Adam Treloar has confirmed claims that Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley told him senior Magpies players no longer wanted him at the club before the midfielder’s bombshell AFL trade.
The 27-year-old became a Western Bulldogs player right on the deadline of the AFL trade period.
It followed weeks of rumours leaked out to the media detailing discontent between Collingwood and Treloar, who was contracted at the Magpies until 2025.
Treloar said that, in a meeting with Buckley, the Magpies mentor expressed the concerns some players reportedly had with the 27-year-old and that they believed it was in his best interests to leave.
“That was told to me in no uncertain way,” Treloar told reporters at Whitten Oval on Friday.
“That did hurt because I know how close I am with the players; to be told that when I don’t think that’s the truth (hurts).
“To be told there’s some players who don’t want you there when I know that the majority of players love and care for me.
“They were adamant on moving me on so no matter how they were going to go about it, it was going to happen.
“It was a fight up until the end because that’s where I wanted to be, at Collingwood.
“I guess anything was going to be said to move me on.
“There’s not been one player that has come to me and said ‘yeah, I was a part of moving you on’.”
Treloar was one of four Magpies to be traded out on Thursday night as the club attempts to rectify challenges with its salary cap.
Collingwood list manager Ned Guy on Thursday night claimed the Magpies would have been unlikely to explore a trade if Treloar’s partner Kim Ravaillion had not signed a Super Netball contract to play with the Queensland Firebirds next year.
But the couple have committed to a long-distance relationship next year and Treloar says he never thought about moving to the Brisbane Lions or the Gold Coast.
Ravaillion attended Treloar’s first press conference as a Bulldogs player with their daughter Georgie.
“That’s really disappointing (Guy’s comments),” Treloar said.
“The club has known that I never wanted to play anywhere else and I never wanted to move to Queensland.”
Despite his acrimonious exit, Treloar says he holds no grudges towards Buckley or anyone at the club where he played 94 games after arriving in 2016 from Greater Western Sydney.
Treloar “instantly fell in love” when he began talks with the Bulldogs and coach Luke Beveridge immediately made him welcome.
“There’s so many things going on in my head at the moment and I’m just super proud and super glad to be a this footy club now,” he said.