New Collingwood coach Craig McRae reveals his plans for 2022 and beyond
He coveted one of the AFL’s biggest gigs, and Craig McRae needed a selling point to convince the Magpies of his qualities - after this presentation, there was no doubt.
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One of the most key tenets of Craig McRae’s recent presentation to the Collingwood coaching subcommittee was a montage of eight key figures critical to his footy journey as well as a mission statement.
The images represent a veritable who’s who of influential coaches in Australian sport, each of whom has played a role in helping to shape the man who this week was named as Collingwood’s senior coach.
The mission statement sitting above the montage – ‘Winning is a part of my DNA’ – was no idle boast, nor was it any hint of arrogance.
“When I presented (to the subcommittee) they asked who you are as a person,” McRae said in his first extensive interview since his appointment.
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“One of my strong languages is that I am a winner, but I am not a winner in the sense of being arrogant.
“I am a winner because I think winning is a process and I know the process of winning. I spoke to each of those (eight) individuals and I’ve learnt off all of them as part of my journey.”
Somehow it seems fitting that arguably the most detailed process to find a new coach in Collingwood’s history didn’t settle on the highest profile candidate. Instead, it chose a humble, self-effacing person almost devoid of personal ego other than a craving for team success.
The men featured in the montage helped McRae find and forge that winning mentality.
He tasted premiership success three times as a player with Brisbane.
He was a member of a coaching panel that secured three flags at Richmond, while also taking his own VFL Tigers to a premiership.
McRae, 47, has now set his sights on helping to rebuild Collingwood, saying he won’t deviate from the formula that has led to success elsewhere.
Insiders say he “blew away” the selection panel with his detail, his culture-building characteristics, his level of connections, and his process-driven approach.
This wasn’t a presentation crafted in the space of a few months; it was effectively a 15-year coaching portfolio of experiences and influences.
The men in the montage – Leigh Matthews, Alastair Clarkson, Damien Hardwick, Mark Williams, Robert Walls, Mick Malthouse, Buckley and Storm coach Craig Bellamy – have shaped McRae’s pathway as a player, development coach, assistant coach and now senior coach.
McRae said of Williams, who was his first senior coach at Glenelg: “He said to me in the early days he would play young players and I would be one of those players, so giving hope to young players is something I like to do.”
Those opportunities saw McRae drafted to Brisbane as pick 22 in the 1994 pre-season draft, which saw him come under Robert Walls’ coaching in 1995.
“(Walls) was big on standards and he taught all our young Brisbane players such as (Michael) Voss, (Jason) Akermanis and myself and Nigel Lappin all these high training standards.
“That’s part of my DNA around training at high standards.”
He learnt about the importance of delegation from Mick Malthouse when he was development coach at Collingwood: “I hadn’t seen it at that level and Mick was magnificent at that, among other things.”
In working with Buckley, he found him “a real professional preparer … he was significant in his preparation for the opposition and there are a lot of layers to that.”
His move to Richmond brought him in contact with Damien Hardwick, which forged the spark that he could one day become a senior coach.
“Dimma (Hardwick) gave me the autonomy to grow a program, but he also taught me a lot around storytelling and connection and the whole piece of the culture, which is a lot of my teaching and coaching as well.
“The passion really ignited at Richmond in terms of coaching my own team … particularly making Grand Finals and experiencing in 2019 winning the (VFL) Grand Final.
“I loved that ability to be able to drive the bus, if you like.”
McRae also worked for a time on Melbourne Storm’s kicking, admiring Craig Bellamy’s impact on the club.
“That reinforced to me that (sport) is all about great process and culture and valuing people and creating winning behaviours and repeating them over and over and over again,” he said.
His one year at Hawthorn as an assistant coach this season fostered a relationship with Alastair Clarkson, with McRae in awe of the four-time premiership coach’s care for people.
“Clarko’s level of care is like no one else on that page, which goes right down to the families. it is unbelievable,” McRae said.
When McRae’s partner Gabrielle told their five-year-old daughter that her dad had been named coach of the Magpies, little Charlie said: “I was hoping Clarko would be the coach.”
