COLLINGWOOD development coach Alan Richardson believes it's not inconceivable that Nathan Buckley could play on next season, as the captain has spent much of the year trying to fix his hamstrings rather than physically push himself on the playing field.
Richardson said the decision will ultimately be left to the Brownlow medallist, but he thinks there is a chance the 35-year-old could stand up to another pre-season.
"That's often the way we talk about players, in terms of longevity of careers, and you're right, he hasn't had the battering say young Tyson Goldsack will have had," Richardson said on Tuesday.
"But that's up to Bucks really, and whether he wants to keep going. I'm sure the decision will be his, and the club will support whatever decision he makes."
Richardson, who said Buckley had not yet indicated his intentions, would be happy for the six-time best and fairest winner if he decided to go on.
"I'd like Bucks to do whatever Bucks wants to do," he said.
"If he wants to play, personally, I think it would be fantastic for him. But that's up to Bucks."
Richardson confirmed Buckley had not suffered any soreness since Saturday night's performance, and club conditioning coach David Buttifant has been forced to "put the reins on him" to stop him over-training.
"He's still like a kid in a lolly shop. He was like that two weeks ago prior to the Williamstown game, and he was like that again last week," he said.
"He's just rapt to be out there. It's been a really frustrating year for him, so every time he trains is fantastic for him at the minute. The old cliché of ‘one game at a time’ … it's a bit like that with every training session for Bucks.
"He's really enjoying it, and the spirit and the passion that's coming out of him is certainly rubbing off on the playing group, and he's been fantastic."
Richardson also said the six-day break between the Magpies' final two matches might not be a factor in whether Buckley plays this weekend, despite coach Mick Malthouse suggesting the captain might be rested.
"I think that's something you just think about straight after the game, and Mick's comments were probably in line with that thinking," he said.
"He hasn't played a lot of footy, and he played a significant amount of game time, about 70 per cent of the game, so let's just wait and see."
After seeing instant success with the move to rest round 21 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee Tyson Goldsack two weeks ago, Malthouse recently floated the idea of giving more young players a break ahead of the finals.
Richardson said there were none that came to mind when considering young players to rest, but he conceded the club wouldn’t hold back if it believed a player to be tired.
"Martin Clarke was rested a couple of weeks ago. He missed a week and then he played for Williamstown, so that was a combination of fatigue and a bit of a form," he said.
"Dale Thomas missed a couple of games last year, Scotty Pendlebury missed one this year and then missed a bit with his foot, but it's something the conditioning staff put a lot of credence into.
"We think if the boys taper off a little bit, we'll give them a spell."
He said ruckman Josh Fraser was a chance to return to the side this week after missing the last two matches with back and hip soreness.
"He trained fairly impressively, so it's just a matter of seeing how he goes on Thursday, but certainly at this stage after a couple of weeks off, he's heading in the right direction."
