Nathan Buckley is firming as Tasmania's inaugural AFL senior coach after Steven King was handed the top job at Melbourne, replacing the sacked Simon Goodwin.

King becomes the 28th AFL/VFL senior coach of Melbourne, who chose the Geelong assistant ahead of former Collingwood coach Buckley and other shortlisted contenders including James Kelly, Daniel Giansiracusa and Brendon Lade.

Collingwood assistant Hayden Skipworth was also in the running, but pulled out before interviews were conducted this week.

Buckley was the hot favourite to land the Demons role, but also publicly expressed he was still weighing up what was the best fit for his future.

The 53-year-old is now frontrunner to become the inaugural coach of the Tasmania Devils, who are on track to join the AFL in 2028.

King was tak

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