“That’s the essence of Clarko,” McRae said with a smile about his connection with those around him, even his assistant coaches’ kids.
It’s a closeness he wants to foster at the Pies.
The main figure in McRae’s montage of influences was his Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews, who shaped his footy and his life.
McRae said he won’t have any hesitation in keeping Matthews as a sounding board during any challenging times ahead.
“I used Leigh (as the main feature) because he had the most significant influence on me as coach, and I learnt a lot of my philosophies around coaching from him,” he said.
“He has offered to be there for some advice … I am not saying it is going to be there right through the whole journey, but what I have noticed already in this position is all of a sudden there is another level of support you didn’t realise was there.”
McRae’s hardworking but low-profile manner embodies the new Collingwood.
The Magpies intend to be more measured, more understated, more process driven and less given to hyperbole – which suits the coach.
“There has been a bit of a shift in mentality. When I got here (the first time in 2011) it was ‘the biggest and the best, the boldest and the newest’. That was something that preached a lot and I know there has been a focus to shift away from that.”
McRae loves being back at Collingwood.
It wasn’t his choice to leave in late 2015 – the soft cap was biting at the time and the club had to scale back its development structures.
“I did learn a good lesson in life that my dad (Kevin) instilled in me and that was to never burn your bridges,” he explained.
“Unfortunately my time ended here because it was the start of the first cuts in the soft cap.
“I had a contract that was expiring and it was just a matter of circumstances that they decided to go in a different way and not have a head of development, although I was doing a good job.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get a new contract, but I just worked my bum off to exit well, including going to the best and fairest with my daughter (Chelsea).
“I didn’t have a job, but I wanted to shake hands and look people in the eye and thank them for my time and move onto my next journey.”
That next phase took him to Richmond, then to Hawthorn and now back to Collingwood, with those experiences adding to his coaching IP.
“I wouldn’t change a thing about my journey,” he said.
Winning isn’t the only thing in McRae’s DNA, hard work is just as prevalent.
“My dad was a boilermaker who worked six days a week for 40 years,” he said. “He was a hard worker and he says it all the time – ‘it’s in your blood’.
“It is in my DNA to work hard. When I was growing up and not getting picked for my high school footy team, I had this thing that ‘I will prove you wrong!’.
“I quickly realised when I got older, it wasn’t about that. It was about proving myself right.
“I feel like I have good resilience and it is going to be needed in this job.”
He knows his elevation to the main role will prove a balancing act for his family.
“My family balance is the most important (thing),” he said. “There are going to be times when it is going to be challenged and I think the way my family is set up is going to give me the best chance to do this job well.”
He loves spending time with his two daughters – five-year-old Charlie, and 21-year-old Chelsea, from a previous marriage.
He and his partner Gabrielle have had to cancel their wedding date three times already due to the pandemic, with their next early October timeline again looking in serious doubt.
“We had hoped to get married three or four times, but it has been put back more and more,” he said.
Now that he is back in the Collingwood family, McRae wants to ensure the club does all that it can to connect with its fans, even during a pandemic.
The fans even formed a part of his presentation pitch.
“In my proposal … that was one of my pillars, to reconnect with the past and to reconnect with the fans,” he said. “We miss the fans enormously at the footy.
“I want to find Covid-proof ways to be able to connect with the fans, I have got a few ideas around that and we can’t wait for our fans to be back at the games.”
Revealed: McRae’s six key plans to transform the Pies
New Collingwood coach Craig McRae wants the Magpies to get more bang for their buck next season, eager to turn the AFL’s lowest inside 50m entry team back into a scoring force.
The Magpies were ranked last for inside 50s and third last for points scored this year, with their inability to get the ball into attack one of the key reasons behind their 17th-placed finish.
McRae, appointed as Nathan Buckley’s replacement last Wednesday, is already looking at ways to boost the club’s scoring profile next year from a team and tactical standpoint, with a heavy focus on giving the club’s forwards more opportunities in 2022.
