Nathan Buckley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nathan Buckley |
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Buckley with Collingwood in March 2017
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Nathan Charles Buckley | ||
| Nickname(s) | Bucks | ||
| Date of birth | 26 July 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Adelaide, South Australia | ||
| Original team | Port Adelaide (SANFL)/Southern Districts Football Club | ||
| Draft | Zone selection, Brisbane Bears | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Career highlights | |||
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AFL
Collingwood
SANFL
Representative
Coaching
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Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a famous former professional Australian rules football coach, player, and commentator. He is known as one of the best players of all time.
Buckley won the first-ever Rising Star Award in 1993. He became a top player, leading the Collingwood team as captain from 1999 to 2007. He won the Norm Smith Medal in the 2002 Grand Final, even though his team lost. He also won the Brownlow Medal in 2003.
He won Collingwood's Best and Fairest award, the Copeland Trophy, six times. He was also named in the Collingwood Team of the Century. Buckley was chosen for the All-Australian Team seven times. He also captained the Australian international rules football team against Ireland.
In 2004, Buckley was one of the first players to be added to the Collingwood Hall of Fame. He stopped playing at the end of the 2007 season. He then became an assistant coach for Collingwood in 2010 and 2011. He was part of the team that won the premiership in 2010. He became the head coach in 2012 and coached until the middle of the 2021 season.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Early Life and Football Beginnings
Nathan Buckley was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 26 July 1972. His family moved a lot around Australia. By the time he was 12, he had visited all the main states. He grew up supporting the Melbourne Football Club.
Buckley spent most of his younger football years, from ages 10 to 17, in the Northern Territory. This is why some people call him a "Territorian." When he was 14, he wanted to play tennis instead of football. His father sent him to a boarding school in Victoria, Salesian College, to help him get excited about football again.
He played junior football at the Nightcliff Football Club. He also played for the Northern Territory at school in 1983 and 1984. He first played senior football at Southern Districts in Darwin. He finished school at St John's College, Darwin. There, he played school football with future AFL players like Andrew McLeod and Michael Long.
He also played cricket and even played football in Canberra for a season when he was 13. He was considered a Northern Territory player for State of Origin games. He played for a combined Queensland/Northern Territory team and later for The Allies.
Joining Port Adelaide (SANFL)
Nathan Buckley's football skills were noticed early on. He joined the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club Port Adelaide. In 1992, he had an amazing year. He won his only senior premiership with the team.
He also won the Magarey Medal, which is the SANFL's award for the best and fairest player in the league. He won the Jack Oatey Medal for being the best player in the SANFL Grand Final. Plus, he won his club's best and fairest award. While playing for Port Adelaide, he also studied Town Planning at the University of South Australia.
Time with the Brisbane Bears
In the 1991 AFL Draft, the Brisbane Bears picked Nathan Buckley. They were an Australian Football League (AFL) club that was struggling at the time. Buckley didn't want to move to Brisbane. He dreamed of playing in Melbourne because of its strong football culture.
However, AFL draft rules meant he couldn't play for another AFL club. So, he stayed in the SANFL for a while. Buckley eventually signed with the Bears for the 1993 AFL season. This was part of a deal that allowed him to move to a club of his choice the next season.
Brisbane hoped he would change his mind during his time there. Buckley quickly showed how talented he was. He played 20 games, kicked 21 goals, and impressed everyone. He won the first-ever Norwich Rising Star Award. He also came in second for the Bears' best-and-fairest award.
Becoming a Collingwood Star
After his first season, everyone knew about Buckley's deal with the Bears. Many Melbourne clubs wanted him, especially Collingwood, Geelong, and North Melbourne. Collingwood made a trade deal that worked for everyone.
Collingwood traded two players, Craig Starcevich and Troy Lehmann, and their first draft pick for Buckley. Buckley believed moving to Collingwood was the right choice to win a premiership. However, Brisbane went on to win three premierships while Buckley was playing, and Collingwood didn't win any. Brisbane even beat Collingwood in two Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003.
In his first year with Collingwood, in 1994, his team lost to the West Coast Eagles by just two points. From then on, Buckley was a very consistent player for Collingwood. He won the Brownlow Medal in 2003. He also finished in the top three for the Brownlow twice before 2000.
He won Collingwood's Best and Fairest award, the Copeland Trophy, six times in 10 years. He was also chosen for the All-Australian Team for six years in a row, from 1996 to 2002. In 1999, Buckley broke his jaw in a game. He returned later that season to help Collingwood win their first game of the year. Collingwood finished last that season, which was rare for them.
Leading the Magpies as Captain
In 1999, Collingwood's coach, Tony Shaw, made Nathan Buckley the team captain. He took over from Gavin Brown. Collingwood went through many changes around this time. Eddie McGuire became the club president in 1998, and Mick Malthouse became coach in 2000.
Collingwood finished 15th in 2000 and ninth in 2001. Buckley played brilliantly in both seasons. In 2001, he set a record by getting 46 disposals in one game. This was the highest total since quarters were shortened in 1994. This record stood until 2009.
In 2002, Collingwood reached the AFL Grand Final for the first time with Buckley as captain. Buckley had an amazing game and won the Norm Smith Medal for being the best player on the field. He was the first player since 1989 to win this award from a losing team. His strong play helped Collingwood stay close in the game.
In 2003, Buckley won his biggest individual award, the Brownlow Medal. He shared it with two other players, Mark Ricciuto and Adam Goodes. The next Saturday, Buckley played in his second Grand Final, but Collingwood lost to the Brisbane Lions again. Buckley was his team's best player with 24 disposals.
