After resisting the temptation all season to declare his hand, Collingwood coach Craig McRae has made the Magpies’ objective clear as they prepare to head to Sydney to play the Swans next Saturday night for a spot in the grand final.
“We’re here to win it, one more game and you are in a grand final. We are going to work our butts off to get better every day to give ourselves a chance,” McRae said.
The Pies celebrate their semi-final win on Saturday night.Credit:Getty Images
“We will set ourselves up and we know what is coming up in Sydney but we will give it our best shot.”
The confident Magpies have defied all pre-season predictions to reach the preliminary final after defeating Fremantle by 20 points in a one-sided semi-final that Collingwood controlled from the outset.
They will return to the SCG for the second time in a month having lost to the Swans by 27 points in round 22.
Jordan De Goey, who was best on ground against the Dockers and is in great form, was missing from that match and the Magpies believe they learned valuable lessons in the loss with midfielders Scott Pendlebury and Jack Crisp in form.
Jordan De Goey is having brilliant finals seriesCredit:Getty
“We are better for the experience,” McRae said.
The rookie coach revealed that Darcy Moore, who was once again outstanding in defence for the Magpies, was crook in bed during the week and was in doubt on the morning of the match. He praised the 26-year-old’s effort to not only play but perform as well as he did.
He took the opportunity to reflect on their effort to be one of just four teams left in the competition with the Magpies about to play their third preliminary final in five years. McRae admitted he entered the season hoping they would be competitive and will enter the preliminary final with no limit on what they could achieve as they continued to build belief through action.
“The best is in front of us,” McRae said.
“We look like we can handle the big stage. This is what we play for, our game plan stacks up,” McRae said.
“All year we think we are preparing for a finals type game plan and just honing our craft and getting better … we looked ready for the occasion.”
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir cut a more sombre figure admitting the team did not cope with the occasion of playing in enemy territory in front of 90,000 supporters, most of whom barracked for Collingwood.
“We are disappointed and that is how we should feel right now. We are disappointed that we weren’t up to the challenge and we weren’t up to Collingwood tonight,” Longmuir said.
He refused to buy into which players may exit or enter the club during the trade period with uncontracted pair Griffin Logue and Blake Acres likely to be at new clubs in Victoria next season while the contracted Rory Lobb will request a trade. The club is also hopeful of securing Melbourne’s Luke Jackson.
He also paid tribute to the retiring champion David Mundy, who exits the game after 376 games, saying the club could not thank him enough.
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