BEFORE they go head to head on Friday night, Nathan Buckley has thanked the record-breaking Mick Malthouse for everything he taught him as a player and coach.
On Wednesday, Buckley said he'd contacted Malthouse – who will become the AFL's longest-serving coach on Friday night when he leads Carlton against Collingwood at the MCG – a few days ago.
While their working relationship ended somewhat acrimoniously in 2011 when Buckley took over at the Magpies, the Collingwood coach said he had plenty to be grateful to the veteran coach for.
"I sent Mick a note a couple of days ago, just saying thank you, basically," Buckley said on Wednesday.
"Behind all the headlines and the public and media perspectives, he's contributed so much to so many young men, and I've been one of those young men.
"The accolades have duly come his way and it's clearly a significant milestone.
"I'm happy to say thank you in that regard, because I'm hoping not to give him a present this weekend."
The lead-up to Friday night's game has been centered around Malthouse's achievement, which sees him coach his 715th game and overtake Jock McHale's record.
Malthouse coached 286 games at Collingwood, which included the final eight seasons of Buckley's playing career from 2000 to 2007 when he was also captain.
Buckley then took over from Malthouse following two seasons as an assistant on his coaching panel, after a succession plan was brokered that initially planned for the veteran coach to remain at the club in another role.
But Malthouse didn't agree to the terms of the director of coaching position offered to him and announced he would leave the club altogether after its 2011 Grand Final loss to Geelong.
Buckley said Malthouse's legacy at Collingwood remained significant after he took the club to the 2002 and 2003 Grand Finals within four seasons of starting there.
"He brought a lot of discipline to the club and a real clarity of purpose to the club, and I think his type of leadership was exactly what Collingwood needed at that time," he said.
"There was no grey area, it was really clear.
"That was a real eye-opener for me as a 27, 28-year-old, given that we'd struggled for the few years leading up to that.
"His influence on the club through the 2000s was profound and ultimately told with the flag in 2010, and I think when the dust has settled his contribution to Collingwood is pretty significant."
While Friday night will be a big night for both clubs given Malthouse's involvement across them, Buckley said the focus would shift when the ball was bounced.
"It's your capacity to be able to handle that external stuff and then be able to bring your focus back to what matters," he said.
"This game is hugely significant to us but not in the way that people externally would view it."
Buckley gave a wry smile when asked what Malthouse's response to his message of thanks was.
"Nothing as yet. I presume he'd be pretty busy this week though."
