JACK Buller's long journey out of the WAFL – and long wait between his AFL debut to game two – helped guide him from Sydney to Collingwood on deadline day. 

The 24-year-old had no intention of leaving the Swans. After waiting more than two years between his first and second senior appearances, Buller played the final nine games of 2025 for Dean Cox's side. 

But by then, the Magpies had taken notice. They tracked him across the first half of the year in the VFL. Then watched from afar as he kicked two goals against St Kilda and North Melbourne, before finishing his campaign with three goals and eight marks against West Coast.

Collingwood list manager Justin Leppitsch put a two-year contract offer in front of Buller weeks later, before Sydney had presented the key forward with anything. The Swans didn't want to lose him, but the Magpies swooped, preparing for life without Brody Mihocek and Mason Cox before those decisions were made.

Opportunities presented at Sydney this year with Logan McDonald missing the entire season and Joel Amartey restricted to eight games. But with those two returning in 2026 – plus the arrival of dual Coleman medallist Charlie Curnow from Carlton – Buller had to make the right move for his own career.

When Leppitsch called in the final hours of the trade period, Buller was playing a round with his dad at Lake Claremont Golf Course. After weeks of waiting, the deal was finally done. The 199cm spearhead and a future fourth-round pick were heading to Collingwood in exchange for a future third-round pick. 

"I loved Sydney, loved all the boys and the club. They gave me a chance when no one else would, it wasn't something I was thinking about throughout the year," Buller told AFL.com.au.

"It was a mix of great timing from Leppa – he was really committed – and it was a bit of a transition period at Sydney. They were keen on getting another big fish forward and I got a bit lucky this year with Joel and Logan being injured. In the end, it was a career move. I thought this would be best for my career, so I'm stoked it's worked out for me. 

"It was a hard decision. But being a mature-age recruit, you learn that footy isn't going to be around for a long time. you live on one-year contracts and aren't sure if this is going to be your last year. I think career wise it was a no-brainer in terms of how much love Collingwood showed me and I could see a clearer career path, whereas it was shaky at Sydney. I had to make the right move for me."

Sydney plucked Buller from Claremont with pick No.15 in the 2023 Mid-Season Rookie Draft – the final selection – after a fast start to that year in the WAFL. Less than a fortnight later, after kicking 5.3 in his first VFL game, John Longmire picked the then 22-year-old to debut against Brisbane. 

It didn't go to plan. Under the bright lights of Friday night football, Harris Andrews terrorised him at the Gabba, resulting in Buller being substituted out by the last break. It took him 742 days to get another chance. A second chance, he feared, wouldn't come.

"When I got drafted, I made my debut the next week against Harris Andrews at the Gabba and got absolutely towelled up," Buller said. "It sat with me. I didn't play my next game for almost two years. I wasn't sure if I could make it. You think am I cut out for it? Is the game too fast for me? 

"I developed and grew my game so much over the two years. I really felt like I belonged late in the year. To be able to play those last nine games and have a few good ones was really important for proving that I can do it."

Next year, for the first time since 2018, Mihocek won't be one of the first magnets put on the board at match committee. But before the Tasmanian became a premiership player and a five-time leading goalkicker, Mihocek was toiling away in the VFL as a key defender, waiting for an opportunity to present itself at AFL level.

Buller has lived that waiting game. Mihocek's rise at the Magpies was part of the pitch. As was the ascent of another former mature-age recruit, who was drafted by Sydney out of Claremont in his early 20s, before moving to Collingwood after limited opportunities in the Harbour City.

"Darcy [Cameron] went from Claremont to Sydney as a mature-ager to Collingwood and is now a best and fairest winner," Buller said, while Cameron orders a coffee across the café from us at Olympic Park. "The blueprint is there for mature-age players. If I can try and walk a similar path to him, you'd go alright. The blueprint is there for someone like me."

Buller doesn't believe he would be at Collingwood – or in the AFL, for that matter – if it wasn't for someone who spent time at the club in 2011. Jye Bolton spent Mick Malthouse's final season in charge on the rookie list but was delisted after just one year. The now 33-year-old has become one of the most decorated players in the WAFL, winning two Sandover Medals, three Simpson Medals and three best and fairests at Claremont.

After playing for Western Australia at under-16 and under-18 level, Buller thought it was just going to happen for him. But when state teammates Luke Jackson, Chad Warner, Mitch Georgiades, Liam Henry and Trent Rivers all got picked in the 2019 Telstra AFL Draft, Buller didn't. He fell into a slump and didn't get out of it until he moved in with Bolton, worked out how to prepare like a pro, swapping ends of the ground in the process.

"I just cruised into all the state teams. I was in the AIS and played against New Zealand. I just thought it was going to happen for me, really didn't appreciate the work that needed to be done at all. It was a bit of a shock to the system in my draft year when my form really fell off. It hit me. I was in the victim mindset when I didn't get picked up and struggled with that for a bit. But then I moved in with Jye Bolton," he said.

"I wouldn't have got to the AFL without him. He was the No.1 guy. I moved in with him and he was the one that had the blueprint for being a great footballer. He is the most competitive bloke I've ever met in my life, even just playing video games. He was so driven in the gym or running and the competition reignited that passion in me. He has this aura of wanting to be a beast and that was crucial for getting drafted."

Buller doesn't think he would still be in the AFL system if he was drafted at 18. He wasn't ready for the sacrifices required to make it at that point. But being drafted later has allowed him to mature, setting him up for a longer career. He has finished a Bachelor of Commerce, submitting his final assignment three days after the Swans picked him. 

"I personally wouldn't have changed the way my career has gone," he said. "I have finished a finance degree and know what life is like without playing footy; it's given me a great perspective on not taking anything for granted. It's amazing to have some of the off-field sorted and being able to dive right into footy."

Buller now has his eyes on round one and becoming a permanent fixture under Craig McRae in 2026.

"That's what I want to do; that's my aim," he said. "I struggled at Sydney in terms of getting into the main side, but now I've had a taste of it, you don't want to go back. You'd love to never go back to the twos and make a name for yourself. 

"It's really exciting where Collingwood is at, so if I can be a part of that and help the boys shine and grow around me would be amazing."

Buller is currently on the hunt for a house in Melbourne and will start hunting a spot in Collingwood's best team when the Magpies report back for pre-season later this month. And it turns out he has black and white blood in his veins. Buller's late grandfather, Ray Jones, played 22 games for Collingwood in the 1940s. Now it's his turn to make his mark at one of the most famous clubs in the country.