Buckley outlines what has gone wrong at Collingwood in recent weeks

What’s gone wrong at Collingwood?

Nathan Buckley believes injuries have put too much pressure on their veterans.

The Magpies have been battered by injuries this year, particularly up forward, and they now sit 12th on the ladder heading into Round 19.

The former Collingwood coach simply believes their veterans have been asked to do too much and their young players aren’t yet ready to carry the flag.

“It’s going to be tough. They’ve lost their last three games and a couple of those have been eight-point games. Not only has it been a detriment for them, but it’s been a leg-up for the teams around them,” Buckley told SEN Breakfast.

“I think it makes sense, what’s going on. The questions around their motivation, whether they’re as hungry … I understand those questions, but I think their older players are getting older, their young players are too young and there’s too many injuries in between.

“I think it’s logical. When you look at it, we just spoke about how tight the competition is, I think Collingwood did a remarkable job through in that winning streak. They held up really well with some players coming in and playing roles that probably weren’t expected to come in and do them as well as they did them.

“They were able to stay in contention for longer than I think they might have otherwise, and that was through grit and great coaching. It was probably the momentum they’d had off the last two years. Right now, they don’t have that momentum.

“I think their older players look tired and they’re being asked to do more than they’ve been asked to do over the last few years. I think the younger players have dropped off a little bit and they’ve lost some of the efficiency in their game.

“They’re not defending well and they’re not scoring as well the other way. This game against Hawthorn is a massive one and the loser of this one, you probably finally get someone who drops out given Hawthorn’s percentage. The stakes couldn’t be any higher.”

The Magpies finish the season with Hawthorn, Richmond, Carlton, Sydney (away), Brisbane and Melbourne.

They likely need to win four of their last six to break into the top eight.