Recruited from St Mark's, Buckley participated in a Carlton Under-19s premiership in 1979, not playing seniors until 1982.
[2] In the opening round of the 1983 VFL season, against Richmond, Buckley replaced an injured Ross Ditchburn at full-forward during the match and kicked six goals.
[1] He was a regular fixture in the team for the rest of the season and kicked 29 goals from 20 games.
[1] The following season he played just twice, with Western Australian star Warren Ralph taking his spot as a key forward.
[1] Buckley did not play a senior VFL game in 1986 and the following year moved to a third club, Brisbane, who were making their league debut.