Shaw on Buckley

SUPERFOOTY

Pre-Season Game 2 Collingwood v Carlton Sunday March 15, 4.40pm Queen Elizabeth Bendigo Fox Footy 4.30pm Weather: Min 12 Max 24 Chance of rain 5%: < 1mm Wind: SSE 21kph Betting: Collingwood $1.45 Carlton $2.75

COLLINGWOOD legend Tony Shaw says Nathan Buckley’s favourite son status won’t save him if the Pies’ slide continues.
Shaw told the Herald Sun he didn’t see Buckley in the gun, but said a “volatile” coaching industry meant his side had to start performing soon.
Buckley is contracted until the end of 2016 and his regeneration strategy has the backing of club chiefs.
But it’s Collingwood’s drop from fourth to sixth to 11th in his three years in charge that has the sharks starting to circle.
Shaw, a 1990 premiership captain and Norm Smith medallist, was told to resign as Magpie coach in 1999.
“It doesn’t matter what name you are, whether you’re a favourite son — and I’ve been through it — you’ve got to pay a price, but I hope it doesn’t happen because I’ve got enormous respect for the bloke,” Shaw said.
“I reckon they had heaps of excuses (last year), but the excuses fall by the wayside if they continue. It’s a big year, you’d hope they make the eight.
“He’s got two years left on the contract so I wouldn’t think anything would be done unless it’s disastrous and they were non-competitive in a lot of areas until his contract is up.
“The pressure is on, of course. You’ve got to keep competitive and keep winning, but poor clubs make poor decision. Ed’s backed him in and they’ve gone down that track.”
Former Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly, who was delisted by the Pies in 2013, said it was obvious his old side was “under the pump this year”.
“I’m sure he (Buckley) is probably feeling a bit of pressure to get the season underway and we’ll have to wait and see,” Jolly said.
“I’m sure they would have liked to have finished a bit higher the last few years, but ‘Bucks’ knows what he’s doing and they’re a big club with a lot of professional people.”
Incredibly, not one of 20 experts in the Herald Sun Footy 15 magazine, available tomorrow, has tipped Collingwood to play finals this year.
But Pies staffers remain bullish over what they claim is their best pre-season for some time, with a healthy list the cause for most optimism after a nightmare run of injuries in 2014.
Premiership defender Michael Christian, part of the fabled 1990 flag side, said he couldn’t understand the rumblings.
“I’ve heard people say this is a make or break year, but I don’t subscribe to the view that if Collingwood don’t make the eight in 2015 then we’ve got to start panicking,” Christian said.
“I’m quite optimistic and I still think there’s another 2-3 years with this group to hopefully make a Grand Final. I see 2016 as a real year where progress needs to be made and I don’t think it all hinges on 2015.”
Buckley delivered a stirring speech at Thursday night’s Collingwood season launch, finishing with a pointed reference to those critical of his progress.
“There’s plenty of people asking questions out there, about what we’re capable of,” Buckley told the crowd.
“They can ask all the questions they like. Only what we do on the park is going to count.”