Nathan Buckley

The Australian

Collingwood v Adelaide Saturday April 11, 4.35pm Etihad Fox Footy 4.30pm Weather: Min 10 Max 21 Chance of rain 30%: < 1mm Wind: S 17kph Betting: Collingwood $2.40 Adelaide $1.55

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley’s reputation for being too intense – and then by extension too stubborn or inflexible – vanished for a moment at the Gabba on Saturday night.
The Brownlow Medallist smiled. He laughed.
The man who has regretted smashing telephones in the coach’s box took pleasure in seeing Magpies playmaker Steele Sidebottom snap a goal along the boundary line next to a behind post in the third term. Buckley can enjoy football as a coach.
How comfortable Buckley felt after this rare moment – as Brisbane hacked away at Collingwood’s 53-point lead with seven unanswered goals – was not a laughing matter.
He did not look overly stressed after dodging a bullet (by 12 points) on a rainy, humid night in Brisbane when many expected either Collingwood or the recharged Essendon to be the headline of the opening round.
Buckley is a storyline in the making this season.
It is his fourth year as Collingwood coach, a job he gained with the Magpies ranked second in 2011 after Michael Malthouse was ushered away as a losing grand final coach.
Since then Collingwood has ranked fourth, sixth and 11th – a trend that has to change if Buckley is to avoid becoming the story of the year.
How convincing Collingwood’s claim to rebounding in 2015 stands is for more than one game.