IF COLLINGWOOD recruit Daniel Wells plays 15 games a season for the next three years then it will be a "massive success" for the club, according to coach Nathan Buckley.

The former Kangaroo joined the Magpies at the end of last season as an unrestricted free agent, signing a three-year deal reportedly worth $1.8 million.

Wells, who turned 32 earlier this month, has played 243 matches in a career spanning 14 years. After lining up in just 12 matches across the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he managed 19 games last season despite a couple of stints on the sidelines with calf issues.

He sustained a kick to the calf in a VFL practice match last week and did not play in the Pies' opening JLT Community Series match. A strain to the muscle late last year also forced him away from the main group.

Buckley told South Australian radio station FIVEaa on Wednesday night having Wells fit and firing in the later stage of the season was a priority.

"He's a mature player, so he's got an understanding of what his body needs and where it's at. We'll make the right calls for him as he goes along. We want him to play as many games as he possibly can," Buckley said.

"If we get 15 or 16 games out of Daniel Wells every year for the next three years, that would be a massive success for us.

"In particular, we want him up and going at the pointy end of the year. That's clearly what our focus is around."

There were concerns about Wells' conditioning when he arrived at the Magpies and when it was pointed out that Buckley was always in elite condition in his playing days, the coach responded by saying his approach wasn't the only way.

"What I’ve learned is there’s plenty of different ways to go about it. You (Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes) and I and potentially a few others who were absolutely manic with our preparation and the way that we went about it, I think we've looked back in retrospect and thought 'potentially I could have smelt the roses a little bit more'," Buckley said.

"I might have only been 0.2 per cent off where I eventually got to and I might have been able to enjoy it a little bit more, which might actually have meant I'd have performed better or been a better teammate."