Buckley defends wayward Cloke

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says wayward forward Travis Cloke is working hard to improve his kicking for goal.

Magpies coach Nathan Buckley

Collingwood AFL coach Nathan Buckley (pic) feels he made the right call regarding Tom Hawkins. (AAP)

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has leapt to the defence of Travis Cloke after another wayward performance in front of goal from the Magpies' AFL spearhead.

Cloke kicked two goals, two behinds and put one shot out on the full in Collingwood's 41-point loss to Geelong on Friday night.

Buckley concedes Cloke must improve his set shot kicking for goal, but says he continues to work hard on the issue with the full support of the club.

"The 20 blokes who are going to write me letters (of advice) this week just know that they're going straight in the bin because we've got everything we need," Buckley told SEN Radio on Saturday.

"He's put in a lot of work, he couldn't put more work in, but the systems and processes we have in place - we couldn't do any better.

"And in the end the improvement is going to come from Clokey in his own mind and ... he wants to do better.

"We understand that and we'll give him every opportunity."

Buckley, who was renowned for his kicking prowess as a player, said that he had worked with Cloke himself in an attempt to eradicate his kicking deficiencies.

The coach admitted to a level of frustration at Cloke's unreliable kicking action, but remains confident he can improve.

"People watching are feeling exactly what we're feeling in the coaches box, what Clokey's feeling and what his teammates are feeling at times - 'Geez, we'd love you to kick a few more of these, mate'," Buckley said.

"It's not for a lack of effort or a lack of care.

"Don't worry about the sports scientists or the coaches and whether one gets in the way of the other - we are one football program and we'll find the best processes we possibly can for all of our individuals so we can go and be better.

"And if that's Clokey having 400 shots at goal then we'll do it. If he has to do a hand stand before he has a shot then we'll do it.

"Can I rest Collingwood people's minds assured that we're doing everything we possibly can for Clokey ... but in the end we're not infallible and he will miss goals."


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Source: AAP


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