“When I presented through the (coaching) process, there (were) some holes in the (playing) list if you want to play a certain way, so I am conscious of saying we are going to play a certain way,” McRae said of his plans to remedy the club’s forward woes.
“This is our first opportunity to say we need less possessions and we need to go forward more. If we go forward more, we are going to kick to more contests, so we need to improve our contest (work) because we want the ball inside 50, to give us more chances to score.
“That’s one of the initial things I have said (to the players). We are going to have to improve in the contest because that’s the way we are going to have to get the ball forward.”
In his first expansive interview since taking on the senior role, McRae detailed his plans to:
# HELP explosive midfielder/forward Jordan De Goey become “the best version of himself”, including seeing him return to day one of the pre-season fit and ready to fire
# LOCK Darcy Moore permanently in defence, ending any idea of using him as a swingman
# CHALLENGE Brodie Grundy and the midfield group to develop a closer on-field synergy in order to take advantage of the ruckman’s hitout dominance
# ALLOW Scott Pendlebury the chance to decide his future as captain, while conceding the club had some work to do on its leadership group
# TEMPER the initial expectations surrounding boom father-son recruit Nick Daicos, while providing him with the best possible grounding in his first year
# LIFT the tackling and pressure ratings of the club’s 2021 debutants.
McRae spoke to the Collingwood playing group on Wednesday, outlining some of his plans for the future as well as his expectations of them going forward.
He will look to finalise a coaching panel around him in the coming weeks, with his former Brisbane premiership teammate Justin Leppitsch almost certain to join the club.
Hawthorn assistant coach Brendon Bolton is also in the mix.
“When we get our coaching panel together, we will sit down and (say) ‘How do we want to play and what suits our list?’ McRae said.
“I want the contest to be a focus, how we set the field up in offence will be a focus, how we set the field up in defence will be focus and there will be some strategies around stoppage.”
McRAE’S SAY …
JORDAN DE GOEY
“He is certainly a player who we want to be the best version of himself. There are two parts to that for me – the choices he wants to make to be that player, which ultimately is up to him to decide, but then it is the environment that we create to allow him to be.
“I am hoping he makes the choice that he does (want to be the best version of himself). Those decisions he makes now in that time before he gets back (to pre-season training) are pretty critical to set him up for that.
“We want to create an environment where he is challenged, and he is rewarded, and he is motivated, and he is happy. Then to create an opportunity for others to push him and feel part of something bigger than himself. That is the challenge in professional sports, that your own needs are met, but we also want the team’s needs to be met more.”
DARCY MOORE
“I was really strong when I was here last time that I thought Darcy could be one of the best key defenders in the game.
“I am certain he will be part of the back six (in the future).
“Darcy is such an intelligent guy. He wants to be a young leader of the group.”
BRODIE GRUNDY
“I said to him in the meeting (on Wednesday) … ‘when I was last here you never said much … Are you going to speak up in meetings now? This is your chance’. I was encouraging him to come out of himself and give more to others.
“I think Brodie is at that stage in his football (career) where we need him to be more than just a good preparer and maybe good at hit-outs. We want him to connect. If he is connecting, hopefully we get more connections in the hit-outs.”
MASON COX
“I am really proud of Mason and of what he has been able to achieve in the game. (But) he would be the first to say he wants to do more.
“I think it is interesting with guys like Mason and Jamie Elliott and Darcy (Moore) and Brodie (Grundy), these guys I have had relationships with for a long time.
“But I have got to be very clear that I am not going to have favourites.
“The level of relationship has been built, but we can’t have favourites. Mason is a good example of that. I want the best for him, but also I want the best for the Collingwood Football Club and that’s going to come first.
“The list management decisions will be made with and without me, but Mason will be a talking point.”
NICK DAICOS
“I think expectations can overwhelm people at times. I haven’t spoke to the young lad yet, but I plan to.
“I was fortunate enough to catch up with Chris Connolly and his experience with Jack Watts at Melbourne. Jack Watts was the No. 1 pick and (Connolly’s) comment … was ‘he was coming in to develop and we (gave) him to the least experienced coach’.
