Adam Treloar confesses he still has a soft spot for the Pies and wants to patch things up with Bucks

Adam Treloar admits he still has a soft spot for Collingwood despite his acrimonious exit 18 months ago, as the Bulldogs gun opened up on his desire to rekindle his relationship with Nathan Buckley. 

Treloar, 29, left the Pies in 2020 during a big summer clear out with the club facing salary cap pressure but his departure caused a seemingly irreparable rift with his former coach.

Buckley recently revealed that he has yet to catch up with the midfielder but insisted he would ‘love to connect with Ads again’, but only ‘when the time is right’. 

And Treloar has told AFL.com.au that he intends to break bread with Buckley, insisting that he still loves his old club. 

‘There definitely will be a time when we talk and it will be normal. We will probably brush over what happened, but it will be kind of how’s your life going? Because I know there’s been a bit happening in his life and there’s been quite a bit happening in my life,’ he said.

‘I just wish when I come up and when Bucks comes up to talk it wasn’t asked because there is going to be a time that we do talk because that love and care that I do have for him is always going to be there; it’s never not going to be there.

‘Look past everything that’s happened – the trade and everything – there was a time when mentally I was really struggling and I will always appreciate the love and support and the care that he gave me. There will be a time when we talk. Hopefully when that time comes there will be no more questions because the questions are just unnecessary. I’m not salty towards anything; I love this footy club; I love the Collingwood footy club; I appreciate my time there.

The 29-year-old enjoyed a strong five-year stay with the Pies before moving to the Bulldogs

He has not spoken to old coach Nathan Buckley since, but says he wants to rekindle things

‘When the trade happened, I spoke out here (Whitten Oval) for the first time; I had nothing but love and care for Bucks and it is still there, obviously, because it was such a fond period that time I spent at the footy club that I look back on. I’m extremely grateful for being there.

‘The amount of support that he gave me – I had my challenges there; I had a tough couple of years there where I was mentally struggling and I was very open and honest with that and he was there – he was someone that I would go to and lean on and speak to. It was something that I loved and appreciated and cherished.

‘It’s funny, people have been commenting and sending me private message saying: get over it, move on. I have moved on; I don’t hold any resentment; I don’t hold any grudges; there is nothing that I hold against anyone there. I love the footy club. I love everyone there. There’s players there that I wish all the best. I still find myself watching from afar half barracking for them because there is a lot of me that has a connection there with them.’

The 29-year-old has spoken openly about his mental health struggles in the past and after a 2021 hampered by injuries, is hoping to have a real impact for last year’s grand finalists this season. 

Treloar was hampered by injuries last year but wants to make an impact this season