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http://www.theage.com.au/news/rfnews/deadline-set-for-malthouse/2009/04/16/1239475000462.html
MICK Malthouse will know by June whether or not he has a future at Collingwood.
The dual premiership coach, who will have completed a decade at the helm of the Magpies at the end of this season, will have a firm idea of his prospects when the club enters the mid-season bye after its Queen's Birthday clash with Melbourne on June 8.
The AFL's oldest and one of the most respected mentors in the game has become increasingly linked with Richmond beyond 2009. Tigers coach Terry Wallace is fighting to keep his job while the Magpies have a firm eye on their favourite son, the recently retired Nathan Buckley.
The Age understands Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert has unofficially decreed June and, more specifically, post-round 11 as the suitable time to begin meaningful talks with Malthouse, who is keen to remain a senior coach. The date has been set in the interests of both parties.
Should Collingwood be sitting among the top three or four teams on the AFL ladder by then the club would find it difficult not to keep the door open for the 55-year-old Malthouse. Anything less and the club would be likely to begin negotiating a smooth departure for the man who took the unfavoured Magpies to successive grand finals in 2002 and 2003.
At present Collingwood is sitting in the bottom half of the ladder with one win from three games and faces a crunch clash with the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba tonight.
Club chairman Eddie McGuire declared at the start of the season that neither he nor his executives would be commenting upon Malthouse's future until a decision had been reached. Pert was unavailable for comment last night.
Malthouse has told friends he remains uncertain about his future at the club and is coming to terms with the fact his coaching career at the Lexus Centre could be nearing its end. For the first time in his era at Collingwood he has moved into the final year of an agreement without an extension.
The spectre of Buckley loomed even larger after the Magpies' captain of nine years declared last week he was keen to begin a coaching career. With seven coaches coming out of contract at the end of 2009 and at least one other in Mark Harvey under enormous pressure to keep his job, Buckley is expected to have several job offers in front of him towards the end of the season.
But the prospect of the six-time Copeland winner, Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist returning to the club after two successful seasons working in the media looks irresistible. And any suggestion that Buckley may return to undergo an apprenticeship under Malthouse has been discounted by most relevant parties.
However Malthouse, a Richmond premiership player, has been unofficially raised in Tiger circles as a senior coach overseeing the still relatively inexperienced Wayne Campbell should Wallace fail to lift his team.
The unofficial round 11 deadline sits close to the date being set by the AFL Coaches' Association for senior coaches and clubs to begin contract negotiations.
Mark Williams and Dean Laidley — both out of contract this year — have clauses in their deals demanding some future certainty by the end of June.
MICK Malthouse will know by June whether or not he has a future at Collingwood.
The dual premiership coach, who will have completed a decade at the helm of the Magpies at the end of this season, will have a firm idea of his prospects when the club enters the mid-season bye after its Queen's Birthday clash with Melbourne on June 8.
The AFL's oldest and one of the most respected mentors in the game has become increasingly linked with Richmond beyond 2009. Tigers coach Terry Wallace is fighting to keep his job while the Magpies have a firm eye on their favourite son, the recently retired Nathan Buckley.
The Age understands Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert has unofficially decreed June and, more specifically, post-round 11 as the suitable time to begin meaningful talks with Malthouse, who is keen to remain a senior coach. The date has been set in the interests of both parties.
Should Collingwood be sitting among the top three or four teams on the AFL ladder by then the club would find it difficult not to keep the door open for the 55-year-old Malthouse. Anything less and the club would be likely to begin negotiating a smooth departure for the man who took the unfavoured Magpies to successive grand finals in 2002 and 2003.
At present Collingwood is sitting in the bottom half of the ladder with one win from three games and faces a crunch clash with the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba tonight.
Club chairman Eddie McGuire declared at the start of the season that neither he nor his executives would be commenting upon Malthouse's future until a decision had been reached. Pert was unavailable for comment last night.
Malthouse has told friends he remains uncertain about his future at the club and is coming to terms with the fact his coaching career at the Lexus Centre could be nearing its end. For the first time in his era at Collingwood he has moved into the final year of an agreement without an extension.
The spectre of Buckley loomed even larger after the Magpies' captain of nine years declared last week he was keen to begin a coaching career. With seven coaches coming out of contract at the end of 2009 and at least one other in Mark Harvey under enormous pressure to keep his job, Buckley is expected to have several job offers in front of him towards the end of the season.
But the prospect of the six-time Copeland winner, Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist returning to the club after two successful seasons working in the media looks irresistible. And any suggestion that Buckley may return to undergo an apprenticeship under Malthouse has been discounted by most relevant parties.
However Malthouse, a Richmond premiership player, has been unofficially raised in Tiger circles as a senior coach overseeing the still relatively inexperienced Wayne Campbell should Wallace fail to lift his team.
The unofficial round 11 deadline sits close to the date being set by the AFL Coaches' Association for senior coaches and clubs to begin contract negotiations.
Mark Williams and Dean Laidley — both out of contract this year — have clauses in their deals demanding some future certainty by the end of June.
