Nathan Buckley has emerged as a serious contender for the vacant North Melbourne coaching job.
The Kangaroos are on the hunt for their next senior coach after the bombshell sacking of Alastair Clarkson earlier this month, and Buckley is a person of interest, according to 7NEWS Melbourne’s Tom Morris.
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Buckley coached Collingwood for 10 seasons between 2012 and 2021, taking them to the 2018 grand final where they were beaten by West Coast in a five-point thriller.
The 54-year-old transitioned into a role within footy media after leaving the Magpies, but showed he still had an itch to scratch within coaching when he joined Geelong as an assistant ahead of this season.
Buckley was mooted as an early frontrunner for the Tasmania job, with his re-emergence at clubland seen as a stepping stone to lead the Devils, but was ultimately beaten for the job by former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.
Now, he appears back in the hunt for a senior gig, having caught up with North Melbourne footy boss Todd Viney on Wednesday morning.
“We can tell you tonight that Nathan Buckley, the former Collingwood coach, has emerged as a serious candidate to take over the North Melbourne vacant coaching job,” Morris said on 7NEWS.
“The Kangaroos’ footy boss, Todd Viney, caught up with Nathan Buckley this morning for coffee, and North offered Bucks a four-year deal back in ‘09 before he took over the Collingwood gig.
“And close confidants of Buckley tell me he’s eager to explore the role and has been doing work on the list and the club for some time.”
Three-time Hawthorn premiership coach Clarkson was sacked by the Roos with a year left to run on his contract, but had shown some improvement before being given his marching orders.
North Melbourne won three games in each of Clarkson’s first two seasons, but improved to five last year and further to nine this year.
The vacancy now appears a very attractive one, with most of the heavy lifting in North Melbourne’s rebuild likely done.
The Roos have a strong core of young midfielders, led by Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw and Finn O’Sullivan, plus an exciting forward mix with skipper Nick Larkey, wrecking-ball goalkicker Cam Zurhaar, goalsneak Paul Curtis, mid-season draft sensation Cooper Trembath, and 2025 first-round draft pick Lachy Dovaston.
But they may lose highly rated defender Josh Goater, who is weighing up interest from Hawthorn.
Goater was initially offered a one-year deal by the Roos, though they upped it to include a trigger for a second season in recent weeks.
The Hawks are understood to be prepared to offer a two-year deal to the 23-year old, though they are juggling other priorities, with Ben King and Zach Merrett high on their priority list.
Goater endured a horror run with injury across 2024 and 2025. He managed just one senior game across two seasons before returning in June this year.
