The GWS Giants will reportedly allow Jack Buckley to miss an upcoming game so he can fly to Paris and watch girlfriend Celeste Mucci at the Olympics, but the defender must decide if he wants to leave his teammates in the lurch. Speaking to Triple M radio this week, Buckley revealed he’d broached the idea with GWS coach Adam Kingsley, and hadn’t received a very encouraging response.
Buckley is keen to jet over to Paris to watch Mucci in the heats of the 110m hurdles in August. But it would likely mean missing a game for the Giants at a key time.
GWS are sitting seventh on the AFL ladder heading into Round 18, but they’re level on points with Melbourne and Port Adelaide just below them. It looks as though the finals race is going to be a nail-biter, with the Bulldogs, Gold Coast, Collingwood and Hawthorn all just one win behind GWS on 36 points.
It makes Buckley’s decision extremely tricky, as it means he’ll be leaving his team short to watch Mucci in Paris. The heats of the hurdles will take place on August 7, while the final is scheduled for August 10 (if Mucci makes it).
August 10 is also when the Giants will take on Brisbane at the Gabba. Buckley could theoretically fly to Paris after the Giants’ game in Round 21, watch Mucci in her heat and then fly back in time for the game against the Lions. But whether the Giants would want Buckley doing all that travel remains to be seen.
“It is very exciting that Celeste made it, and we are all very excited to watch,” Buckley said on Triple M. “I was in his (Kingsley’s) office a little while ago, and he does love his athletics, so I was actually too scared to ask him. And he knew I was trying to ask him but was too scared to get it out.
“He picked up the fixture and sort of looked at who we had … (Brisbane in Round 22). So he said, ‘Nah mate you are not going’. I’m getting a lot of flak around it but unfortunately it is out of my hands. We will see. It is very unlikely and I’m also scared to ask him again.”
Mucci is set to compete at her first Olympics after overcoming a nasty hamstring injury she suffered in February. She posted on Instagram last week: “I AM GOING TO THE OLYMPICS. Delayed but not denied.
“This year was the hardest physically and mentally to try qualify. After rupturing my hamstring tendon amd getting surgery in February I did everything I could to get back healthy. Focus on yourself and you can achieve anything. Thank you to my amazing team around me.”
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AFL clubs focusing on ‘family first’ this year
According to the Herald Sun, the Giants won’t stand in Buckley’s way if he decides he wants to be in Paris for Mucci. AFL clubs have shown a greater willingness to allow players to miss games for personal reasons this year, with Oleg Markov sitting out Collingwood’s game against Fremantle to attend a family wedding. Melbourne player Ed Langdon and Geelong’s Oisin Mullin were also afforded the same treatment by their clubs.
“I definitely want my family to be first and I say that to our players as well,” Collingwood coach McRae said last month. “Oleg Markov goes to a wedding a couple of weeks ago. (We say) ‘family first mate, if you think this is important to you, you do it’.
“I think that stuff pays you back. I and we at Collingwood want to win at all levels, so we have better husbands, better fathers, so Oleg becomes a better brother for his brother-in-law, whatever it looks like. There’s always a line – performance versus family – I get that. But when there is an easy choice, we’re choosing family.”