Nathan Buckley is not surprised by Collingwood’s impressive start to season 2022.
The Magpies have won their first two matches under new coach Craig McRae, beating St Kilda by 17 points in Round 1 before comfortably accounting for Adelaide by 42 points on Saturday.
It has been a positive beginning to the new campaign with the Pies playing a revitalised brand after struggling in 2021.
Former Pies coach Buckley was asked if he was surprised by how the side has performed in the early stages of the campaign.
“No, I believed that their best football was going to be really good and I said as much,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“Let’s pump the brakes on them a little, they haven’t played highly rated sides yet and there would be bigger challenges in front of them.
“But they’ve played a really well-balanced game style, they’ve been really good in the contest, they’ve been efficient when they’ve gone forward.”
Buckley believes the Collingwood defence holds the key to them playing with so much freedom.
The Pies scored 100 or more just once last year and have already posted scores of 102 and 100, reminding the club great of the 2018 and 2019 sides he coached.
“The biggest thing that will allow them to be successful this year will be built on the back of their back six,” he added.
“If (Darcy) Moore and (Jeremy) Howe can play every game together, (Brayden) Maynard is still not back in that side
“They’ve got some weapons where they need them.
“This isn’t post analysis, but this is the reality. When I was watching the Collingwood players from contests stream forward with hands, it looked like us in ‘18 and ‘19.
“So, it’s not something that hasn’t been there before. It was powerful.”
One of the major reasons for the turnaround in form, according to Buckley, is the fact that the players now have a “blank canvas” under McRae.
“This playing group have got that DNA and capacity in them. It wasn’t there for a period and there are a number of reasons - clean skills, belief, opportunity, having a blank canvas and the personnel, at times,” he said.
“They’ve got a blank canvas, they’ve got a playing group that want to bounce back, they’ve got a fundamental grounding in the right manner and ‘Fly’ (McRae) has got them doing what he wants them to do.”
The Pies currently sit second on the ladder and will look to go 3-0 when they host Geelong at the MCG on Saturday night.