Collingwood coach Craig McRae declared he would rather have lost Monday’s King’s Birthday clash with Melbourne by 10 goals than die wondering after the Magpies almost snatched another remarkable victory in the final seconds.
McRae also revealed after the Magpies’ four-point defeat that he put up a photo of traded ruckman Brodie Grundy for his players before the match and said there should be no animosity towards him as he still had good friends at Collingwood and was loved by Collingwood people.
“I put up a photo of him up and I said, ‘We all really care for Brodie. Many of us is in the room have close relationships with him, he had a great contribution to the Collingwood Football Club’,” McRae said.
“You make tough decisions, list-management wise, about what you think is best for the future. We don’t want any wrong by Brodie, we want him to play well and perform, just not against us.”
Grundy had 26 hit-outs,13 possessions and five marks in his first match against his former club, kicking one goal, and earned the praise of Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin.
“I thought Brodes was terrific. I thought Brodes and Max [Gawn], the combination, their ability to keep the heat on the game for us at clearance was really strong. I think we had 46 hit-outs and won the clearance battle. He was very influential,” Goodwin said.
Grundy did not want to be traded from Collingwood, where he spent the first nine years of his career and was twice All-Australian. He received both cheers and boos from sections of the crowd.
McRae said Melbourne were the better side and although the Magpies had a chance to win in the final seconds – they were a goal down after a Nick Daicos snap – a Collingwood victory would have been a steal.
“To be honest, I think we would have stolen that one,” McRae said.
“We weren’t the better team. I thought they were much better in the key moments and key contests on the day.
“I thought we weren’t brave enough early in the last quarter. I want to be a bit more like what we saw in the last five minutes. I’d rather lose by 10 goals … than die wondering. That’s always been our mantra.”
Goodwin called the win a significant step forward, the Magpies having won seven of the previous nine games against the Demons.
The Demons nearly blew their domination upfield, kicking 8.18 and missing many set shots. They won the territory battle over the Magpies and held off a late Collingwood surge in the final few minutes to win the game by four points.
The Demons had trained with the Collingwood theme song playing on speakers across the ground in the lead-up. They prevailed despite giving up the first three goals of the game. Goodwin called the Magpies “the hottest ticket in town” as the top-of-the-ladder team.
“Our defensive system, we have worked hard on what that looks like against these type of teams, and we are looking to get better on that as the season goes on, and today was a step forward in that space,” Goodwin said
“We are not the finished product by any stretch, but we defend in a certain way. It’s all about how we get better.
“I think that is the character you want to build within your footy team, it’s the resilience you want to see. It wasn’t our best start to a game, it looked like a Collingwood game early, and our ability to arrest that, continue to play our way, [was pleasing].”
Goodwin said inaccurate goal kicking was “the least of [his] worries”.
“Throughout the game there were a lot of missed opportunities for us. We had our chances to kick a pretty big score and to deal with that disappointment is stuff we have been working on – that performance mindset around how we deal with mistakes, how we move forward and stay in the now,” he said.
Goodwin said midfield superstar Clayton Oliver would be ready to return for their clash with Geelong after the bye. Oliver ran laps of the MCG after the match.
Demons midfielder Jack Viney, the best player on the ground, came off in the third quarter with an injured arm dangling by his side. Viney suffered a pinched nerve in his neck, which caused pain down his right arm, but was able to recover quickly.
McRae said skipper Darcy Moore, who rolled an ankle, had 13 days to recover before their next game against Adelaide and was expected to be fine. Asked about impact of reported illness in the club – Josh Daicos was among the players affected during the week and missed training – McRae said the effect on performance was “zero”.
McRae said forward pair Daniel McStay and Jamie Elliott were both likely to be available for selection against the Crows, with defender Jeremy Howe was also close to a return.
