Collingwood coach Craig McRae has delivered a post-game jab at the Blues on Thursday night, after his side’s stirring come-from-behind win at the MCG.
The Magpies trailed by 18 points at the final change before storming home to again devastate their archrivals, booting seven fourth-quarter goals after they had kicked just six to three-quarter-time.
Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Carlton, which led by as many as 23 points, still has just one win to its name this season despite leading at half-time in five of its six matches thus far.
McRae was probed in his post-match press conference on his message to his players before running out for the final quarter.
“We spoke about playing the full minutes, and that’s right in front of us,” he told reporters.
“They (the Blues) have been in front in most games (with a quarter to go) … but we were questioning whether they could do it for four quarters.
“That’s the evidence that they’ve put in front of everyone, so we wanted to play it out.
“Still, you’ve got to take your chances, you’ve got to make the most of it. The young lad kicks it straight at the end, it’s a draw — I’m not naive to think we haven’t still got work to do.”
Superstar 100-gamer Nick Daicos spearheaded the five-straight-goal run to start the final term, tallying 13 disposals, a goal, five score involvements and four clearances in the period.
Voss speaks on Holland’s ‘off night’ | 12:15
The Magpies again failed to put 100+ points on the board — with doubts still hovering over their forward connectivity and chemistry — but McRae believes his side “took a step forward”.
“I was really proud of the last quarter, to be honest. It’s probably the first time our fans and our players were in sync in terms of energy,” he said.
“You come watch Collingwood play in the last four years or so, the come-from-behind has been a bit of a trademark, and we haven’t done it for a period like that.
“To kick 7.1 and look energetic and excited — because major parts of the night were really a challenge … I’m really proud of the last quarter.
“I sat in Adelaide after the game last week and said that ‘we didn’t manage the moments’. Here we are, being lucky for a moment at the end, but I don’t think that (Byrne miss) ultimately is our story. Our story is that we’ve taken a step forward, looking more like us.”
Asked if he tapped into ‘old’ comeback Pies theme, McRae said he did, before adding: “It’s not the ‘old’, it’s ours.
“And it’ll never be old, but I also realise it’s not going to be permanent, it’s never the same — we have different personnel, so it has to be a different version.
“There’s a method. There’s definitely a method … we went into a mode of control-the-ball a little bit in the third quarter to stabilise the game, so there are some gears.
“Then I said ‘come on, boys, let’s take a few more risks here, play a bit aggressively and get some pressure in the game’.
“And I think our pressure was through the roof in the last quarter … good version of us, it’d be nice to get that going again.”
Collingwood’s forward connection remains a talking point, and while it won the territory battle convincingly, it only managed the same number of scoring shots as the Blues.
After six marks inside 50 in the first quarter, the Pies managed just four for the rest of the game, with several long, high entries that didn’t give their tall targets the best chance or marking.
“Plus 14 inside-50s again … it’s challenging at times,” McRae said.
“That second quarter really challenged us; forward-half turnovers and not really scoring, and that last quarter we kicked (several) goals from forward-half turnovers.
“Our connection is a work in progress. We’ve got work to do; I’m not sitting here thinking our game is complete, no way, but I’d rather be learning and winning (at the same time).”
McRae confirmed veteran swingman Jeremy Howe would continue to train as a forward ahead of a potential move into attack — likely once defensive reinforcements come in the form of skipper Darcy Moore and potentially Reef McInnes.
That could still be more than a week away, though, with McRae not confident on Thursday night that Moore (hamstring/leg) would be fit to play Essendon on Anzac Day.
“I just think flexibility … when something’s not working, and we just need some movement, I thought there were times tonight when Dan looked really good for us, and Tim, but we just might need a third wheel.
“Whatever the game potentially needs — he’s a really smart player, Howey, he’s an organiser too, so he’s a good leader.
“We’ll see how that goes when Darcy Moore’s back, we might have a bit more capability when he’s back, but we’ll keep training him forward during the week to keep that skillset and that craft up.”
Discussion about this post