NATHAN Buckley was very active at Collingwood training on Wednesday morning.
Senior coach Mick Malthouse has been known to delegate pre-season duties to his assistants and it was the newest and highest profile assistant’s turn on Wednesday.
As the Magpies practiced stoppage drills, Buckley took several players aside at different stages to give them immediate detailed feedback.
And it wasn’t just the kids Buckley took under his wing. Experienced players Alan Didak and Ben Johnson received notes from the man who was their teammate just over two years ago.
Most of Collingwood’s list was at Gosch’s Paddock for the session, as were about 60 die-hard fans.
Travis Cloke and Josh Fraser performed light running duties, Cloke doing so with strapping on his left knee.
Scott Pendlebury was still sporting a small scar from his Lakes Entrance attack before Christmas but he appeared in good spirits.
Heath Shaw seemed to have the time of his life while bantering with his teammates, stopping only to have a quick gasp on an asthma puffer while defender Harry O’Brien was easily the most vocal player in the ball drills.
New recruit Luke Ball looked to be in ripping condition as he sets out on the next chapter of his AFL career.