Collingwood AFL coach Nathan Buckley says out-of-form forward Travis Cloke is an easy target because of the high standards he set in his All-Australian season of 2011.
Cloke booted 69 goals last season but has kicked only 19 in nine rounds in 2012, despite the club pushing to fourth on the ladder with a 7-2 record.
Buckley admitted Cloke was down on confidence, but says it’s too easy to say his contract negotiations are affecting his game.
“I don’t think there’s many footballers who don’t lose a little bit of confidence when you’re not playing the type of footy that you’d like to play,” Buckley said on Tuesday.
“I’ve got no doubt that he’ll break the back of it at some stage. But in the interim, he has been able to influence games when they’ve been on the line over the last four to six weeks.
“He probably hasn’t been taking his grabs in the last couple of weeks. We’ve just set such high standards for players like ‘Trav’, he’s just an easy target at the moment.
“(Adelaide’s) Patrick Dangerfield was in the process of going through contract negotiations as well and he was in great form,” Buckley said of Dangerfield, who has re-signed with the Crows.
“(Collingwood’s) Steele Sidebottom, Sharrod Wellingham and Dayne Beams are in the process of working out their next contracts and they’re playing well.
“It’s an easy connection to make but how much effect it has, I don’t know.”
Buckley said Cloke was well-beaten by Adelaide’s Ben Rutten last week, but his work-rate remained high and he was consistently presenting to teammates and creating ground-ball opportunities for small forwards.
Collingwood host 17th-placed Gold Coast at the MCG on Sunday. Buckley says Nathan Brown (knee) and Chris Tarrant (calf) trained well on Tuesday and will be assessed later this week.
Backman Lachie Keeffe has been ruled out for the season following his knee injury against Adelaide.
Buckley said he was rapt with his side’s even spread of contributors against the Crows, heaping praise on midfielder Scott Pendlebury.
“When you influence games like that, you deserve the accolades that come your way,” Buckley said.
“He still runs as hard to the opposition goal to cover for a teammate, and that’s why he’s a great player.”