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Only one-year deals for Carlton pair Dylan Buckley and Nick Graham
Rohan Connolly
Published: November 16, 2016 - 5:57PM
Carlton has challenged Dylan Buckley and Nick Graham to make good on their youthful promise, the pair set to play on only one-year contract deals in 2017.
The pair have agreed to terms on short-term contracts after both came out of two-year deals with the Blues at the end of last season.
Buckley, 23, the son of Carlton favourite Jim Buckley, has been at the club for five years for a return of 38 games. Graham, 22, taken in the third round of the 2012 national draft, has played 28 games in four seasons. The pair struggled at times in 2016, Buckley playing only 11 senior games and Graham 12.
But Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said on Wednesday the pair were highly rated for their attitude and the Blues remained confident their football would continue to improve.
"They obviously haven't cemented themselves in the team, so we didn't want to give them a long-term deal," McKay said. "They need to prove themselves, so it keeps them on the edge a little bit.
"But they've certainly been doing all the right things. We said to them at the end of the season, 'Get yourselves in good nick and we can't promise you a spot, but if you do all the right things, it's more than likely to happen'. They've done that, so we've rewarded them with another year."
Buckley's decision-making has been criticised at times, while Graham has had his struggles with his work at stoppages, but McKay said Carlton were confident that under senior coach Brendon Bolton's program, both would take another step in 2017.
"They've got areas the coaches are working with them on, and they have improved in those areas throughout 2016, we're confident they'll keep improving in those areas," he said. "They've trained really hard, and their attitude has been fantastic. They're really good people to have around the club."
Despite their games' inexperience, Buckley and Graham will nonetheless start next year as two of the longer-serving Carlton players after another massive list turnover.
Since Bolton's arrival as coach, the Blues have made 28 list changes. There was another generational shift during the trade period, veterans Andrew Walker and Michael Jamison having retired, Zac Tuohy traded to Geelong, and a host more players delisted.
The Blues' first to fourth-year players have been back on the training track since October 31, earlier than their rivals, with the rest of the senior list resuming on Monday this week.
McKay said Carlton had a much higher proportion of senior players in full training than in recent years. With the exception of long-term knee casualty Ciaran Byrne and Greater Western Sydney pair Caleb Marchbank (shoulder) and Jarrod Pickett (foot), both of whom are on restricted training programs, the Blues have a full list going about their work.
Carlton is expected to have up to six selections at next week's national draft. The Blues are expecting to re-rookie Ciaran Sheehan and Jesse Glass-McCasker, while delisted pair Andrew Gallucci and Billy Gowers are still training at Ikon Park in the hope of being given another opportunity in the rookie draft.
This story was found at:
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/o ... sqwlf.html
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