COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley concedes his team’s limited preparation for Saturday’s clash at Wangaratta may have impacted on the result.
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The Magpies suffered a 48-point defeat to Richmond in their NAB Challenge encounter at Norm Minns Oval.
The Pies arrived in the North East late Friday, while the Tigers opted to have a training run at the Wangaratta Showgrounds that afternoon in preparation for the game.
Buckley said Collingwood’s late arrival wasn’t an excuse for its poor performance, but possibly a reason for it.
“Potentially,” he said.
“Our nine to 10 days post Geelong has been a little bit exceptional.
“We gave our players a three-day break, which the CBA demands, and we had our community camp Monday, Tuesday, and had to give them Wednesday off.
“So you wouldn’t say our preparation was A-grade and it probably reflected the performance.”
The Magpies are yet to win a game this pre-season, with Saturday following a two-point loss to Geelong a week earlier.
But Buckley said everything his club had been doing was geared towards the season opener against Fremantle on March 14.
“I’m not concerned at all,” he said.
“We should have won last week just for a few things towards the end of the game that we’ve worked on during the week and took as a learning opportunity.
“All of our preparation and what we’re trying to achieve is designed around getting to March 14 in really good nick.
“We’ll have a solid training week on the Gold Coast next week and finish with a praccy match against Gold Coast next Sunday.
“I can’t question the effort and endeavour through this pre-season, we were just a little bit off and it was a good lesson.”