Nathan Buckley has admitted he felt “humiliated, flattered, embarrassed and grateful” after memorabilia from his playing days went on display at Collingwood Museum.
On Tuesday, Collingwood honored their club legend, opening an exhibition at the club’s museum at the AIA Vitality Center about the 53-year-old’s simply remarkable football career.
“Trying to put three and a half decades of commitment into a space like this for the club to do is incredible,” Buckley said.
The exhibition will include a collection of his guernseys, accolades and special memorabilia that he has collected over the years, including his 2003 Brownlow Medal and his 2002 Norm Smith Medal.
The seven-time All-Australian is one of the Magpies’ greatest players and one of their most revered coaches, with the former midfielder scoring 263 goals in 260 games between 1994 and 2007.
He would later take up a coaching role at the club, overseeing 218 AFL matches and winning 117 of those matches.
‘Being part of this is a tremendous lesson in humility. Where would you like your collection, the Copelands and the All-Australians, where would you like it to be in 100 years? This is where it started, where it was won and where it would always return.
“I’m tremendously grateful for the club and (historian) Michael Roberts has done a fantastic job.
“Humiliated, flattered, embarrassed, grateful and really grateful that the club allowed me to come watch it with my family.”
Earlier this year, Buckley was forced to buy back some of his most prized possessions at auction, some of which included premiership medals and jerseys.
It came after he had to part with his memories as part of his divorce settlement with his ex-wife Tania. The couple separated in 2020 after 18 years of marriage.
His possessions had sold for almost $200,000 at auction, and the former midfielder subsequently repurchased his 2003 Brownlow Medal and Norm Smith Medal.
Collingwood had also purchased some of the items at the auction, which included match-used shirts, shorts and socks and a pair of his boots. His match-worn shirt from the 2002 premiership final, in which Buckley won the Norm Smith Medal, is understood to have sold for $16,000.
“It’s really a blessing in disguise the way it all turned out. “It probably would have been gathering dust if it hadn’t been for things getting tough,” Buckley said.
‘It is where everything should be and where it needs to settle.
‘The club have done an incredible job and they bought some items at auction and it’s quite a complete collection.
“In the end it’s up to the club to do what they want and I think in the end these things were collected and won mainly wearing the Collingwood guernsey.”
Magpies President Jeff Browne opened the exhibition, saying: “We are very pleased to present an exhibition of one of our Club’s greats and we welcome Nathan and his family to our Club,” said Collingwood President, Jeff Browne.
“Nathan has left a historic mark on our Club as a player and as a coach, and this exhibition allows us all to reflect and celebrate his contribution, which will be remembered for many lives to come.
‘With over 100 items on display, our members and supporters and the entire AFL community can enjoy one of the largest collections of AFL players at our club Museum.
“We sincerely thank Nathan for his generous donation to our Club and look forward to welcoming everyone to the exhibition over the coming year.”
More to follow…