Nathan Buckley has responded to comments made by former Magpie premiership ruckman Darren Jolly in Thursday’s Age.

Jolly's storied 237-game AFL career, which started with Melbourne in 2001 and included premierships with the Swans and Magpies, officially ended on Thursday when he was bypassed by the 16 teams that participated in the Rookie Draft.

Coincidentally, another former Collingwood ruckman, Cameron Wood, who fell down the pecking order at the Westpac Centre upon Jolly's arrival at the end of 2009, was rookie listed by Carlton on Wednesday.

Jolly opened up in The Age only a few hours after the Rookie Draft, describing what he saw as a personality clash between himself and the Collingwood coach.

Buckley gave his version of events on SEN on Thursday.

"It is the worst time of a career when you're going down the other side and it is difficult to manage," he said.

"Darren struggled with his body. He found that tough to deal with and that's the reality.

He denied Jolly's claims that he dodged any issues at the meeting that brought the ruckman’s Collingwood career to a close.

"It's not something you get used to, but when (Director of Football) Rodney Eade and I sat down and offered him our views, the ears were closed pretty quickly. It wasn't long, it was forthright and it ended pretty quickly."

Buckley also dismissed Jolly's claim of a series of rifts between he and the players, both past and present, arguing that the early signs this pre-season are of "a good vibe and feeling around the place."

But he did admit that a sticking point during the year was an article Jolly penned for The Age that was critical of Josh Fraser, who Jolly replaced as first ruckman for Collingwood when he arrived in 2010.

"It was an issue, no doubt and he was challenged internally on that. But those things happen in footy clubs all the time,” Buckley said.

"There are 45 players and everyone has a view on what happens. It comes down to leadership. He was challenged by the leadership and told it was not in the best interests of the football club."

Buckley said that at the appropriate time, Jolly, who he described as a "fantastic player", would be properly farewelled by the club.

"I feel for 'Jolls' at this point of time. He has an arrangement with The Age and the media are looking for these opportunities.

"But these are the most challenging times and different players handle it in different ways. It is the ultimate test of character and some players handle it better than others.

"He is 32 and coming to grips with his football mortality," he said.

"We were really clear that we underperformed last year. A select few weren’t taking us in the right direction, partly because bodies were packing up and guys couldn’t do what they’ve always done."

Fellow premiership player Alan Didak also left Collingwood at the end of last season and was not picked up by any other club, while Heath Shaw and Dale Thomas departed for Greater Western Sydney and Carlton respectively.

"Out list management strategy is clear and we've gone with guys who can take the club forward," Buckley said.

Jolly played just nine games for Collingwood in 2013 because of rib and knee injuries and by the end of the year was third choice ruckman behind first-year player Brodie Grundy and veteran Ben Hudson.