Nathan Buckley should take punt on Tigers - James Hird
James Hird | July 14, 2009 11:37pm
NATHAN Buckley should coach Richmond next year.
Richmond Football Club is the biggest sleeper in Australian sport. It's been 29 years since Richmond won its last premiership. That was 1980. The flag was Richmond's fifth in 14 years.
The man who brings glory back to this club will have an exalted place in history.
Mick Malthouse looks highly likely to continue as Collingwood coach next year.
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Nathan Buckley as the head of Collingwood is a romantic notion, but even if Bucks had the chance to return to the Pies as senior coach, he would be finishing someone else's work.
For a competitive animal such as Buckley, the lure of starting with a fresh canvas at the most difficult club of all should be difficult to resist.
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Richmond has the potential to be a true powerhouse.
It has a fan base almost equal to the traditional big three Melbourne clubs (Collingwood, Carlton and Essendon) and in terms of passion, the yellow and black supporters are second to none.
These fans have massive expectations and the past lack of success has left them salivating at any sign of hope.
There's nothing new in any of this. Exactly the same carrot - leading the terrible Tigers out of the wilderness back to their glory days of the '60s and '70s - lured Terry Wallace to Punt Rd five years ago.
Truth is there have been plenty of false dawns during the past 30 years, sadly based more on passion than reality.
Nathan Buckley can change this. How is the big question.
Obviously he brings vast footy knowledge, tactical smarts, man-management qualities and a palpable passion for the game to the table. Perhaps less obvious and measurable is his presence. It's there in spades.
I first met Nathan when we were schoolboys playing football in Canberra.
He was far and away the best player in the team, and it was obvious to everyone he had a career in football ahead of him. His passion and intensity for the game set him apart.
As rivals for many years, I have watched him up close and from a distance.
"I have no doubt Nathan Buckley will bring an aura to a club that few can deliver. When Bucks speaks, people listen.
There is an historical precedence to Buckley and Richmond.
For fear of mentioning Kevin Sheedy and Richmond in the same breath, there is a lot to learn from his 27 years at Essendon.
Sheeds took over at Windy Hill when the Bombers were struggling.
Essendon had slipped to a middle-of-the-road club who had not tasted premiership success for 15 years.
Kevin's approach was to take no prisoners, work the players like they had never been worked and mobilise the board to support him.
Bucks, like Kevin, is his own man. From all reports he is a good listener but when it comes time to make a decision there is no doubt who has made it.
Buckley would bring innovative and clear thinking to Richmond. He would have no worries telling those in the office and out on the field what needed to be done.
As well qualified as Nathan is to coach the Tigers, it is Buckley who would benefit the most from the marriage.
Success at the Tigers would be like success at no other club. If Buckley was to bring home premiership No. 11 to Punt Rd his place in football history would have an extra dimension.
Given that coaches have been trying for 30 years to get this once-powerful club off the canvas, success at Richmond would stamp his greatness.
I don't underestimate the challenge. It is a job that has gobbled up Wallace, Robert Walls, John Northey and Danny Frawley. Surely it was not their fault alone that success did not come.
From the outside, Richmond looks more stable at board and management level. It's playing list needs some hard cuts, but has potential.
If Buckley can gain assurances that he will get the time and support he needs, the chance to coach Richmond is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he should not pass up.
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