Collingwood manager Nathan Buckley believes his players lost hope with 68 points during their horrific loss to Geelong at the end of the season.
The Magpies scored only one goal in the first three quarters, fell off the pace early and never looked like the team that knocked down the west coast on the street a week ago.
The impressive result left Buckley “incredulous”, said the great Nick Riewoldt from St. Kilda.
Watch the 2020 Toyota AFL Finals Series on Kayo with every game before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming right away>
“They were fascinating pictures of Bucks after the siren. I’m just sitting on the bench in disbelief. With all the preparations you make all year long, this is the last thing you will see as a coach, ”he continued Fox Footy after the game.
“And I think for a player like Nathan Buckley he put a lot of effort into every time Bucks stepped on the field. He was a competitor, he gave everything he had until the last minute.
“I wonder if someone like Bucks almost expects this to be a given for players. But we’ve all been where you are as players in this awful room, especially early in the game when you find that I don’t have the energy. My legs are gone
“I think that’s what you would ask for. You would ask for honesty in the group. What happened guys Because we were all there. “
Overseas? Stream the 2020 Toyota AFL Finals Series from outside Australia on WatchAFL. Every game including the Grand Final Live & On-Demand. Get your Finals Pass to start streaming>
Geelong destroys the cakes
2:40
In his post-game press conference, Buckley admitted that he did just that.
“At some point it looked like our players had just lost hope of the result,” said the Magpies coach.
“Talking to different people was that in the second quarter, was that at the beginning of the third quarter? There was still a lot to play, but hope was lost.
“We fought it in one way or another, but even that, we’re not going to hang our hats on it. Geelong was way too good.
“It’s fair to say our board was red from one minute on for the rest of the game. Contested ball, ground ball, territory, positive territorial sales, grades.
“The only way I can understand a result like tonight is that we had nothing more to give.”
Fox Sports Sportmail has the latest AFL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox. Join Now!
Pies’ horror finale begins
2:08
However, Riewoldt, who like Buckley had to contend with disappointments at big games throughout his career, argued that the Magpies needed better preparation.
“But the thing is, some players, the very best players, have the ability and ability to work their way out of that,” said Riewoldt.
“It reeked of a large number of Collingwood players who either didn’t have the mental toughness to work this through in one game. Or they hadn’t worked enough in this room during the week.
“Because the mental preparation side of it … you have to prepare for this feeling, so you’ve already dealt with that by the time it comes down to it.”
.
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/55XTRXYY5VHLXMZ5OXT277YB3M.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)