NATHAN Buckley has his Collingwood side playing with more flair than the defence-based style of predecessor Mick Malthouse, Melbourne coach Mark Neeld says.

And Neeld should know, given he was Malthouse's right-hand man for several years until late last season.

After breaking through for the first win of his coaching career with an upset victory over Essendon at the MCG on Saturday, Neeld turned his focus to next Monday's Queen's Birthday game against Collingwood.

He said Buckley had already made an imprint in his first season in charge of the Magpies.

"They've done a little bit differently and there's a few playing in different positions," he told radio station SEN on Monday morning.

"I think the whole game has changed in the first half of the year. The speed of ball movement - I'd suggest that AFL footy's never been as quick, and there's not too much of the forward press stuff going on because you just don’t have time to set it up."

Neeld showed obvious respect for his former employer when asked why the Magpies were so good at developing young players.

"There'd be a whole heap of reasons," he said.

"One is it is an extremely strong organisation, and the mantra of 'Know your role, play your role' goes through the entire Collingwood footy club, whether you work in the administration department or the footy department.

"And the culture of the player group in particular is very much of professionalism and that hard-nosed type of culture where as soon as you get there, it doesn't matter what your role is, you understand that 'Gee, I've just got to put my head down here and do what I'm asked or I'm going to get left behind'."

The lesson of Neeld's own embryonic coaching career had been to persist.

"It has been a really disappointing first nine rounds and there's been quite a few off-field things that haven’t gone our way. And there were moments there where you think, 'Jeepers, the whole thing's against us.' But you've just got to stick at it," he said.

Neeld also said the four experienced Demons overlooked for the club's leadership group - Brad Green, Brent Moloney, Jared Rivers and Aaron Davey - had turned their initial disappointment into positive action.

"They were disappointed that they missed out on the leadership group, there's no doubt about that. And so they should be. That said to me that it meant something to them. But the support that those players are giving our young leaders, we're really thankful for, and it's certainly helping to fast-track our leadership group.

"Those guys certainly haven't been left sitting out anywhere. They’re regularly helping the young leaders develop as quickly as they can."

The Demons coach described as "a wonderful achievement" Green's effort to play against the Bombers after receiving a knock the previous week that left him coughing up blood.

He also suggested Rivers was in "some of the best form of his career" and rated Moloney's performance against Essendon as his best game of the season. Meanwhile, Davey was working hard to regain his spot in the side.