Buckley's weekly interview with Gerard Whateley in 2018

[RudeBoy]

Thanks Woods. I always appreciate you posting these links.

[The Average Tourist]

[Geek]

^ And me

[K]

^^^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CU5UPi7STk

[Pipes1970]

[Albert Parker]

thx Woods

[Woods]

Buckley discussed the following on-air with Whateley this morning:

Gaff incident was an outlier and a throwback - eight week sanction is just and fair; Eliminating closed fist punching in the game - Buckley sees a difference between roundhouse and jumper punches; Thrilling weekend of tight footy; Forthcoming Brisbane game will be “a tough game to win”; Folly of looking at the ladder predictor; Sydney’s return to hard contested footy at weekend; Depleted Pies defence was factor in loss but also ability of Pies to adapt in-match; Frustration after the loss, but Pies didn’t lose face; Hussain Bolt joining the A League “amazing” - Buckley’s boys are “pumped” and “soccer in Aust. will be rapt”; How do you coach an individual athlete to play a team sport?; AFL’s methodical approach to rules changes but Buckley remains an pragmatic “evolutionist”; Everyone has confirmation bias in judging the state of the game; De Goey a chance to play this week after time off-loading stress on leg - “treading a tightrope” with risk but docs will make call; De Goey returning doesn’t simply mean Pies will win games; Treloar still a few weeks away from VFL; Elliot “now going into surgery”; Status of other “Hail Mary” returnees.

Audio podcast: https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=262706

[4everpies]

^^also said Howe was "touch & go". Bugger😭😢

[Woods]

Only a brief interview by phone this week.

Topics covered:

Mason Cox’s first column in today’s Herald Sun describing the absurdities of the game; Buckley on Cox's development as a player and how he coaches him; The increasing intensity of late season games - “look after the process, rest will look after itself”; Buckley watching last four Port games, - looking at “what works when they win” but 90% focusing on what we do best; Howe’s corky procedure went well; Treloar keen to return but “a bit of a Hail Mary” and might see him in finals (not before); Buckley’s talk with Lynch in July and story that he met with two others clubs, Collingwood last; Injury toll across the league at this stage of season - need to reduce length of games.

Audio podcast: https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=264745

[Albert Parker]

Thanks Woods

[duggieboy]

^^^ Much appreciated Woods. Love reading these

[RudeBoy]

Thanks again Woods.

[PyreneesPie]

Many thanks Woods.

[dalyc]

[Bucks5]

It is a subscriber only article. Hopefully I am allowed to do this.

Mason Cox opens up about the football traditions he originally struggled with but now embraces

MASON COX, Herald Sun
August 15, 2018 12:00pm
Subscriber only

UNIQUE. I can’t think of a better word to describe the AFL to people from back home who have never seen the game, or experienced the roar of the ‘mighty MCG.’

It’s easy to tell them about the big hits, marks and goals, but when it comes to some of the individual nuances, that is where the questions really flood in.

There are some things that don’t need explaining but as for ‘finger pistols’, little men running around in hot pink outfits and some quirky moments in the VFL — even I still struggle to wrap my head around them.

THE UMPIRES

In a sense, they are kind of like Collingwood supporters. Everyone loves to hate them.

Whether it is screaming ‘BALL!’ or players and supporters looking around dumbfounded after 50 metre penalties, I can’t remember the last time everyone agreed on an umpire’s call.

But having not grown up with Aussie Rules, there have been moments where I have had that same baffled look on my face.

Early in my career it was the paying of free kicks. They point in the opposite direction to every other sport in the world! I can’t tell you how many times I have completely run the wrong way screaming for the pill thinking it is our ball.

However that’s nothing compared to the first time I saw an umpire launch a throw in facing the opposite direction. I couldn’t help but scratch my head.

Each umpire has a unique way of doing it and in my opinion, the more theatrical the better!

It probably goes without explanation but centre bounces are easily another one of these head scratching circumstances.

I must also ask, what is with the finger pistols after goals? Surely there is a good story behind that and I want to hear it.

THE ‘HOT PINK’ RUNNERS

OK so you’re telling me that those little men running around in hot pink outfits give messages to players during games and sometimes run longer distances than the teams themselves? Where do I even start with this one?

That was one of the most noticeable goofy things of my first AFL experience.

My first ever organised game of footy was a practice match among ourselves. The intra-club ritual, as I now know it. The black team had just kicked a goal and Chris Howley, a high performance manager at the club, came to me and delivered a message straight from Bucks.

I looked at him perplexed, not only at how bright his shirt was, but also as to why the heck he was on the ground telling me messages from the head coach?!

I had totally forgotten runners existed and haven’t lived that down to this day.
It’s a lot easier when the messages come from Bucks.

WHAT’S WITH THE 90S PHONE?

I’ll be honest, I find this whole process a tad funny.

So the coach sees a player out of the team structure and my old friend the runner tells him to go to the bench. He then calls him on a telephone, which for some reason is from the 1990s, and proceeds to scream at him through the thing.

Then, once he’s done, he smashes the phone until it no longer works.

PRE/POST GAME CELEBRATIONS

Fun fact: Collingwood was the first side to have a team song and just like many other team songs, the music actually originated from guess where?

That’s right, the good ole US of A. Every time I sing it I have a grin about that one.

Where else in the world though do grown men sing whimsical tunes in a circle after a victory while showering first win teammates in sports drink? Nowhere, that’s where!

I didn’t quite understand the tradition but after my first win in the black and white I have to say it is one of my fondest memories.

Well that and jumper presentations before first games.

It is not unusual in Commonwealth sports but it was a first for me with the speech and presentation of a jumper representing a sort of ‘justification’ for your hard work.

When I received mine it was extra special because it wasn’t a captain or leader but a good friend that had been there since day one and taken me in as one of his own, Darcy Moore.

Not only did he present my jumper but also was the person who kicked to me to join the, ‘First-Kick, First Goal Club’. Something he continually reminds me of to this day.

THE VFL

I think at some point in their career, everyone should play in the twos, just to experience what I consider ‘the original football.’

It is a place full of cold “tinnies”, wooden benches, small cramped change rooms and who can forget the essential microwaved meat pies.

And when you’re playing in the VFL, never underestimate just how close the fans, and in some cases animals, can get to you.

In my first game I remember going out for a warm up and after a few sprints looking to my left to see someone waiting for their dog to finish defecating within 30 metres of me. The field is a public park so I guess, anything goes?

There is just something intangible about the atmosphere and what the people bring to VFL and local footy that is contagious.

Overall a lot of these things are just normal for most Australians. Over the years I have conditioned myself to not think twice about many of them, but when someone who has never seen the game before questions these things, I can’t help but smile and say, “footy is just unique.”