Footy’s fiercest feud revealed: Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley stuns the AFL as he slams his former mentor Mick Malthouse as a ‘rat cunning master manipulator’
- Nathan Buckley has lashed out at his former friend and mentor Mick Malthouse
- Legendary coach Malthouse was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame on Tuesday
- Buckley said they have been ‘enemies’ since he took over as head coach in 2012
- The coaching duo led the Pies to win the premiership flag over St Kilda in 2010
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has reignited an eight-year-old feud with his former mentor Mick Malthouse after he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
Malthouse, 65, was given the honour on Tuesday night and Buckley, 46, was not happy about it.
The Collingwood coach called him ‘rat cunning’ and a ‘master manipulator’ on radio station SEN on Wednesday.
Media personality Malthouse said he was blindsided by his former assistant coach’s comments in a separate interview on Thursday.
The pair infamously fell out when Buckley took over as head coach from Malthouse in 2012 despite his predecessor leading the team to back-to-back grand finals.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has reignited an eight-year-old feud with his former mentor Mick Malthouse after he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. He is pictured with his wife Tania
Malthouse said he was ‘disappointed’ by Buckley’s assertion that they were adversaries. He is pictured with his wife Nanette
Buckley said he was ‘one of the bodies on the side of the road’ in Malthouse’s career.
‘He’s rat cunning, a master manipulator and he got success from that. All credit to him,’ he said.
Buckley went on to say ‘Mick and I don’t get on’.
‘He doesn’t want to know about me, because I am now an enemy in his eyes. He will rewrite history to make sure that was always the case,’ he said.
Malthouse said he was ‘disappointed’ by Buckley’s assertion that they were adversaries.
‘I would never regard myself as an enemy of Nathan Buckley,’ he told The Herald Sun.
‘I have got the utmost respect for his playing career and for the way he has been able to turn around his coaching career.’
He said he even texted Buckley when he was in ‘real trouble’ during his shaky 2017 season but ‘never heard back’.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley (pictured left) has reignited an eight-year-old feud with his former mentor Mick Malthouse (pictured right) after he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame
Malthouse (left), 65, was inducted to the AFL Hall of Fame on Tuesday night but Buckley (right), 46, was not happy about it
The Malthouse-Buckley duo was once a force to be reckoned with in the AFL.
Collingwood reached the 2002 and 2003 grand finals with Malthouse as coach and Buckley as captain.
Buckley retired from the captaincy in 2007 and later returned to the club as assistant coach under Malthouse’s wing.
A rumoured ‘Kirribilli Agreement’ to transition Buckley into the head coach position and Malthouse into director of coaching was hatched in 2009.
Collingwood won the premiership flag in 2010 with Malthouse as coach and Buckley as assistant coach.
The duo led Collingwood to another grand final in 2011 but lost against Geelong.
A bitter Malthouse refused to stay at the club as director of coaching and went on to coach Carlton from 2013 to 2015.
Better days: Collingwood reached the 2002 and 2003 grand finals with Malthouse as coach and Buckley as captain, and also reached the year’s biggest game in 2010 and 2011 with Buckley as assistant coach to Malthouse
A TIMELINE OF TURMOIL: NATHAN BUCKLEY AND MICK MALTHOUSE
- 1994: Nathan Buckley joined Collingwood
- 1999: Buckley became the Pies Captain
- 2000: Mick Malthouse joined Collingwood as head coach
- 2002: The Pies lost the Grand Final with Buckley as captain and Malthouse as coach
- 2003: For a second year in a row, the Pies bottled the Grand Final with Buckley as captain and Malthouse as coach
- 2007: Buckley retired from playing AFL
- 2009: A secret plan to handover the head coach position called was made. Buckley became assistant coach under Malthouse’s wing.
- 2010: Collingwood won the premiership flag over St Kilda in the Grand Final
- 2011: The Pies made it to another Grand Final but lost to Geelong. Malthouse left Collingwood at the end of the season.
- 2012: Buckley took over as head coach
- 2013: Malthouse began coaching Carlton
The Malthouse-Buckley duo was once a force to be reckoned with in the AFL