Buckley Concedes Defence Lax

FOX SPORTS

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley concedes his team needs to defend better if they want to compete for this season'’s flag.
The injury-hit Magpies currently reside just inside the top eight after four wins from their opening seven matches and have games against undefeated Geelong and reigning premiers Sydney Swans to  contend with over the next two weeks.
Normally known for their unrelenting pressure and team defence, the Magpies have dropped off noticeably this season.
They sit 14th in points against, 16th in opposition goals per forward 50 entry and 17th in centre clearance differential.
Speaking on Fox Footy's On The Couch, Buckley said the imminent return of tough midfielder Luke Ball would help the situation but he agreed the defence was a concern going forward.
"We're looking forward to getting a couple of guys back that are pivotal to the way we want to play," he said.
"But we need to learn how to defend better as a team, across our whole 22.
"All it shows to us is we've got a lot of work to do to prove we're up there with the very best in the competition."
The Magpies were well beaten by Fremantle last Saturday night but Buckley said it was only lapses in the first and fourth quarters that let the team down.
The Dockers were kept to just 12 inside 50s during the second and third quarters.
"Whilst our good football is still pretty good, the alarming trend for us is when we fall off, we fall off to a three out of 10 and that's what is hurting us early in the season," he said.
"When you lose key contests, that can put players out of position and we're finding that is happening too often to us.
"It's a little bit of a work rate issue, it's probably six quarters out of the seven games that we're looking at and that's too many. We want to fix that and we get a chance to do that this Saturday."
The Magpies coach was also quizzed on his team's reliance on Travis Cloke.
Statistics showing the key forward has been the target an amazing 79 times inside 50 this season with the club’s next best being Jamie Elliott on 21.
"He's a dominant forward ... but it can't work without other targets in our forward line and that's what we're working towards," he said.
"Before you take about gameplan and style we need to make sure we have a consistent competitiveness over four quarters."