Bucks’ blunt response to burning question as fellow panellist paints bleak Blues picture

Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley has delivered a blunt, punchy response to the prospect of coaching Carlton as speculation on Michael Voss’ future intensifies.

The Blues have lost their past six consecutive games to slip to 16th on the AFL ladder with a 1-7 record. Their loss to St Kilda on Saturday night was the latest example of the Blues throwing away a promising first half, with the Saints booting nine consecutive goals to set up a 39-point win.

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The club’s form slump has only upped the scrutiny on the position of Voss, whose Carlton contract expires at the end of this season.

Buckley, a former Collingwood coach who’s now an assistant at Geelong, was asked by fellow On The Couch panellist Jack Riewoldt on Monday night whether he’d consider coaching the Blues – a direct question that prompted a direct answer.

Jack Riewoldt said: “‘Bucks’, you’ve spoken about your desire to coach and you’ve been linked to Tasmania. You’ve obviously coached an enormous club in Collingwood before. If the job came up at Carlton – which many expect will happen – is it something that you’d entertain? Do you look at Carlton and think that’s a role you could fill?”

Buckley responded: “No, I haven’t even thought about it.”

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Riewoldt earlier suggested the situation around Voss at Carlton reminded him of Damien Hardwick’s final days at Richmond, with Hardwick ultimately walking away from the club in late May, 2023.

“It’s fascinating once a team gets a run on and gets pummelled like they did in that third quarter (against St Kilda), you look to the huddle and what sort of messaging Michael Voss is displaying across,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

“This is not a Carlton situation, but we’ve all been in a side where you’re struggling and the coach’s messaging starts to get dire.

“I lived this with ‘Dimma’ and the famous line where he said: ‘I’ve cooked the sausage a thousand times, I just can’t find a way to cook it again.‘ I sense that Carlton are in this situation right now and Michael Voss has tried everything and his players aren’t standing up.”

While Voss’ Carlton coaching tenure remains in serious doubt, the state of the Blues’ list remains a big concern for four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis.

Lewis after Round 2 last year claimed only five players would walk into any other club’s best 23. Two of those five players highlighted – Charlie Curnow and Tom De Koning – are now at different clubs.

On Monday night, Lewis did the same task with Carlton’s line-up from its loss to St Kilda … and picked less Blues players.

“A little over 12 months on, if you do the same exercise and put the team up and the best 22 from this year, I think there’s one player that would walk into any other side in the competition – and that is Sam Walsh,” Lewis told On The Couch.

“Now you can tell me if I’m being too harsh. But on current form, I don’t think any player on that list (of players) would walk into another team right now.”

Riewoldt added: “I don’t think I can argue with you there – and I think that’s an indictment on the development side of Carlton and just shows the drastic decline in what has actually happened under Michael Voss.

“It doesn’t paint a very good picture for his future that we think only one player could walk into 18 teams there.”

But Buckley said it was important to remember the Blues not long ago were one of the most in-form teams under Voss.

“Not two years ago, Carlton were second on the ladder, had won 11 of their past 15 games and were playing to consolidate their top four and I think they were paying $5 for the premiership,” Buckley said. “Not that the betting market is anything we want to use as a guide but that’s where they were.

“There’s been a lot that’s happened for them to slide to the position they’re in at the moment. Vossy is in a spot, he and his coaching group and the football program haven’t been able to find an answer to these fade-outs.

“I think they’ve been proactive with moving some of their players on and some have decided to leave. They have started to regenerate and bring in a little bit more youth or different players into the mix, but they just haven’t been able to find a competitive mix for long enough.”