If Collingwood fall a rung short of the AFL grand final this season, it won’t be the fault of Nathan Buckley.
So says Magpies midfield star Dane Swan, who believes the transition from premiership coach Mick Malthouse to Buckley this season has been seamless.
And should Collingwood miss out on a third successive grand final in their first season under Buckley, Swan says the players will be to blame.
“It hasn’t really bothered us – the transition has been perfect,” Swan said on Monday.
“I don’t think Bucks can be faulted at all for anything he’s done this year.
“If we lose this week, I’ve got no doubt it will be on the players’ heads.
“He’s been great all year, he’s handled himself perfectly in the media, he’s handled himself just as well internally.
“There should be no blame on him no matter what happens this week.”
The Magpies go into Friday night’s preliminary final against Sydney at ANZ Stadium with a remarkable run of recent form against the Swans – winning their past 11 clashes.
And Swan, who missed Collingwood’s most recent win over Sydney because of a club-imposed suspension, believes the Pies are peaking at the right time.
That, he believes, is different from last season when the Magpies fell in the grand final to a Geelong side whose year built to the perfect crescendo.
“Geelong timed it beautifully last year and everyone knows how well they were going at the right time of year,” Swan said.
“That’s something we had a look at and we tried to emulate this year.
“We’ve said all year we wanted to play our best footy come finals.
“We had a lot of positives taken out of (the qualifying final loss to Hawthorn), and then West Coast we improved and played a little bit better for a little bit longer.”
Swan admits the Pies’ record against Sydney does inspire confidence, but doesn’t guarantee victory unless the players produce their absolute best.
“It doesn’t give us a two-goal headstart because we’ve won 11 in a row. Does it give us confidence? Yeah, of course.
“But in saying that, we’re certainly not taking them lightly and thinking we’re going to win no matter what.”
The Magpies will decide later in the week whether forward Chris Dawes (knee) and Alan Didak (calf) are fit enough to play.