Current talent to sway choice of club for Nathan Buckley
Jon Ralph | June 18, 2009
NATHAN Buckley doesn't need the cash. He knows within 18 months the facilities of most AFL clubs will be roughly on a par. A rock solid administration is a non-negotiable.
But above all, the man with the flashing red target on his back will want a list capable of becoming elite if he is to coach next year.
As Richmond, North Melbourne and, in all likelihood, Port Adelaide clamour for his services, that is the bottom line for Buckley.
He knows through coaching elite juniors that as good as most of them are, clubs will have little access to them for the next four drafts.
So if Buckley is to roll up his sleeves and coach an AFL club next year, it all comes down to the club's current list.
So who of the Tigers, Roos and Power has the list that will allow Buckley the best chance to win the premiership that eluded him in 260 AFL games?
To put it into perspective, Hawthorn has at least six elite players (Hodge, Mitchell, Sewell, Rioli, Roughead, Franklin), three capable of becoming elite (Birchall, Lewis, Young) and plenty of very solid B-Graders.
Just who at the Kangaroos is elite, apart from 30-year-old captain Brent Harvey, as well as Daniel Wells if we are being exceedingly generous?
Buckley has spent his second year in the media scrutinising every player on every list: it is glaringly obvious in his commentary.
How do they fit in at their club? How would he improve them? Are the battlers list-cloggers or just hiding their potential?
And if he is honest with himself, he will realise Port Adelaide's list has more appeal than both Richmond's and the Kangaroos.
You do not need the intellect of Buckley to know several Power stars are close to their use-by-date.
Peter Burgoyne is already 31 and on the wane, Warren Tredrea will turn 31 late this year while Chad Cornes will be 30.
But Buckley would relish polishing the rough diamonds in 26-year-old Shaun Burgoyne, 20-year-old Travis Boak, 21-year old Nathan Krakouer and 18-year-old Hamish Hartlett.
Beyond that there is a nucleus of players such as Danyle Pearce, Robbie Grey, Brett Ebert, Alipate Carlile, Jackson Trengove and Steven Salopek who are all young and talented.
Richmond, so disappointing this year, has potential but it remains buried beneath the rubble of a season that quickly came crashing down.
As recently as six weeks ago the club was death-riding its chances of attracting a coach of the calibre of Buckley.
Since then the likes of Daniel Connors, Daniel Jackson, Angus Graham, Jack Riewoldt, Richard Tambling, Alex Rance and Mitch Morton have shown plenty.
If forward line talent is thin and the midfield young, at least there is plenty to work with tall defenders in Rance, Kelvin Moore, Luke McGuane and Will Thursfield.
Combine that with high picks in Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin, and Tyrone Vickery, and Terry Wallace's prediction of a 2011 window of opportunity looks a little less rash.
Buckley could not have been more scathing of Kane Pettifer on radio a fortnight ago.
You suspect many of Jake King, Jordan McMahon, Pettifer, Jay Schulz, Jarrad Oakleigh-Nicholls and Cleve Hughes would quickly find themselves on the scrap heap.
North is a harder sell.
The kids are there in Ben Warren, Jack Ziebell, Gavin Urquhart and Lachie Hansen but are there enough?
To his credit Laidley has extracted every ounce of talent from Josh Gibson, Michael Firrito, Leigh Harding, Brady Rawlings and Aaron Edwards.
So where does a new coach take them?
All these questions will weigh heavily on his mind.
Suddenly Buckley has his pick of the field, which makes selecting the right destination all the more critical.
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