“I don’t want to fall into that trap, so maybe the highest pick needs to go to (our) most experienced coach.”
HIS NICKNAME, FLY
“I’ve been trying to shake Fly (for years). It goes right back to ‘Choco’ Williams at Glenelg. I got a really bad haircut when I was 19 and I decided to go for the undercut – as everyone was doing. I walked into the club and the ‘Back to the Future’ movies must have been around with Marty McFly.
“I was McFly for two years (at Glenelg). When I got to Brisbane they just dropped the ‘Mc’ and then it was Fly. There have been all different versions of Fly for the last 25 years.
“When I listen to people say my name on the news – Craig McRae – I am like ‘who’s that?’ I just haven’t been called Craig for so many years.”
BRISBANE’S MAD MONDAY ORGANISER
“I didn’t drink during the season (as a Lions player). Many of us didn’t because we were very disciplined in our want to be the best. (But) I would get to the end of the year and I would want to have a beer with my mates and celebrate.
“We would have a few guys who would go to a pub and then they would stuff something up and we would get kicked out. One year we got kicked out of three pubs and I thought ‘what are we doing?’ I am not going to mention names, but I thought, ‘stuff this … I am taking this over’ and then all year I was planning this big event.
“The 2003 one (after the club’s third straight flag) was the best. It became a real event. It was a great time of my life, we were very tight (as a team). They are special memories now.”
Pies stoush: Korda’s bombshell wont stop Browne push
— Michael Warner, Glenn McFarlane, Jay Clark, Rebecca Williams
Would-be Collingwood president Jeff Browne says Mark Korda’s decision to stand down at the end of next season “changes nothing” about a push for a spill of the Magpies’ board.
Korda, who replaced Eddie McGuire at the helm of the club this year, wrote to members on Thursday to declare he would quit the post and leave the board once his term had expired next year.
“My role as president has been to see Collingwood settle, transition and reposition itself on and off the field in the wake of the departure in February of long time president Eddie McGuire,” Korda wrote.
But Browne will still seek to take the presidency off Korda by forcing a spill at the club’s annual general meeting on December 16.
“The statement ignores the members’ push for a vote on all seven board positions at the AGM on December 16,” Browne told the Herald Sun.
“And I expect that spill will proceed.”
Korda added in his letter that Peter Murphy, Christine Holgate, Bridie O’Donnell and Neil Wilson, would be up for election at the December 16 meeting.
It has been a week of announcements and changes at Collingwood with the club appointing Craig McRae as its new coach to replace Nathan Buckley.
McRae’s premiership teammate Justin Leppitsch is set to join him at Collingwood in a strategy role while Buckley’s former assistants Robert Harvey and Brenton Sanderson will not be assistants at Collingwood next season.
It also emerged on Thursday that Brendon Bolton — a former Carlton coach and now Hawk assistant — is firmly on the club’s radar for a key role in 2022.
McRae said on Wednesday he was not alarmed by the instability at board level and had received assurances that he would not be turfed out if new president Browne came in.
“Yes I’m led to believe that is the case and I have great comfort sitting here that that is going to be executed,” McRae said.
Korda told members in his letter he hoped for a smooth transition to the next president at the end of the 2022 season.
“By declaring my intention now, our talented and passionate board will have time to develop a succession plan and work to ensure Collingwood remains stable, respected, financially sound and focused on our members, our staff and our teams across men’s and women’s football, netball, and wheelchair football,” he said.
“By the end of next season the energy of a diverse and progressive board will be ready to take further a transformation that is already underway.”
Pies target another ex-senior coach to help McRae
Collingwood is keen on luring Hawthorn assistant coach Brendon Bolton to the club as part of an elite band of support staff being assembled to work alongside new coach Craig McRae.
Just a day after the Magpies appointed McRae as senior coach, it has emerged that Bolton – a former Carlton coach and now Hawk assistant – is firmly on the club’s radar for a key role in 2022.
While Bolton is still contracted to the Hawks, it is understood the Magpies have targeted him as one of the leading candidates it wants to work with McRae as the club looks to start a new era.
