Pies close in on snaring BuckleyCaroline Wilson | July 24, 2009
COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse has accepted in principle a deal that would see him work next season side-by-side with his former captain Nathan Buckley.
Although Buckley has not given his old club a final answer, that is expected to come in a matter of days with North Melbourne privately declaring Monday as the final deadline for retired champion to tell the Kangaroos if he wants to be their senior coach.
But the North hierarchy, who last week had been quietly confident of luring Buckley to Arden Street on a long-term deal of at least four years, had become less optimistic by yesterday.
The Collingwood agreement, orchestrated by president Eddie McGuire and his chief executive Gary Pert, has been strongly endorsed by Buckley's manager Craig Kelly and would involve Buckley working as a senior assistant to Malthouse, who has been offered a new two-year agreement.
It is understood Malthouse has not been asked to take a paycut. The 55-year-old two-time premiership coach confirmed yesterday he had met Buckley four days ago at the behest of the club to plan a potential working relationship.
At the meeting, the two men went into some detail regarding their division of labour with Buckley outlining at some length his projected responsibilities. Although Malthouse glibly described the talks as "perfect", he was privately less enthusiastic.
"I'm not prepared to go through that discussion. That's why we had it in-house," the coach said yesterday.
But despite his strong misgivings the veteran coach, who joined the Magpies for season 2000, has conceded McGuire and Pert were determined to plot a future for the club with Buckley eventually at the coaching helm and that to remain at Collingwood he would have to subscribe to what is in reality an unofficial "Kirribilli Agreement".
All that remains is for Buckley to make a final decision and the strong feeling from Collingwood yesterday was that it had come tantalisingly close to convincing its longest serving captain and six-time Copeland winner to return to the club and not coach elsewhere.
While the senior position at Richmond remains a longshot for Buckley because of the timing, only an intensive and meaningful push from North in the coming days appears to stand between the Magpies and their favourite son.
Orchestrating a Malthouse-Buckley partnership was first floated in The Age by McGuire in March. That he appears close to achieving such a deal is a massive fillip in the short-term for the 11-year president.
Kelly's part in the groundswell pushing Buckley towards Collingwood cannot be underestimated. Not only is he a close friend of Pert's and a Collingwood premiership player, but he has played a major role in Buckley's career as a friend and manager.
However, Malthouse yesterday stressed he would not be putting a use-by date upon his coaching future. "I feel very comfortable in my job," he said. "I know I'm getting the best out of the players and getting the best out of myself. Does that stay for one year, two years, three years, five years? I can't say that, but I'm not about to declare that it's going to be one or two years when it could be five or six years. It could be six months too."
When asked if he was open to an agreed succession to Buckley, Malthouse replied: "That's the part of it the club needs to look at and address with my management."
Malthouse admitted the saga was having an effect on some staff. "I suppose it's probably starting to wear thin on a few blokes, but they see the funny side of it more so than if there is a serious side to it, so that's a good sign," he said.
McGuire denied anyone was worried about their futures if they were linked with Malthouse, but hinted he was keen on implementing a transition plan.
"Maybe football's moving on and changing and maybe that's what we're trying to achieve at Collingwood, to get something a little bit more progressive and sustainable rather than what has happened in the past," McGuire told SEN.
At least two Collingwood assistants are candidates for the Richmond job in Brad Scott, who is contracted to Collingwood next year, and Mark Neeld.
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