Collingwood has bid farewell to assistant coaches Robert Harvey and Brenton Sanderson.

Both served Collingwood exceptionally for many seasons and were central members of the staff of long time former coach Nathan Buckley.

Harvey most recently held the role of interim senior coach and, in all, worked for Collingwood for 10 years.

The experience of coaching Collingwood as interim for nine matches, after Buckley’s mid-season departure, tempted Harvey to consider applying for the senior role on a permanent basis. He ultimately declined to do so and has chosen to further his extensive career elsewhere.

“Collingwood has been very good to me. I will always be thankful for the opportunity to coach a generation of players and continue to develop in the company of some wonderful football people,” Harvey said.

“I knew for some time, though, that change for the club and for me was the right thing. The next challenge, for both of us, was calling.”

Sanderson joined Collingwood in 2017 after three years as Adelaide senior coach and two as head of the AFL Academy. He had five seasons as an assistant to his good friend Buckley.

Collingwood GM of Football, Graham Wright, said the club had been fortunate to benefit from the collective experience and coaching expertise of Harvey and Sanderson.

“ ’Harves’ is a senior coach-in-waiting. He demonstrated that this year in the way he took on the interim role and really flourished,” Wright said.

“It was a pleasure to work with him and see the players respond to his coaching. We discussed a future with Collingwood but after a decade with the club and significant change occurring he felt it was the right time to make a move.

“Everyone at Collingwood wants nothing but the best for ‘Harves’.”

“We are still chatting with ‘Sando’ about the future but he has stepped down as an assistant coach. Over his time with us he took responsibility for the mid-field, the forwards and, late this season, the backs.

“He is an outstanding football person who continues to educate and challenge himself and I expect him to remain in the AFL system whether that be with us or elsewhere.

“I thank both men. They should know that they left their mark on Collingwood.”