Pies deny Buckley-Tarrant link

[Nick]

From today's Age.

Pies deny Buckley-Tarrant link
By CAROLINE WILSON

Collingwood is confident it will lure truant teenager Chris Tarrant back to the club, with coach Mick Malthouse today due to talk to the disillusioned 19-year-old.

However, the club's hierarchy has attacked suggestions that Tarrant - who yesterday signalled he was willing to meet football staff after an absence of nine days - walked out on a two-year $400,000 contract because he was disillusioned with his captain Nathan Buckley.

Neither Malthouse nor Buckley have spoken to the talented young forward since he signalled the start of his mysterious disappearance via a note left for his housemate, Collingwood defender Malcolm Michael early last week.

But while Tarrant has failed to pinpoint the reason for his absence he has reportedly told teammates of his unhappiness with Buckley's style, a gripe that was said to have come to a head during the New Year's Eve Ansett Cup clash against Carlton, and which Tarrant reportedly discussed with Malthouse.

"I think he's taking enormous liberties being unhappy with anyone," said the club's football operations chief Neil Balme.

"If he's unhappy with the captain then we're going to be pretty unhappy with him. Certainly the captain's not aware of it.

"He's (Buckley) got enormously high standards regarding the younger, less experienced players in the team and the way he talks to them and that's the way we want it.

"If every player at Collingwood prepared and applies themselves the way Nathan did then we wouldn't have finished bottom last year.

"He doesn't deserve to be looked at as the one who's created the problem because he wasn't.

"The club's done what they're supposed to do."

Collingwood development manager Mark Kliman has remained in contact with Tarrant and spoke to him yesterday.

Tarrant told Kliman, who has proved something of a confidant to the youngster, that he would be returning to Melbourne from his family's Mildura home today.

"I'm pretty confident he'll come back," said Kliman.

Added Balme: "Until he turns up I'm not prepared to commit to anything but I'm pretty confident he'll be back in the fold pretty soon.

"He probably realises what's expected of him and that's pretty daunting for a young bloke. Still it was a genuine surprise and mystery to us as to why he didn't turn up."

Tarrant, who also lives in Melbourne with teammate Brad Oborne, has kept in touch with some teammates and late last week met club president Eddie McGuire.

However, some teammates, along with the media and his management, have been greeted on Tarrant's mobile telephone with a bizarre message referring to a surfing holiday and beach girls.

"Without putting a deadline on it you'd have to say that if it's this time next week and it hasn't been resolved then we'd be starting to lose patience," Balme admitted.