Nathan Buckley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nathan Buckley
Buckley with Collingwood in March 2017
Personal information
Full name	Nathan Charles Buckley
Nickname(s)	Bucks
Date of birth	(1972-07-26) 26 July 1972 (age 52)
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
AFL Brownlow Medal: 2003 Norm Smith Medal: 2002 AFLCA Champion Player of the Year: 2003 7× All-Australian team: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 AFL Rising Star: 1993 Herald Sun Player of the Year: 1998 Australian Football League Life Member: 2006 Australian Football Hall of Fame: Inducted 2011 Collingwood 6× Copeland Trophy: 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003 R.T. Rush Trophy (2nd B&F): 1997 J.J. Joyce Trophy (3rd B&F): 2001 Bob Rose Trophy (Best Finals Player): 2003 Collingwood captain: 1999–2007 Collingwood Football Club Hall of Fame: Inducted 2004 Collingwood Football Club Life Member: 2004 Collingwood Team of the Century SANFL Port Adelaide Premiership player: 1992 Magarey Medal: 1992 Jack Oatey Medal: 1992 Port Adelaide (SANFL) Best and Fairest: 1992 Representative Jesaulenko Medal: 1997 Captain of the Allies: 1997 International Rules 1998-1999 Coaching AFLCA Coach of the Year: 2018

Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a famous former professional Australian rules football coach, player, and commentator. He is often called "Bucks."

Buckley won the very first AFL Rising Star award in 1993. This award goes to the best young player in the league. He became one of the best players in the game. He was captain of the Collingwood Football Club from 1999 to 2007.

In 2002, he won the Norm Smith Medal for being the best player in the AFL Grand Final. He won this even though his team lost, which is very rare! In 2003, he won the Brownlow Medal, which is given to the fairest and best player in the league.

Buckley won Collingwood's top award, the Copeland Trophy, six times. He was also chosen for the All-Australian Team seven times. This team features the best players from across the league. He was even named in the Collingwood Team of the Century.

In 2004, Nathan 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. Later, he became an assistant coach for Collingwood in 2010 and 2011. He was part of the team that won the premiership in 2010. From 2012 to 2021, he was the head coach for Collingwood.

Playing Career Highlights

Nathan Buckley was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 26 July 1972. His family moved around Australia a lot when he was young. By the time he was 12, he had visited all the main states. He grew up cheering for the Melbourne Football Club.

Early Football Days

Nathan spent most of his childhood (from about 10 to 17 years old) in the Northern Territory. This is why some people call him a "Territorian." When he was 14, he tried playing tennis instead of football. But his dad sent him to a boarding school in Victoria. This helped him get excited about football again.

He played junior football at the Nightcliff Football Club. He also played for the Northern Territory school team in 1983 and 1984. His first senior games were for Southern Districts Football Club in Darwin. He went to St John's College, Darwin for high school. There, he played football with future AFL stars like Andrew McLeod and Michael Long.

He also played cricket and even Australian rules football in Canberra for a season. He was considered a Northern Territory player for "State of Origin" games. He played for a combined Queensland/Northern Territory team and "The Allies."

Playing for Port Adelaide

Nathan's football skills were clear from a young age. He joined the Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). In 1992, he had an amazing year. He won his only senior premiership with Port Adelaide. He also won the Magarey Medal, which is the SANFL's best and fairest award. On top of that, he won the Jack Oatey Medal for being the best player in the SANFL Grand Final. He also won Port Adelaide's club best and fairest award.

Time with the Brisbane Bears

In the 1991 AFL Draft, the Brisbane Bears picked Nathan Buckley. They were a struggling team in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nathan didn't want to move to Brisbane because he dreamed of playing in Melbourne. Melbourne is known for its strong football culture.

However, AFL rules meant he couldn't play for another AFL club right away. So, he stayed in the SANFL for a bit. He eventually signed with the Bears for the 1993 AFL season. This was part of a deal that let him move to a club of his choice the next season. Brisbane hoped he would change his mind.

Nathan showed his talent right away. He played 20 games and kicked 21 goals. He was the first player to win the AFL Rising Star award. He also came in second for the Bears' best-and-fairest award.

Joining Collingwood Football Club

After his first season, everyone knew about Nathan's deal with the Bears. Many Melbourne clubs wanted him, especially Collingwood Football Club. Collingwood made a trade deal that worked for everyone. They traded two players and their first draft pick for Buckley.

Nathan believed moving to Collingwood was the right choice to win a premiership. But, it's interesting that Brisbane went on to win three premierships while Nathan was playing. Collingwood didn't win any during that time. Brisbane even beat Collingwood in two Grand Finals in a row in 2002 and 2003.