After his incredible 2003 season, Buckley had some tough years in 2004 and 2005 due to hamstring problems. He missed many games and played in different positions. In 2004, Buckley was given life membership at the Collingwood Football Club. In 2006, he received AFL Life Membership after playing his 300th official AFL match.
Buckley was rested twice during the 2006 season. At the end of that year, he thought about stepping down as captain. However, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire said Buckley would stay as captain.
Due to serious hamstring issues, Buckley played his first game of 2007 in the VFL on 18 August 2007. He was named best on ground, getting 29 possessions and kicking four goals. He returned to the Collingwood team the next week. He played in the last two regular season games and all three finals. This included a thrilling win against West Coast in extra time. His final game was a close loss to Geelong in the preliminary final. Three weeks later, on 5 October 2007, Buckley announced he was retiring from playing.
Coaching Career
Leading Collingwood as Coach
After much talk, Nathan Buckley signed a 5-year deal with the Collingwood Football Club. In July 2009, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire announced a plan. The head coach, Mick Malthouse, would hand over his role to Buckley at the end of the 2011 season.
Buckley was an assistant coach under Malthouse for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. He was part of the coaching team when Collingwood won the premiership in 2010. He then became the head coach in 2012, as planned. He first signed a three-year contract.
Collingwood started the 2012 season a bit slowly under Buckley. But they soon won ten games in a row and finished fourth. They lost in the Preliminary Final to Sydney. In 2013, the Magpies struggled to find consistency and lost in the Elimination Final. Buckley questioned the team's culture after this loss.
Buckley's contract was extended until the end of 2016 in March 2014. However, Collingwood had a tough 2014 season, missing the finals due to injuries. The 2015 season was mixed. Collingwood started well but then struggled in the second half, missing the finals again. Buckley was working to rebuild the team during this time.
In March 2016, Buckley received a one-year contract extension until the end of 2017. The 2016 season was another tough one with injuries and poor form. Collingwood finished 12th. Buckley took responsibility for the team's performance. Poor results continued into early 2017. However, Collingwood finished the season strongly.
At the end of the 2017 season, Buckley was given a two-year contract extension. In the 2018 season, despite many injuries, Buckley led Collingwood to their first Grand Final since 2011. Collingwood lost that Grand Final to the West Coast Eagles by just 5 points.
Collingwood's improved performance earned Buckley another 2-year contract extension until the end of 2021. This good form continued into 2019. Collingwood finished fourth and won their first finals game. But they lost a very close Preliminary Final to the GWS Giants by 4 points.
The 2020 season was affected by COVID-19. Collingwood had to stay in special "hubs" away from home. The club was fined because Buckley and an assistant coach broke COVID rules. Collingwood had an up-and-down year, finishing eighth. They won a close finals game but were then knocked out by Geelong.
After a difficult start to the 2021 season, people began to wonder if Buckley would be sacked. On 9 June 2021, Buckley announced he would step down as head coach after the Round 13 game. Collingwood won that game by 17 points. Buckley was replaced by assistant coach Robert Harvey for the rest of the 2021 season.
Media and Other Activities
Buckley has appeared on TV shows like The Footy Show as a panelist. He was also in advertisements for a company called Unwired. After he stopped playing, Buckley worked as a commentator for the Seven Network and radio station 3AW in 2008-2009.
He also took part in a celebrity car race at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, where he finished second. Since 2022, Buckley has presented a live show called Best on Ground on Fox Footy. He also comments on matches for the network. He joins On The Couch with Garry Lyon and Jonathan Brown every Monday night.
In January 2022, Buckley was a contestant on the eighth season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Australia. He finished in third place.
Personal Life
Nathan Buckley was part of the AFL's "Laws of the Game" or Rules Committee for a time. On 31 December 2002, Buckley married Tania Minnici. They have two sons, Jett Charles (born 2006) and Ayce Dominic (born 2008).
Buckley is also involved in harness racing. He owns a horse named Hurricane Jett, which is named after his oldest son. In 2008, Nathan Buckley's autobiography, All I Can Be, was published.
Playing Statistics Summary
Nathan Buckley played a total of 280 games and kicked 284 goals in his AFL career. He was known for getting a lot of possessions (the ball) during games.
| Career Totals | Games | Goals | Kicks | Handballs | Disposals | Marks | Tackles | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 280 | 284 | 5075 | 1812 | 6887 | 1408 | 642 | ||
Head Coaching Record Summary
Nathan Buckley coached Collingwood for 10 seasons, from 2012 to 2021.
| Team | Years Coached | Home and Away Season | Finals | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Drew | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Drew | Win % | Result | ||
| COLL | 2012–2021 | 112 | 92 | 2 | .549 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | ||
Awards and Achievements
- Team Awards
- SANFL Premiership (Port Adelaide): 1992
- Individual Awards
- SANFL
- Magarey Medal: 1992
- Jack Oatey Medal: 1992
- Port Adelaide Best and Fairest (SANFL): 1992
- AFL
- Brownlow Medal: 2003
- Norm Smith Medal: 2002
- All-Australian: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
- Copeland Trophy: 1994 (tied), 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003
- Alex Jesaulenko Medal: 1997
- AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2003
- Herald Sun Player of the Year Award: 1998
- AFL Rising Star Award: 1993
- Australian International Rules Team: 1999 (captain)
- State of Origin Representative for the Allies: 1997
- Collingwood Captain: 1999-2007
- Collingwood Team of the Century – half-back flank
- SANFL