That could mean McRae has at least two former AFL senior coaches working with him next year – with ex-Lions coach Justin Leppitsch almost certain to join the club in a defensive coaching role.
Collingwood made it clear during its search for a replacement for Nathan Buckley that it wanted to source an experienced team of coaches around the new senior coach.
McRae formed a close working relationship with Bolton this year at Hawthorn.
Bolton was a strong sounding board for McRae as he pursued the Magpies’ job, with the pair now likely to be reunited at the Holden Centre.
“He has been an enormous mentor this year in regards to getting this job,” McRae said of Bolton on SEN on Thursday.
“Working with Brendon Bolton all year, we would go on interstate trips and go for walks, and we would talk (about footy). I would pick his brain about the experiences he has had.”
Leppitsch, who played in three Brisbane flags with McRae, attracted early interest from Carlton, but looks set to join Collingwood.
He stepped away from the AFL industry following a highly-successful period at Richmond, but is keen to return to coaching and clubland.
Bolton stood in for Alastair Clarkson for five AFL matches in 2014 when the Hawks coach had a health issue, and he went on to coach Carlton in 77 games from 2016 to the middle of 2019.
He returned to Hawthorn after being sacked mid-season by the Blues in 2019, taking on a director of coaching role before assuming an assistant coaching position with the midfield this season.
Long-time assistant coach Robert Harvey has departed Collingwood, while general manager of football Graham Wright said Brenton Sanderson won’t have a coaching role, but could still remain at the club in a different role.
The Magpies are expecting to finalise their coaching panel in the coming weeks as McRae and his new panel looks ahead to the trade and national draft period.
McRae said at his first press conference on Wednesday he was keen to look at a range of options for his support staff, eager to assemble a diverse group of assistant coaches with varying skill sets.
Eddie hails McRae appointment as new Pies era starts
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says Craig McRae’s appointment as senior coach is a fresh start for the Magpies.
Collingwood announced Brisbane triple premiership player and Hawthorn assistant McRae as Nathan Buckley’s full-time replacement on Wednesday.
It was the latest in a series of sweeping changes at the Magpies this season.
McGuire resigned in February amid the fallout of the Do Better report that revealed a culture of systemic racism at the club.
Four months later, Buckley stepped aside as coach after 10 seasons in the role.
McGuire said Collingwood supporters would view McRae coming on board as a new beginning.
“I know what I’m like, I’m going ‘you beauty, let’s get started’,” McGuire said on Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
“Sort the board out in the next few months – that’ll all sort itself out.
“But for the players and the rebuild of the football team, it starts now … let’s go, forget about everything else.
“Mick (Malthouse) is gone, Bucks is gone, I’m gone – and (caretaker coach) Robert Harvey’s gone, unfortunately.”
Collingwood finished second-bottom this year with a 6-16 record and blooded nine debutants.
It followed the Magpies’ controversial off-season clean-out, when it traded star midfielder Adam Treloar, as well as wingman Tom Phillips and 2018 Rising Star winner Jaidyn Stephenson, to ease salary cap pressure and improve their draft hand.
“Craig McRae comes into a club that had already started a rebuild,” McGuire said.
“As the year’s gone, some of the decisions that have been made have been vindicated as well.
“The salary cap is well under control and is where we need to be going forward.
“Craig McRae is a great teacher of young men – I can’t tell you how many text messages I received from his Brisbane Lions teammates today saying he’s exactly the guy to rebuild this new group.”
Since retiring at the end of the 2004 season, McRae has been a development coach at Richmond and Brisbane, Collingwood’s head of development, VFL coach at the Tigers and an assistant with Hawthorn.
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said McRae was certainly not a novice.
“People will look at him and say ‘oh, they’ve gone for an inexperienced coach, he hasn’t coached an AFL game’,” Lloyd said.
“But you look at it and he played under Leigh Matthews, he’s been (coached) under Mick Malthouse, Nathan Buckley, he’s done some work with (Melbourne Storm NRL mentor) Craig Bellamy and then it’s been Damien Hardwick, Alastair Clarkson, so he’s been in the game a long, long period of time.”
