Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was glad his recruit Adam Treloar was so bullish about the Magpies' list that he rated his new team as a better prospect than Richmond, who were also vying for his signature.
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Notwithstanding the fact that Collingwood has missed the finals for the last two years while Richmond has played finals for the last three – and defeated Collingwood by 15 goals when last they met –Treloar fancied the Magpies' youthful list has more scope than the Tigers'.
"I just thought the list (was the difference between the clubs). People may think I am silly because Richmond have a lot of good players – you talk about their midfield with Cotchin and Martin – but I think Collingwood have a better list, a younger list, who in a few years time hopefully are winning premierships because that is my goal and that is the team's goal," Treloar said.
The surprisingly candid assessment surprised some and prompted a strong defensive response from Richmond games record holder Kevin Bartlett, among others.
Buckley cannily avoided making a similar comparison himself, but said he was pleased his new talented midfielder had made that assessment,
"He qualified it, didn't he? That was Adam's opinion and I certainly hope he believes that given he has made the decision to come across to us. We are rapt he is here now and he is in the fold," Buckley said.
"You guys like the comparisons and the black and white statements that we can make sometimes. Richmond have been in the finals the last couple of years and have performed really well over a sustained period, four or five seasons so we are still yet to prove we are in that category in regards to being a top eight side and to perform at our best against the best."
Buckley also said he was untroubled by the fact he was out of contract at the end of next year.
"Thanks for asking," Buckley smiled. "It's (a new contract) not front of mind for me, I am contracted for 2016. My absolute focus is to do my role as best as I possibly can in the short term.
"We are really clear on the direction we are going, on how we are going about it on the things we want to shine a light on and focus on to improve us.
"I am really clear on that I am a part of it I am not all of it. I love the footy club and I hope I can continue to give as much benefit in my role as I possibly can and do it as long as I can because I love it."