Despite this, Nathan was a consistent star for Collingwood. He won the Brownlow Medal in 2003. He also won Collingwood's Best and Fairest award, the Copeland Trophy, six times. He was named in the All-Australian Team for six years in a row.

In 1999, Nathan broke his jaw. He came back later that season to help Collingwood win their first game in 13 matches. He also played in the last game at Collingwood's old home ground, Victoria Park, Melbourne.

Collingwood Captaincy

In 1999, Nathan Buckley became the captain of Collingwood. He took over from Gavin Brown. The club went through many changes around this time. Eddie McGuire became the club president in 1998. Mick Malthouse became the coach in 2000. Nathan was a star player during these years. In 2001, he set a record by getting 46 disposals in one game.

In 2002, Collingwood made it to the AFL Grand Final. Nathan had an amazing game and won the Norm Smith Medal. This award goes to the best player in the Grand Final. He was the first player since 1989 to win it from a losing team. His great play helped Collingwood stay close in the game.

In 2003, Nathan won his biggest individual award, the Brownlow Medal. He tied with two other players, Mark Ricciuto and Adam Goodes. The next week, he played in his second Grand Final, but Collingwood lost again to the Brisbane Lions.

After 2003, Nathan had some tough seasons with hamstring injuries. He became a life member of the Collingwood Football Club in 2004. In 2006, he also became an AFL Life Member. This was for playing his 300th official AFL match.

In 2007, after more hamstring problems, Nathan played his first game of the year in the VFL. He played very well. He then returned to the Collingwood team for their last games and all three finals. Collingwood lost a close preliminary final to Geelong Football Club. Three weeks later, on 5 October 2007, Nathan Buckley announced he was retiring from playing.

Coaching Career at Collingwood

After he stopped playing, Nathan Buckley signed a five-year deal with the Collingwood Football Club. In 2009, the club announced a plan. The head coach, Mick Malthouse, would hand over his job to Nathan Buckley at the end of the 2011 season.

Nathan was an assistant coach under Malthouse in 2010 and 2011. He was part of the coaching team when Collingwood won the premiership in 2010. He then became the head coach in 2012.

Coaching Seasons

Collingwood started the 2012 AFL season a bit slowly under Buckley. But they soon won ten games in a row. They finished fourth in the season. They made it to the Preliminary Final but lost to Sydney.

In 2013, Collingwood finished sixth. They lost their first finals game to Port Adelaide. Nathan said the club needed to improve its culture.

Collingwood missed the finals in 2014, finishing 11th. They also missed the finals in 2015 and 2016, finishing 11th and 12th. During this time, Nathan was working on rebuilding the team with new players.

In 2017, Collingwood finished 13th. But they finished the season strongly. At the end of 2017, Nathan was given a new two-year contract.

In the 2018 AFL season, Nathan coached Collingwood to their first Grand Final since 2011. They had many injuries but still did very well. Collingwood lost the Grand Final to the West Coast Eagles by just 5 points. This great performance earned him another two-year contract.

In 2019, Collingwood finished fourth. They won their first finals game but lost a very close Preliminary Final to the GWS Giants by 4 points.

The 2020 AFL season was affected by COVID-19. Collingwood had to travel a lot. They finished eighth and won their first finals game. But they were knocked out by Geelong the next week.

In 2021, Collingwood had a tough start to the season. On 9 June 2021, Nathan Buckley announced he would step down as head coach. His last game was in Round 13 against Melbourne, which Collingwood won. He was replaced by assistant coach Robert Harvey.

Media Appearances

Nathan Buckley has appeared on "The Footy Show" as a panelist. He also worked as a commentator for the Seven Network and radio station 3AW after he retired as a player.

Since 2022, Nathan 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, Nathan was a contestant on the TV show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Australia." He finished in third place.

Personal Life

Nathan Buckley is married to Tania Minnici. They have two sons, Jett Charles (born 2006) and Ayce Dominic (born 2008).

Nathan 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.

Statistics

Playing statistics

Head Coaching Record

Honours and Achievements

• Team Awards
  • SANFL
    • 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 (vice-captain), 2001, 2003 (vice-captain)
    • 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 Representative Honours in International Rules Series: 1999 (captain)
    • State of Origin Representative Honours for the Allies: 1997
    • AFL Rising Star Nominee: 1993 (Round 7)
    • Collingwood Captain: 1999-2007
    • Collingwood Team of the Century – Half-Back Flank