Pies deny Buckley-Tarrant link

[Nick]

From today's Age.

Pies deny Buckley-Tarrant link
By CAROLINE WILSON<P ALIGN="justify"> [img]http://www.magpies.org.au/nick/images/bucktarr.jpg"%20ALIGN="right"%20HSPACE="10[/img] 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.<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">"I think he's taking enormous liberties being unhappy with anyone," said the club's football operations chief Neil Balme.<P ALIGN="justify">"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.<P ALIGN="justify">"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.<P ALIGN="justify">"If every player at Collingwood prepared and applies themselves the way Nathan did then we wouldn't have finished bottom last year.<P ALIGN="justify">"He doesn't deserve to be looked at as the one who's created the problem because he wasn't.<P ALIGN="justify">"The club's done what they're supposed to do."<P ALIGN="justify">Collingwood development manager Mark Kliman has remained in contact with Tarrant and spoke to him yesterday.<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">"I'm pretty confident he'll come back," said Kliman.<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">"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."<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">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.<P ALIGN="justify">"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.