Collingwood coach Craig McRae addressed the Magpies playing group to deny rumours about his personal life.
The 2023 premiership coach took an extended Christmas break, and this pre-season has handed over the reins for various training sessions to assistant coaches Matthew Boyd and Hayden Skipworth.
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Those two decisions led to rumours circulating of a marriage breakdown.
The club has labelled the speculation “reckless and irresponsible” and felt the need to address them publicly given they had become so widespread.
“The rumours circulating are completely false and unfair on Craig and his family,” Collingwood CEO Craig Kelly said in a statement.
“We should never be in a situation where a coach feels he needs to address his playing group over online rumours – everyone needs to be aware how this reckless and irresponsible speculation can impact people and we are not going to stand for it.
“Craig’s leave was planned in December last year and he was always going to return to work when he did and there was never anything more to it. Since walking into the club, Craig has led the AFL program with authenticity, integrity and strong family-first values and we will continue to support him and his family.”
The 52-year-old, who is signed with the Magpies until 2028, made headlines when he and wife Gabrielle welcomed their third child into the world on Grand Final Day in 2023.
McRae announced on the premiership dais that his daughter Maggie had arrived that morning.
He also spoken publicly of his have more time away from the club to spend time with his young family and to conserve energy for the season proper.
“There was nothing untoward around it,” McRae told afl.com.au in a recent interview.
“It was just about having a bit of extra time off because you go from a prelim final, then you’ve got the trade period straight away and then before you know it the draft, then you’ve got pre-season starting and you feel like there’s times – and I know I’ve only done it for four years – but it actually feels like sometimes you just haven’t had a break and so there’s a build-up of all this stress and other layers of doing the job that you haven’t had a chance to move.”
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