McGuire added: “People have been talking ‘is he the new type of Clarkson?’ But to me he’s more like a (North Melbourne premiership coach) Denis Pagan who has been around for a long time. He’s 47 years of age, so it’s not like he’s walking in as a raw boned 32-year-old.”
WHY MCRAE LANDED FOOTY’S BIGGEST JOB
New Collingwood coach Craig McRae was hailed as “a proven winner” and expert educator who will make it a priority to improve the Magpies contest work and forward supply for next season.
The man who has been groomed by Leigh Matthews, Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson was unveiled as Nathan Buckley’s permanent replacement on Wednesday, confident his calm demeanour, resilience and relationship skills helped make him “the best person for the job”.
McRae, who won three premierships as a player at Brisbane and has coached in the AFL for the past 15 years, said it was his aim to help Collingwood rise “as quick as we can” after finishing second last in 2021.
McRae was unfazed by the storm brewing at board level and said he would quickly get to work on a game style and brand that would focus on winning more contested ball and scoring opportunities.
“We are all aligned in knowing that we have got some work to do to get up the ladder,” McRae said.
So grateful to @CollingwoodFC for the opportunity to coach this amazing football club. Thank you for all the messages of congratulations & support.
— Craig McRae (@flybags4) September 1, 2021
Looking forward to making all the Pies supporters proud.
Side By Side 🖤ðŸ¤
“I’m sitting back at the minute looking at the best versions of every team (in finals) and seeing things we can implement in our game plan.
“I’m certain that we will improve our contest. That is something from afar I’m keen to implement and I want to play an exciting brand that the fans will be happy to come watch and cheers us loud.”
The appointment was a popular one with the playing group with McRae returning to Olympic Park after a stint in 2011- 2015 as Magpies’ development coach before joining Richmond’s premiership reign in 2016.
McRae’s premiership teammate Justin Leppitsch is set to join him at Collingwood in a strategy role while Buckley’s former assistants Robert Harvey and Brenton Sanderson will not be assistants at Collingwood next season.
The Pies’ new boss has been widely praised for his personal attributes and received glowing character references from some of the most respected figures in the game.
“At every stage of the (appointment) process Craig impressed immeasurably around his experience and the success he’s had in every single role he’s had,” CEO Mark Anderson said.
McRae, who was a former schoolteacher, believed “everything I am as a person and coach” fit the Collingwood coaching brief.
“I just (like to) create great relationships and show respect for all people,” he said.
“Great values, high morals. I just respected everybody the same regardless of your status in the game, or your background.
“I treat the property steward the same way I treat (president) Mark (Korda), it’s just the person I am.”
McRae, who was the 2019 VFL premiership coach and assistant coach of the year, said we would implement high standards form the get-go and was unafraid to have tough conversations.
“Those conversations become easy when you have got a relationship to a level where you can say ‘Mate, what you are doing right now doesn’t suit the Collingwood Football Club. We need to get better in this area,” he said.
“I am a rewarder. I like to water what we want to grow.
“I spoke to the playing group before about certain things we want to see in place straight away when we get back.
“And some of them put their hand up and said there’s things they want to make sure they want to do when they get back and we will hold them to account to that. We will get them to honour their word.”
Fly.
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) September 1, 2021
Our 16th senior coach. pic.twitter.com/GI8N581rNt
McRae joked that he offered former Hawthorn mastermind Clarkson the chance to become the Pies’ new stoppage coach if Clarkson was short for work next season.
He said there was “a couple of little holes” in the structure of the playing list which the club would attempt to address in the coming draft and trade periods.
Collingwood scored the third-least number of total points for the season and McRae said he would quickly get to work on the balance of attack and defence.
“I’m going to get all the information form the coaches in the coming days about what has worked and what hasn’t worked,” he said.
“There has been an extensive review done already, so I’m going to get all that information.
“But what I will say is 18th for inside 50s is not where we want to be, so we will have to do some stuff in regards to that and the contest is a big part of that.
“So we will want to increase our opportunity to get the ball inside 50 like everybody does and then that gives us the best way to score form that.”
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