If Nathan Buckley had remained at Brisbane, and not initiated a trade to Collingwood 20 years ago this coming October, the chances are he could still be coaching at the Gabba this Saturday night.



It's just that he might be coaching the Lions instead of the Magpies.



That's how the sliding doors of the AFL world work.



Fortunately, Buckley made the move from what was once the Brisbane Bears to Collingwood at the end of his one and only season of playing AFL football in Queensland, 1993.



It's been every bit as productive a move as either the club or the player could have intended - far more, in fact. And, in hindsight, it was worth all the angst, the clandestine meetings and machinations, and every bit of guile available to make a trade happen.



Just look at Buckley's record at Collingwood. Many long-time fans speak with reverence about how Bucks sits among the top few players in the history of the club - every bit the contender to the great Bob Rose and other leading candidates.



And in the measurement of impact, it's hard to think that too many others except for the legendary coach and long-time player Jock McHale could have wielded as much influence and impact on the Collingwood Football Club.



As it stands, this week's match will be Buckley's 295th game with the Magpies - 260 as a player and his 35th as a coach.



He will bring up 300 games as a Collingwood player and coach against Adelaide in Round 16 - on top of the 20 that he played for the Brisbane Bears in 1993.



Buckley had wanted to be a Magpie player well before he became one. But the task to deck him out in black and white was an onerous one for all concerned.



He had wanted to play for Collingwood immediately after he had swept SANFL football by storm, winning just about every award imaginable in 1992. That season Buckley won the Magarey Medal (the fairest and best in the SANFL), a premiership medal with the Port Magpies, and the Jack Oatley Medal, as the best player in the SANFL grand final.



But Buckley had been tied to the lowly Brisbane Bears. The choice was simple - play another season in the SANFL or spend a year with the Bears and potentially chase a new home after one season.



The midfielder chose the latter, but was savvy enough to plot an exit clause that could see him move to Victoria Park. He had written into his one-year deal with the Bears that he must be traded to the club of his choice after the 1993 season.



Buckley's debut season with the Bears was as good as anyone - even Collingwood watching from afar - could have hoped for or imagined.



He played 20 games, polled 14 Brownlow votes (including a string of three successive three votes in games six, seven and eight), kicked 21 goals, averaged almost 23 touches per game, and showed more than a glimpse of what was to come.



Think Chris Judd's blistering first year with West Coast - only better. Judd's season average in 2002 was almost 16 touches per game and 21 goals overall from his 22 games. And Judd had to wait until his second year to win a Brownlow vote.



Ironically, the one game Buckley played against Collingwood - in Round 12 - he had a rare quiet game with 11 touches.



But the greatest shock of all came when Buckley finished runner-up to club favourite Michael McLean in the Bears' best-and-fairest. Some even suggested that it might have been a pay-back because Brisbane officials knew he wasn't staying.



By the time Buckley won the inaugural Norwich (as it was then) Rising Star award - beating a field that included future Brownlow Medallists James Hird, Shane Crawford and Mark Ricciuto, as well as Glenn Archer, Scott West, Matthew Richardson and a school kid called Dustin Fletcher - he was already seeking an exit to Melbourne, the city, and Collingwood, the club.



But that didn't stop other clubs, notably Geelong, and Carlton, from trying to claim the most wanted man in football.



The Cats relied on the power of Malcolm Blight, who had played footy with Buckley's father, Ray, in Adelaide and a group of players including Garry Hocking, who had played golf with him at Barwon Heads in September 1993, as part of the wooing.



The Blues relied on a more lucrative offer as well as the fact that Buckley's manager, Geof Motley, knew the club well as his son Peter had played there before his horrific car accident.



Motley would later say: "If I'd had a choice, I'd rather have seen him go to the Carlton Football Club. without question."



The Herald Sun's chief football reporter Mike Sheahan favoured Geelong as Buckley's most likely destination, revealing in a back page story on September 14 that the Cats were "poised" to strike a deal.



"Geelong is poised to sign Nathan Buckley in a deal that would earn the youngster a minimum of $500,000 for years," Sheahan wrote. "Sources say that Buckley, 21, has decided in principle to join the Cats, and will invoke what is believed to be 'get out' clause in his contract with Brisbane, where he played this year.



"Several other clubs in the scramble for the AFL's 1993 rookie of the year are resigned to defeat."



Collingwood wasn't prepared to concede anything. It had been talking to Buckley for more than 18 months and remained convinced it had given the star footballer every reason to sign on the black and white line.



Sheahan conceded: "Collingwood is seen to be the mystery suitor and Geelong's major threat."



The Bears too said at the time that they hadn't given up hope on retaining him, with chairman Noel Gordon saying: "As far as we are concerned, he's our player." But chief executive Andrew Ireland's wording throughout September did not inspire the same sort of confidence, when he said: "We have to simply get it over with and get it into the history books."



Buckley's time at Brisbane would be (italics) history (end italics) when on Sunday, September 20, he made one of the most important phone calls of his career - to his manager Motley - to alert him to the fact that he had chosen Collingwood.



And Motley immediately informed the Magpies, who were elated that they had made one of the biggest recruiting coups in AFL history, even if the two clubs still had to reach a tough and negotiated settlement on a suitable trade.



