The 23-year-old was again amongst the Magpies' best on Saturday in their win over Hawthorn.

Buckley heaped praise on Adams, who has quickly grown into his role as a Collingwood vice-captain this season, which is his third with the Magpies, after starting his career with Greater Western Sydney.

"His leadership has been first-class, his workrate is high, and he has impacted games as a midfielder as much as anyone in our side," Buckley said.

Battling various injuries last year, Adams was restricted to 14 games but now fully fit, he is in career best form.

His 30.4 disposals per game is tied with Adam Treloar as the most for any Collingwood player this season and his 66 tackles are joint sixth highest in the competition.

Buckley put the improvement down to "mainly maturity", while still keeping his competitive edge and love of the rough and tumble.

"He's still a young man, and he's really driven and wants to find out how good he can be," Buckley said.

"He's got a bit of an edge to him, too, which we love, so we want to see him continue to see him blossom in his footy career.''

AAP