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“When it comes to Collingwood the expectation always exceeds the capabilities”

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is adamant his AFL side has bottomed out, having missed finals for the third year in a row.

Aug 29, 2016, updated Aug 29, 2016
Collingwood Head of Football Neil Balme speaks with coach Nathan Buckley after yesterday's loss to Hawthorn. Photo: Julian Smith / AAP

Collingwood Head of Football Neil Balme speaks with coach Nathan Buckley after yesterday's loss to Hawthorn. Photo: Julian Smith / AAP

The Magpies improved in the second half of the 2016 season, culminating in a one-point loss to triple reigning premiers Hawthorn in the final round.

They finished 12th on the ladder after recording nine wins.

Buckley noted “when it comes to Collingwood the expectation always exceeds the capabilities”.

But the fifth-year coach, who played 260 games for the Magpies and recently declared he’s likely to be out of a job if they fail to reach the 2017 finals, predicted bigger and better things next year.

“The reality is that we’ve missed finals in ’14, ’15, ’16 and we’ve bottomed out but we’re on our way back up,” Buckley said.

“We’re not going back any further and we’ve been able to regenerate and get some really high-end talent.

“We’ve got some really good opportunities going forward if we make the most of what we’ve got.”

Buckley will travel to the United States during the off-season, seeking to learn some lessons from college football sides.

“We need to continually find points of difference in the way we do things,” he said.

Buckley was tightlipped when asked about Graeme Allan, who is expected to replace Neil Balme as the Magpies’ head of football.

Regarding the off-season frenzy and what sort of players he wanted to recruit, Buckley said he was interested in “any way we can improve our list”.

-AAP

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