New Carlton coach Mathew Buck says he'll 'always have a soft spot for Hampden league footy'

The 38-year-old, who was assistant coach at Koroit for three campaigns (2014, '15, '19) and senior coach of South Warrnambool from 2016-18, said he still leans on his coaching mentors in the region.

North Warrnambool coach Adam Dowie and Koroit coach Chris McLaren - who have led 10 Hampden league flag sides between them - are two he keeps in regular touch with.

Buck worked as an assistant coach under Dowie at Koroit between 2014 and 2015 before holding the same role with the Saints under McLaren in 2019.

"I have great contacts down there (in the Hampden league), obviously Daniel O'Keefe gave me my start at Carlton and is now the coach at Warrnambool but beyond that Chris McLaren's somebody I continually bounce ideas off," he said. "We have some great football chats and he's a great friend of mine. And Adam Dowie continues to be a strong mentor as well and somebody's opinion who I highly value.

"I'll always have a soft spot for Hampden league footy that's for sure."

Buck was named as Daniel Harford's replacement at the Blues last week, following two seasons as an assistant coach to O'Keefe with Carlton's VFL program.

Prior to that he spent a year as a development coach with Werribee after making the brave decision to move with his family to Geelong in order to pursue his coaching dream. The former Terang Mortlake and North Warrnambool Eagles player said he was "elated" when he received the Blues top job after all his hard work and family's sacrifices.

"It was probably a proud moment for me after a lot of hard work in the build up to it," he said. "I guess in a way it's years of coaching that have come to this kind of moment.

"I'll be forever grateful to my wife and my three boys for allowing me to chase that dream because we've had to sacrifice a little bit to make this happen."

Buck acknowledged that coaching in the women's system only came across his radar this year. A couple of months ago the former teacher stepped in to do some skill sessions with the players as they didn't have anyone to run them.

The former teacher happily lent a hand and from there started to really relish being involved while the players appreciated his presence.

"What I found was I was really enjoying that process, so I was going home and talking to my wife about how much I was enjoying it, or how much this player was improving," he said. "I was getting great feedback from the players around how much they were enjoying the sessions and how much they were getting out of it in terms of learning."

Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd then enquired about Buck taking part in the candidate process before he was ultimately successful in landing the job.

Buck's attention is firmly focused on preparing for his side's upcoming pre-season, with the new leader in the midst of getting to know his players, scheduling and constructing training plans.

The side will be hoping to bounce back in the coming campaign after missing finals the past three years.

In the meantime, Buck will have to make time to reply to some congratulatory messages.

"I absolutely apologise to anyone I haven't got back to but it's been absolutely crazy the phone," he said. "I really appreciate the support and I know I've got a lot of support from people in the Warrnambool area. People from years and years ago as well.

"I love that they follow my journey and I love that they support my journey."

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