A Brisbane win this weekend might mean the most perfect act of symmetry in AFL history
After famously leaving the Brisbane Bears after one season, Nathan Buckley faces his old club this weekend in a match that has the danger of ending his coaching career.
There’s no question about it, Buckley’s tenure as coach of Collingwood has been under the pump from round one — and a come from behind victory against the Hawks won’t do too much to alleviate that pressure, particularly if the Pies put in a dour performance against Brisbane at the MCG on Sunday.
And the football anarchist inside of me not so secretly hopes they do.
Think about the beauty in the chaos of a Collingwood loss to the Lions.
Now think about the magnificence in a Brisbane Lions victory ending Nathan Buckley’s career.
Regardless of the success the club had after his departure, there still is a lingering resentment towards the Brownlow Medallist from the Brisbane faithful.
For his entire playing career, Buckley was jeered for his decision to leave Brisbane just one season after joining them, and on the back of winning the Rising Star award.
In what would arguably be the greatest moment of symmetry in AFL/VFL history, Brisbane sending Buckley, the man who left their flailing club for the Magpies ‘to win premierships’, would complete the most perfect of football circles.
Much has been said about the Lions’ three premierships after Buckley’s departure.
More has been said about the fact that two of them came against the man himself.
But a win against the Magpies this week would trump them all.
The ability for a club to end the coaching career of a former player that burned them is just too great to pass up.
There’s obviously a lot standing in the way of the Lions pulling off this feat, injuries to key players and an inexperienced list being the main two, but stranger things have happened.
If Chris Fagan is looking for a motivating factor for this week’s match-up, then this has to be it.
The entire footy world, well the parts that aren’t glazed in black and white, will be behind them, and having pulled off a 67-point victory against the Pies at the ‘G in 2014, the Lions should know that a stirring victory isn’t out of the question.
Granted the Lions will be without Tom Rockliff who tore the Pies apart that night with 43 touches, six clearances and nine tackles, but they now have a man that wore a Collingwood jumper that night in their midst, with club captain Dayne Beams just one of the Pies’ star brigade that exited the club under Buck’s watch.
It’s all lining up for a historic Lions victory.
Bucks leaves Brisbane for Collingwood; Bucks leaves Collingwood because of Brisbane — how beautiful does that sound?
