COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley believes Travis Cloke's contract situation may be hampering his on-field form but has backed the premiership forward to turn things around against Adelaide on Saturday night.
Cloke's playing future has been the subject of intense speculation as talks on a new contract with the Pies have dragged on with other clubs reported to be preparing big money offers in an attempt to lure him away
When asked on Fox Footy's On The Couch if the speculation surrounding his contract was affecting his form, Buckley said: "Something is."
"He's not playing his best at the moment and he's only human.
"He's a big unit, he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders at times, as all high performers do.
"I think … it would be taking a toll on him in some way, and I suppose that's where you rely on the strength of the football club and your teammates and the coaches around to simplify your role and to make it as enjoyable as possible.
"There are times in a football career when it's not so enjoyable and some of it's in his control and some of it isn't.
"I'm pretty confident we'll get a really strong performance from him on Saturday night."
Cloke has kicked 18 goals across eight rounds but has failed to reach the heights of his All Australian season last year.
Buckley also defended the form of defender Harry O'Brien and midfielder Dale Thomas, with the former affected by a lack of defence further up the field.
"We haven't done that as well as we would have liked. I think we're building into that. The last couple of weeks we've been a little bit better," he said.
"Our defenders definitely respond to that and are asked to win some pretty key contests as a result."
Buckley backed Thomas to bounce back over the coming weeks after his first hit-out back from a hamstring injury against the Cats.
"He's a heart and soul player … talking about behind the goals vision, I saw some signs of his hard running on Friday night that we've come to love and know, and sort of require at Collingwood," he said.
"I've got no doubt he'll be okay in the next couple of weeks."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.
