‘You can’t do that, Craig’: Sorry Pies coach vows to ‘be a good role model’ after tense bench clash

Collingwood coach Craig McRae admits he overstepped during his boundary line clash in Opening Round, declaring: “I want to be a good role model”.

McRae was warned by the AFL but ultimately cleared of any sanction for his altercation with GWS tagger Toby Bedford and then coach Adam Kingsley.

While referencing his nature and relationship with Kingsley, McRae understands how it looks from afar.

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“Yeah look I’m really … how do I word this? I’m cheeky … I’m cheeky and I’ve got a great relationship with ‘Kingers’,” McRae told reporters. “So I have a bit of banter with Kingers, but then I realised really quickly – particularly when my wife tells me the next day – ‘you can’t do that, Craig’.

“And I understand for the look of the game, it’s not what we want, for the AFL or for young coaches aspiring to be more than that. Sometimes I get a bit too cheeky, but I apologise for that.”

Asked why two mates couldn’t have banter like that, McRae said, McRae said: “Because I don’t think it’s good for the game. My little girl plays at Williamstown Under 10s and if her coach was doing that to the other under 10s, I’d be going: ‘Come on mate, what are you doing?’

“I can be cheeky to him (Kingsley) during the week, but I’ve got a responsibility for the game.”

McRae and Kingsley both shrugged off the incident post game before Melbourne skipper Max Gawn said the Collingwood premiership coach “has form” in this space.

Gawn linked back to when former Melbourne midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen was spoken to by McRae when tagging Magpies star Nick Daicos like Bedford was on Sunday.

McRae said he would always protect his playing group but “needs to be better”.

“I love to protect our players, but again there’s a level, isn’t there, within the role model I want to be,” he said.

“I stand here with great values and morals and I want to represent us and our players really, really well. There’ll be a time in my life I won’t be doing this, so I’ve got an opportunity for a broader reach here.”

“Laura (Kane) and I spoke about that and I apologised to Laura. I said: ‘I know I’ve stepped over, but what was in the context was just two mates with great respect for each other.’ But I understand where my stance in the game needs to be better.”

When pressed about the AFL’s issue really being with McRae’s comments towards Bedford, rather than his altercation with Kingsley, McRae said: “I think I’ve made enough comments about that. I think we’re all good with that, aren’t we? I take responsibility for all my actions and I want to be a good role model.”