Collingwood will use the one-point preliminary final loss to Sydney as motivation in 2023, rather than ask themselves “what if” questions all summer, according to disappointed rookie coach Craig McRae.
The Magpies came from 23 points down at the final break to almost snatch the lead for the first time in the match when the ball bobbled around the Collingwood goal square with just three seconds to go, before the Swans rushed a behind to secure a spot in the grand final against Geelong.
It was the club’s second preliminary final loss by less than a goal in four seasons having lost the 2018 grand final against West Coast by five points.
Behind closed doors in the sombre rooms post-match, he told the players he thought there was “something special” about the group and the foundations laid in 2022 could be put to good use next season if the correct response was found.
McRae refused to buy into whether Magpies defender Darcy Moore should have been paid a free kick when Sydney’s Tom Papley appeared to push him in the back to take a match-winning mark, or whether the 50-metre penalties paid against the team were justified.
Instead, he focused on how the loss could be used to drive performance next season, revealing he wrote the words “winners only” on the whiteboard post-match.
Jack Ginnivan and Nick Daicos were distraught after the loss.Credit:AFL Photos
“I’ll probably watch the replay at some stage, and you look at all little moments and say what if, but I am not going to live in that space,” McRae said.
“We’ll use it for fuel.”
The Magpies did not look like bridging the gap the Swans established in the first quarter until the final 15 minutes when they charged late to again play in a thriller with 12 of their games in 2022 decided by a margin of fewer than eight points.
McRae said he told the players at three-quarter-time they had all the tools to make up the difference and as long as they accepted mistakes would be made on the push for victory, they were a chance.
“[I said] We’re going for it but don’t think it has to be perfect on the way to get there. Again, we didn’t quite get there. It’s difficult because you get so close [but] there is just an overwhelming sense of pride [about] how much they have given for the year to have fallen short,” McRae said.
He said they did not play as they wanted in the first half and defended the decision to play Brayden Maynard on Lance Franklin who kicked two goals in the first half.
Although disappointed at the way some players reacted when decisions went against them, his overall emotion was pride as he revealed he had to gather himself before he spoke to the players to make sure he delivered the message in the right way.
“Winners don’t think ‘what if’ and ‘if only’. Winners pick themselves up and use the lessons and get better and use it for motivation,” McRae said. “That’s what we do.”
The coach said it was clear he wanted out-of-contract midfielder Jordan De Goey to stay at the Magpies, with the free agent sure to get big offers from opposition clubs after proving his match-winning capabilities in an outstanding finals series.
“Hopefully, it is progressing in the right direction, not just because he is Jordan De Goey but because I just think this environment is the best place for Jordan De Goey. That is obviously going to take its own course in the next few weeks now,” McRae said.
