Buckley: nothing but respect for Mick

The apprentice ... Nathan Buckley is trying to stay focused on the task at hand. Source: Mark Stewart / News Limited

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has played down suggestions of a rift with Carlton coach Mick Malthouse ahead of Sunday's blockbuster encounter.

"There's plenty of people keen to drum that up and to try to make it an adversarial relationship,'' Buckley said today.

"I've got nothing but respect for Mick.

"I learnt a lot from him, played under him for a number of years as his captain and worked under him as an assistant coach in the plan to eventually become senior coach.

"We've had many frank discussions, not in recent times, (but) we've had many frank discussions about that situation.''

Buckley said he did not think there would be any pre-game acknowledgment between the two coaches before Sunday's clash.

"I very rarely go to any of the opposition coaches on game day,'' he said.

"I caught up with Mick at the coaches' AGM last week, I will see him tomorrow morning at the Peter MacCallum breakfast and I am sure, watching the TV shows, I will see plenty of his head between now and Sunday.''

Buckley inadvertently brought some humour to the build-up when asked if the two coaches had had any recent conversations.

"He's the coach of Collingwood,'' he said of Malthouse before correcting himself.  ``He was ... he's the coach of Carlton.''

Dayne Beams (quad) will miss Sunday's clash and could be on the sidelines for a few more weeks, but Buckley remained confident Ben Reid (concussion) and Ben Johnson (thigh) will play.

Heath Shaw (illness) is a certain starter.

Buckley refused to rule out Dale Thomas, who missed yesterday's training session, but played 75 per cent of last week's VFL match.

Clinton Young, Alex Fasolo, Paul Seedsman and Andrew Krakouer are also in the mix.

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No problem with Swan: Buckley

Antics ... Dale Thomas and Dane Swan could disrupt Collingwood title tilt. Source: Michael Klein / News Limited

UPDATE: Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has defended star midfielder Dane Swan in the wake of Paul Roos declaring the Magpies would be "getting sick" of his antics.

"I think we handle Swanny pretty well, he enjoys the environment," Buckley told Nova 100.

Swan's rocky relationship with Collingwood was strained further recently when he gave a paid television interview without the club's permission.

"I thought that he and his management made a poor decision not to notify the footy club. And, it's pretty clear it was not with the club's best interests in mind and Swanny was fined accordingly," Buckley said.

"In the end Dane Swan is training really well at the footy club.  We have progressed on what we saw from his preseason last year."

"Most of the boys are in that situation. We are really looking forward to hitting the season with a full head of steam, Swanny and every player at the footy club  is looking forward to our footy doing the talking rather than responding to headlines.

"Wherever (Swan) was last year he is in better shape this year... and that's all you can ever ask for in a player."

Last night, Roos suggested Swan and Magpie Dale Thomas' contract negotiations threatened to derail Collingwood's premiership campaign.

While Thomas, who is known to be Swan's closest friend at the Magpies, then came out yesterday to declare he'll "never say never" about signing at another club, adding he has got to get "money in the pocket."

Roos said it was a growing issue for Collingwood and could hurt them in the way the Travis Cloke contract issue disrupted the club last year.

"I think Collingwood are extremely well placed to win a premiership this year," Roos said on Fox Footy's On the Couch last night.

"But if you have players that don't want to conform to your team ethos...I would suggest there would be some players at the Collingwood Football Club that would be getting sick of Dane Swan."

Roos, who was pivotal in establishing in Sydney's famous culture, said Swan was the main aggravator at Collingwood.

But he also targeted Thomas, who he said should know better.

"They know they are playing for a big football club- everything they do and say is going to be analysed," Roos said.

"We saw it last year with Cloke.

"I was concerned with Thomas the comments he made."

It is no secret Thomas is very close to Carlton coach Mick Malthouse.

He has also has strong ties to Carlton chief executive and former Magpie Greg Swann, whose family he lived with a short time in his early days with the club.

