Craig McRae hit back at the suggestion that Collingwood’s dominant form during the home-and-away season can be a hindrance when it comes to winning a premiership, calling the theory baffling.
The Magpies, who edged Melbourne by a single point on King’s Birthday Monday, sit comfortably atop the ladder and remain flag favourites.
But when AFL 360 host Gerard Whateley raised the idea that top-placed teams rarely convert early-season success into flags, coach McRae wasn’t buying it.
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“We did it the other year. I keep hearing that, we’re ‘playing too well’ apparently? I can’t have that … what do you want us (to do), play worse? I just don’t get it,” he said. “Yeah, I get challenged with that (concept), I just shake.”
‘We’re finding different ways to win’
Only two top-ranked sides after Round 13 have gone on to win the premiership in the past 11 years, McRae’s 2023 side being one of them. Still, he insists there’s no ceiling on how well his team can perform, nor is there danger in leading the pack.
“We’re in the position of getting better, that’s what we try to do. We want to improve ourselves,” he said. “Forecast back two years ago, we were 18-5 – and this is a different team.
“You go through our wins this year, there’s a lot of different ways we’ve won: Through stoppage, through transition, today was through ‘grit and find a way’, Fremantle was through role compliance and other ways.”
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The Magpies’ gritty one-point win over the Dees was another entry in a growing catalogue of close calls handled with calm. McRae said post-match: “We’re in the qualifying phase at the moment and you’ve just got to find ways to win.”
“I think the reality is this group knows and feels comfortable in that place,” he added.
“The players are the moving parts that make that happen.”