Don’t call it a premiership hangover, and don’t call it a rude awakening.
That’s the clear message from Collingwood coach Craig McRae after his team suffered a second loss in a row to start the season.
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The fact that their first two opponents were fellow flag contenders GWS and Sydney might have caused additional concern for Collingwood fans.
And even though the Swans battered the Magpies not only with their pressure but also on turnovers, transition and marks inside 50, McRae still saw enough on Friday night to suggest things can be easily fixed.
He also insisted his side didn’t head into the season thinking they were a cut above the rest of the competition following their grand final triumph last year.
“We’re really respectful of the competition. We win three finals by under a goal, we’re not thinking that we’re miles ahead of anyone,” he said after Collingwood’s 33-point loss to the Swans.
“This season starts 0-0 and … the reality is it’s a very tough competition and we’ve got to keep improving ourselves and the first couple of games are a great example of that.”
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McRae is no stranger to the challenges involved in backing up again a year after winning the premiership, given he had also previously won three as a player with Brisbane and three as an assistant coach at Richmond.
The reigning All-Australian coach said he was “absolutely” looking for signs from his players that might suggest hints of complacency. So far McRae hasn’t picked up anything yet, but he was under no illusions that his side had plenty of improvement left in them.
“I’m reading books about things that you need to do to repeat things and we’re not standing still here and there’s a lot of time to go which gives us great belief and comfort,” he said.
“Reality is there’s a lot of hard work too … but we can’t look too far ahead.
“We’re just here to qualify (for finals) – that’s it. So we’re in the process of qualifying and before we do any of that, there’s no point in talking about anything else.
“But we have trust in our processes and we’ve got some great coaches that I know will get busy on this and we’ve got great leadership that I know will get busy on some stuff that we need to get better at.
“We try to get better every single day. That’s been our mantra for two years and it’s not going to change.”
McRae dismissed suggestions that the earliest ever start to a season, coupled with Collingwood featuring on the grand final day last year, has played any part in their slow start to 2024.
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“We’re fit and well. We’re ready to play. Our system might be a bit clunky at the moment,” he said.
“We can improve these areas quickly. The numbers aren’t horrendous but the way we’re moving the ball at times is hurting us.
“We feel like we control this stuff … we just haven’t made those turnovers the last couple of years.”
McRae agreed it was even more disappointing to lose in the manner they did against Sydney given the Magpies unfurled their premiership flag before the game.
“I look at our fans and I want to apologise,” he said.
“This is a night to celebrate and we apologise we didn’t deliver on that. But it’s a long season.”
McRae envisaged there’d be changes to the line-up with Tom Mitchell (ankle) a chance to return against St Kilda next week and Friday night’s sub Fin Macrae in the mix to be promoted to the starting 22.
However, McRae all but confirmed that struggling forward Ash Johnson would be dropped after managing just five disposals combined in his first two games and no goals.
“It looks like it’s going to be hard for him to keep his spot in the team now,” McRae said of Johnson.
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