Buckley is about to return to Collingwood – he just doesn’t know it; Dons’ high-performance chief departs
Nathan Buckley is about to play a significant part in steering Collingwood’s AFLW leadership – he just might not know it yet.
But the Magpie great can expect a tap on the shoulder in the corridors of Fox Footy in the coming days as workmate Ruby Schleicher seeks out his guidance for her new role as Collingwood’s AFLW skipper.
Schleicher, 27, who was appointed on Friday afternoon, counts Buckley as a mentor and friend.
“He met me as an 18-year-old when I walked in these doors [at Collingwood], and he was the coach,” Schleicher says. “He knows that really raw version of me, and he’s been a big supporter the whole way along.
He’s someone I always feel like I can reach out to. How good is that? One of the game’s greatest-ever players, and he’s right there inside the four walls at work [Fox Footy].”
Schleicher says she has already leant on Buckley in the past to help her navigate lucrative approaches and offers from rival clubs.
“I want to be at Collingwood, and that has always been a kind of non-negotiable, but he’s always been a sounding board, and has a really good, balanced view of a player and a coach’s perspective and a clubman’s perspective,” she says.
The 64-game AFLW veteran and 2024 best-and-fairest winner found out about her promotion on Wednesday afternoon from coach Sam Wright, and was given permission to share the secret with her family.
But she says her WA-based parents – Steve Schleicher and Julie Hogan – left her hanging as the Collingwood digital team waited to film her giving them the big news over the phone.
“I literally said to the media team, ‘I bet you they’re out surfing’,” Schleicher says. “And sure enough, they were, because Mum messaged me, saying, ‘Sorry I missed your call, love, just got in from the surf, had a shit one, snapped my leggy [leg strap], we’ll call you later once Dad gets out’.
They didn’t get back to me for a few hours. But once we FaceTimed, they were just so proud.”
Schleicher was not always destined to play football. She attended Willetton High School in Perth on a basketball scholarship.
But a back injury derailed her pathway to the US College system, and she found her way to Collingwood for the inaugural AFLW season in 2017 and five years’ later landed a media internship at Fox Sports that has since evolved into her becoming a regular on Fox Footy as well as Triple M.
“I think that’s the fun thing for me – I’m doing bits and pieces of everything,” she says.
“I’m doing a bit of panel stuff, Bounce which is a lot of fun, game day for Fox boundary, which is where I get to bring the footy brain into it, but I’m also reading the news for Fox Sports News and AFL Tonight.
“I have to knock the ocker out of my voice and scrub myself up, [and] put the news reporter’s voice on, which the girls are always giving me flak about.”
Schleicher says the first person she told about her captaincy role was boyfriend Jimmy Miller, who she met in WA three years ago.
“He supported me in the exact way I knew he would – just gave me a big hug and said how awesome it was,” she says.
The formal announcement was made to the playing group on Friday by former skipper Brianna Davey, who stepped down from the job, while Jordy Allen was named vice-captain.
“Bri stood up and said some words and that was extra special because she’s been such an incredible leader of this club, and she’s also one of my best mates,” Schleicher says.
The strengths she brings to the role, she says, are her struggles of the past – battling for a regular game in her formative years, overcoming homesickness, and learning to work hard as she dealt with injury-hampered seasons.
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