Collingwood coach Craig McRae has conceded his side was “playing so boring” up until three-quarter-time of the Pies’ six-point win over Melbourne.
The Magpies trailed by 10 points at three-quarter-time before piling on four unanswered goals to overrun a valiant Demons outfit at the MCG on Friday night.
The narrow victory ensured Collingwood’s top-four hopes remained alive, and after Port Adelaide toppled Gold Coast an hour later, that double-chance opportunity was cemented.
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“It was good to win a close one, we haven’t won one for a while,” McRae said, with the Pies coming into Friday night having lost three-straight close matches.
“Some amazing fight there, I can’t wait to watch the replay of the last moments — the spoils, the fighting, the scrapping. Darcy Cameron’s tackle in the last seconds. Those things, we hang on to those things.”
McRae, speaking to the Fox Footy panel post-game, admitted there were glaring flaws in the way his side played throughout the first three quarters.
“I just felt like, particularly at three-quarter-time, it felt like we were just playing so boring,” McRae said. “Just chip, mark, chip, mark. Kick it down the line, lose contest.
“(I) felt if we could get some chaos in the game it would really serve us well, and a bit of luck here and there.”
Asked how hard the game was to coach — given the Dees’ strong contest game and ability to move the ball from coast to coast — McRae maintained he was more focussed on how his side was going, rather than his opponent’s.
“I don’t like saying (there’s) nothing to play for, because everyone has something to play for, but … a dangerous team (like Melbourne) are prepared to take more risks than they normally do,” he said.
“Credit to them, I thought they played really, really well … but I’m not sort of concerned too much about what they were doing. It was more about what we’re going to do going forward, (and) what did we learn from that.”
Asked by four-time flag-winner Jordan Lewis what McRae learned coming away from the game, the Pies coach said: “I think we’re a more dangerous team when we move the ball faster, with the right balance.”
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The matchwinning return of Jordan De Goey was a welcome surprise to McRae, who declared the returning star “a mile ahead” of expectation.
De Goey has had a wretched run of injuries this year but was the Magpies’ best as they mowed the Demons down from three goals up early in the fourth quarter.
The powerful mid-forward gathered 26 damaging possessions and kicked an important second-quarter goal.
McRae couldn’t hide his excitement as De Goey returned “to his beast mode” on the cusp of September.
“He’s a mile ahead of where I thought he would be at this time,” McRae said later in his official post-match press conference.
“I still thought he’d be playing sub or subbed out; he had eight score involvements, (and) his clearance work was back to his beast mode.
“He’s an important player for us and historically finals have been his time to shine, so he’s probably one of the freshest players we have.
“I’m excited for what could be.”
De Goey was well supported by evergreen veteran Scott Pendlebury, who had eight disposals at 100 per cent and four intercept possessions in the fourth quarter.
Pendlebury went behind the ball in the heated final stanza and conducted the Magpies’ comeback.
“Enormous. Enormous. Taking kick ins, it’s amazing what (Pendlebury) is able to do, he’s just so in tune with our game,” McRae said.
“He’s just like an orchestra; ‘Boys, move here, move there, slow us down, speed us up’.
“It’s incredible, his way to get where the ball needs to go or get the ball back for us – it’s remarkable, really.”
Collingwood has battled iffy form over the past six weeks but is all but certain to finish inside the top four.
McRae shared a quiet confidence about his group, saying they’ve “got a pulse now” heading into finals.
“We don’t know where we’re going to qualify yet, we don’t know what that (win) means just yet,” he said.
“But 16 wins and a good percentage, I am sure anyone in this room would’ve been pretty happy with that at the start of the year.
“It’s a crazy year where (you win) 16 and you’re not sure where you’re going to land but we celebrated that after with our whole group.
“We’ve got a pulse now – we’re alive.”
McRae confirmed earlier on Fox Footy that livewire Beau McCreery was OK after getting “stomped on”, but there’s clearly a bigger concern over the health of crucial backman Jeremy Howe, who’ll have scans to determine the severity of his groin injury.
— with NCA NewsWire’s Tyler Lewis
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