At the time, Buckley said: "The Bears did everything they possibly could for me. I was treated well. I was coached well and I believe I gave them a good year's service."



He stressed his burning ambition to play finals and play in the AFL heartland of Melbourne were crucial considerations.



"I don't care what money I get, just as long as my aims are fulfilled and finals are my major aim," he said.



"There's a lot of stuff been flying around about me asking for a specific amount of money and having pre-arranged ties with a club. Both are false."



Years later, he would say: "Once the season was over, I found I was still pretty keen to get to Melbourne - it's the mecca of football, after all. And the opportunity existed to go to Collingwood, which was still my first choice."



Motley summed it up succinctly: "He was torn two ways - loyalty against ambition. Basically, the ambition won out."



Collingwood, coming off a season in which the club finished eighth, was understandably delighted with the decision.



Magpies coach Leigh Matthews said: "Naturally, I'm very pleased he's decided to come to Collingwood." The club's president Allan McAlister, who had visited Buckley in Brisbane with football manager Graeme Allan shortly before he made his decision, added: "We're very excited." Allan said: "We're delighted Nathan's chosen Collingwood. In relation to the Brisbane Bears, we will be contacting them as soon as possible to arrange the transfer procedure."



That wouldn't be easy. As Sheahan forecast, the trade would "require the wisdom and diplomacy of Solomon."



He wasn't far wrong. For a start, the AFL questioned Collingwood and asked the club to provide the Commission with the details of any agreement it had made with Buckley, to ensure there had been no draft tampering or prejudicial behaviour.



The other part was just as tough - working out which players (the Bears wanted two) would be traded north along with Collingwood's first selection in the 1993 national draft.



The Magpies had to compile a list of 10 "untouchables" who were not up for grabs, and while the list of names was never revealed publicly, the media suggested they were: Gavin Brown, Tony Francis, Damian Monkhorst, Mick McGuane, Scott Russell, Graham Wright, Saverio Rocca, Shane Watson, Paul Williams and Jason McCartney.



It was assumed that Tony Shaw, Peter Daicos and Gary Pert would not fit the Bears' long-term plans due to their age, though it was known that the Queensland-based club had an interest in Pert.



Shaw joked with Matthews at a Grand Final breakfast that he wanted a guarantee that he wasn't off to Brisbane. Matthews laughed and told him he was safe.



But premiership players Craig Kelly, Gavin Crosisca and Craig Starcevich were spoken about as options, as well as Mark Fraser, Troy Lehmann, Kent Butcher and Damian Houlihan.



Starcevich and Lehmann were the favoured ones to move.



Starcevich was sound asleep in Bali on the club's end-of-season trip when he found out that he was a chance to go. He told this reporter at the time: "It's a bit of a shock when you hear it, but there's nothing I can do about it.



"We've heard some stories about a list (of untouchables) in the last few weeks. But shifting to Brisbane is not on my priority list. My wife and I love living in Melbourne and it would tug at my heart strings to leave Collingwood."



But Starcevich would get used to the option of continuing his career in Brisbane, as would Lehmann, despite some initial reluctance that threw a spanner in the trade works.



As a consequence, and with the trade looking wobbly, the Magpies launched Supreme Court action against Brisbane the day before the trade deadline to try and guarantee that the Buckley deal would go through - as the clause had stated.



It was adjourned, after a request from the Bears for a delay to try and not prejudice the discussions with a second player (believed to be Lehmann) it was chasing as part of the trade.



In the end, it went through before the 2pm deadline the next day, with Starcevich and Lehmann agreeing to move, as well as the Magpies giving the Bears their first selection in the draft.



Brisbane would use this selection on a kid called Chris Scott, who would end up playing in two premierships as a player (one of them against Collingwood) and who is now a premiership coach with Geelong (in a Grand Final win over Collingwood).



Buckley could not have been happier finally making it to Collingwood - his favoured destination all along. But as confident as he was - some even would suggest he was a bit brash and cocky - the midfielder admitted he had plenty of work to do.



"It's just where I want to be," he said. "I believe I gave Brisbane a good year of service and now I want to stick my head down and do the same for Collingwood.



"I'll have to work doubly hard to repay them for what they've done because they've put a lot of work into getting me.



"First and foremost, I'm a footballer. Now I'm in control and it's up to me what happens.



"I'm hungry to win games and I'm hungry to play in finals.



"I eat, sleep and breathe the game. Brisbane is a rugby city and you don't realise how much until you live here. Melbourne is the only place to be if you want to experience real football culture."



He chose No.5 - Ronnie McKeown's former number - out of deference to two people who had been important to him - Brisbane's Nathan Chapman (his best mate there) and former Port Adelaide and Collingwood player Bruce Abernethy.



Sheahan predicted a bright future for Buckley in black and white.



"Buckley will be good," he wrote. "Anyone who has seen him play for more than 10 minutes knows he has class. Anyone who has seen and heard him apply himself to his football task knows his attitude is exemplary."



Almost 20 years on, Buckley still exudes that same class and an attitude to succeed continues to drive him - and hopefully Collingwood - onto being the best they can be.





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