute where I can, is something that I’ve been energised and excited by.
“The first couple of weeks has been good. Good to get the whole group – or most of the group in – for the start of pre-season today.”
Buckley has enjoyed seeing the autonomy handed to the players up close.
“This group has been successful for a long time, and how much onus is on the players themselves to drive their program and their own development is something that’s been very Geelong,” he said.
“To witness that and see it in practice… is pretty fascinating given they’ve been so successful for a long time.”
Coach Chris Scott remains on leave, but Buckley is in a regular dialogue with the long-serving mentor.
“Scotty and I have had plenty of conversations over the years; more so in the last month or so,” he said.
“Philosophical conversations with Chris Scott are always fun. There’s a lot of grey area in this program.
“They leave the question hanging. They don’t have to come to an answer in the immediate tense, and that provides for a fair bit of creativity.
“That’s what I have noted and what I’m looking forward to.”
Buckley, who produced a pair of old-school boots for training, “ten-and-a-half Adidas Predators”, has been impressed by Geelong’s athletic ability, including the running power of Gryan Miers, Ollie Dempsey, Bailey Smith and the Holmes brothers, Max and Hunter, the latter of whom Buckley coached at under-12 level.
“My standout takeaway from the first couple of weeks is just how athletic this group is,” he said
The focus and the investment in that part of the program is significant.
“They’re very scientific, very organised, and the players take a lot of autonomy and control in that.”
Not surprisingly, questions about the senior coaching position for the incoming Tasmanian team surfaced.
And even less surprising was Buckley leaving the door open to take on the role.
“I’m head down, bum up at the Cats at the moment,” he said.
“Would I have stepped into this if I didn’t want to get back into the main role? I don’t think I would have.”
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