There are plenty of reasons for Collingwood fans to be confident that Taylor Adams will hit the ground running when the pre-season begins next month.

He's young, hungry for success and blessed with the motivation shared by all high achievers.

But the most compelling reason is the strong relationship Adams already shares with his new senior coach.

Nathan Buckley was at the helm when Adams’ Vic Country took out the Under 16 Nation Championships in 2009 and was a key factor behind the 20-year-old’s decision to move to the Westpac Centre.

“I’ve known Bucks since my under 16 days, so that’s probably four or five years,” Adams told CTV.

“He coached the Vic Country side to the National Championship that year so that’s a bit of success there.”

Vic Country defeated South Australia by 50 points at Visy Park on Grand Final day, 2009.

“Bucks in the under 16s was obviously one of my childhood heroes. He was a fantastic player in his day and I know all the boys when we found out that Bucks was going to be coach, we wanted to make the team so much more,” he explained.

“When all the team got together with Bucks it was pretty surreal when he first walked into the hotel. I’ll never forget that moment. It was just pure silence and all the boys were in awe.

“His coaching was great. He taught us a lot of things that we wouldn’t have been taught by any other coach.

“He gave us a real insight into the modern game of AFL and he really showed us what it was going to take to make the next level.

“I’m so thankful for what he did in the under 16 days because I learnt so many things that I would never have learnt from anyone else.”

Buckley was in contact with Adams in the weeks leading up to the trade period and his strong connection with the youngster was a clear factor in Adams’ decision to call the Westpac Centre his home.

“I came into the Westpac Centre and had a meeting with him, Derek (Hine) and ‘Rocket’ Eade and chatted about the things that I wanted to get out of my footy career and the things that Collingwood want to achieve.

“I was pretty much sold on what the guys had to say about the club and about the future.

“Then I probably spoke to him once a week about what was going on just to keep the connection pretty close and pretty honest with each other.

The fact that they showed a lot of interest in me was really appealing and they had full faith in my ability and that’s what I really wanted in a coach.”



Nathan Buckley during his time as the coach of the Vic Country Under 16s in 2009.