Roos said all these comments added up when trying to win a premiership.

"You have to understand what you're saying - you're playing for the biggest football team in Australia," he said.

"You know, even if they're tongue and cheek, someone is going to take them and put them in some sort of context.

"You have to be careful," he said.

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Buckley makes his mark

Corridor ... Nathan Buckley's Magpies are set to play a much more direct brand of footy. Source: JULIAN SMITH / AAP

Collingwood has ditched its boundary-hugging game plan.

The Herald Sun can reveal the Pies have become one of the AFL's corridor kings, using the NAB Cup to launch a more aggressive pattern of ball movement.

All times are listed in EDT

Statistics provided by Champion Data reveal Nathan Buckley's men are ranked fifth in the league for moving the ball from defence through the centre square.

Last year, Buckley's first as coach, the Pies were ranked 18th and last going down the middle. In 2011, Mick Malthouse's final season, they were 17th and last.

It is only the NAB Cup and, admittedly, early days, but it's a dramatic strategic shift over four pre-season games. Heat maps best illustrate the change in philosophy, with the 2011 and 2012 versions showing a distinct avoidance of the centre square.

But the early 2013 map highlights a willingness to take the riskier, albeit most direct, avenue to goal. 

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The statistics focus on ball movement out of the defensive 50m zone - a better measure than all midfield possessions because teams have direct control over how they launch attacks.

Collingwood has gone from going down the middle 13.4 per cent of the time in 2011 and 15 per cent last year to 29.7 per cent so far this pre-season.

Former full-back Simon Prestigiacomo, who helped execute Malthouse's defence-first philosophy before retiring in 2010, offered an insight into the old strategy.

"If you were going to kick it in the corridor you had to be 100 per cent sure that you weren't going to turn it over because if you did it would be an almost certain goal (the other way)," Prestigiacomo said.

"Even if you came into the corridor too early going forward and turned it over they would kick it straight over the top for a goal. Because we were playing that pressing style, where you pressed right up, it left three or four of their forwards on their own.

We would rather go the long way around than take the risk. It wasn't constantly drilled into us or anything but, if it didn't come off, you would feel the wrath on the scoreboard and the wrath of the coaches."

Collingwood's overhaul had its origins at the start of summer. An early February intra-club match and hour-long match simulation session revealed the Pies' clear plan to kick the ball shorter and move the ball quicker through the middle.

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Swan's hunger dipped: Buckley

Hunger ... Nathan Buckly says Dane Swan is back to 100 per cent. Source: Wayne Ludbey / News Limited

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley admits Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan's hunger dipped a bit last season.

But he says it's understandable given his remarkable previous four years.

And the Magpies boss says the premiership star has given every indication he is back to his most driven.

"Even the most professional disciplined players ebb and flow," Buckley said.

"It was probably about time, given the three years prior he won three Copeland Trophies (as Collingwood's best and fairest from 2008-10) and a Brownlow (in 2011).

"In the last four years, he's one of the most consistent players to ever play the game.

"When I say that I reckon there's an extra couple of per cent in him, it's not saying that he hasn't been a great performer and a very consistent performer.

"That's just a coach asking for a little bit more and I ask that from all of the players."

Swan was suspended by the club late last season for an alcohol-related disciplinary breach.

But Buckley said while Swan made a very poor decision, he wasn't the only player who needed to fractionally lift their commitment from last year.

He said Swan's lapses attracted more public attention than others.

Buckley said while the midfielder was a "different character" who wasn't solely focused on football, he took enormous pride in his performance.

"If he can't have the influence on games that he wants to, he identifies that pretty quickly," he said.

"He came back with a real hunger to have a great pre-season.

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"He's been able to do that.

"I think you'll see, as the season progresses, I think you'll see a really hungry footballer who'll find that extra couple of per cent this year compared to last and who has the drive to want to play and influence it as much as he can."

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