Inside the new Collingwood: How welcoming past players in the inner-sanctum has changed the culture at the Magpies

Last year, former Magpie Denis Banks gave a speech to current players about great mate Darren Millane – and the message typifies Collingwood’s transformation under Craig McRae.

Few Collingwood players were as committed to the cause or hard at the contest as Denis Banks, perhaps with the exception of his great mate Darren Millane.

So when Banks spoke to the current Pies players in the pre-season early last year about Millane – who was killed in a car accident 12 months after the pair played in the club’s legendary 1990 premiership – it was an emotional bridge between the past and the present.

It’s a bridge coach Craig McRae is busy constructing as part of the Magpies’ plan to unite the old and new of Australia’s biggest sporting club.

Inclusion has been one of the key planks of Collingwood’s transformation on and off the field and McRae has used it by welcoming back retired players on a more regular basis.

Some of them have even been embedded within the locker room for a week.

Banks’ emotional speech about his best mate ‘Pants’ (Millane) served two points – it provided a modern context about one of the club’s great players of the past, but it also provided a salient lesson for the next generation of stars.

“He (Millane) was dynamic, he was tough, he had s — in him … if someone was in front of him, he would go through them,” Banks told the modern-day Pies.

“He broke his thumb and he played with injections (in the 1990 finals series). The pain he was in every (game) and every training session was unbelievable.

“Him being out on the field was inspirational for us.”

Then Banks’ veneer broke when he tearfully explained the sense of loss that followed Millane’s death – at 26 – having crashed his car while driving home intoxicated.

“Pants (Millane) was just the best bloke ever … we all miss him,” Banks said.

“We all get choices and sometimes we make the wrong ones. He made the wrong choice … and the choices you make are everlasting … so guys make the right choices.”

Since the arrival of McRae (who was appointed by Mark Korda’s board in the midst of a boardroom upheaval that split the club for a time in 2021) and Jeff Browne’s elevation to the presidency, the club has made a more active pitch to its past players to get back involved.

That has only increased in McRae’s second season, with Banks and Millane’s 1990 premiership teammate Craig Kelly, now the Magpies’ chief executive officer, a big believer in welcoming past players back into the inner-sanctum.

Footy boss Graham Wright, another member of that 1990 side, has played a role too.

“Part of the appeal of Ned was that I wanted to bring our great players back to the club,” Browne said.

Club great Peter Moore says Collingwood now feels more inclusive for past players and families.

“It used to be, as past players, you would feel a little like you were intruding, as footy clubs are high pressure, highly competitive environments,” Moore said.

Peter Daicos (middle) with Jeff Browne and Craig Kelly. Picture: Michael Klein

“Now I think it is more accessible and the families are welcomed into the rooms. It is a very important part of involvement with the kids and the families, being welcomed into the inner sanctum, I think that has been great for the culture.”

Moore recently joined the fathers of Collingwood players in a ‘Dads’ Day’ at the AIA Centre, alongside his son Darcy, who is in his first season as captain.

Collingwood did a similar thing on Mothers’ Day this year with Beau McCreery’s mum, Julie, giving a classic pre-game speech.

Peter Daicos, one of the club’s favourite sons and the father of young guns Nick and Josh, says the Collingwood 2023 version is more welcoming than it has been since he retired from AFL football three decades ago.

“I am not there (at the club) day to day, but all I can reference is that from (the time) when I retired (in 1993) until now, there has just been a massive turnaround,” Daicos said this week.

“That has got a lot to do with Craig McRae and Wrighty (Graham Wright).

“Things are always evolving in clubs. These guys have come in with some fresh ideas and the term ‘inclusive’ is so apt in this case.

“Whether it is as an ex-player or as a parent, you don‘t want to overstay your welcome and you don’t want to be a burden because their first priority is getting the team right.

“But it is really nice we can go back. I love it because you get all the young Collingwood boys coming over and having a bit of a chat. It’s so good. They are all so welcoming to us all.”

Daicos said change could often bring about a spike in performances in any environment as he praised his former teammate Wright for having the foresight to recommend McRae – who had served a two-decade apprenticeship but had never been a senior AFL coach – for the role.

“We tried something a bit different, they got an untried guy (at senior level) but they clearly did their due diligence,” Daicos said of McRae’s appointment in September 2021.

Peter Moore is one of a host of ex-players to be welcomed back into the Collingwood inner-sanctum. Picture: Michael Klein

“And don’t forget the coaching is not about one person, it is about a whole coaching group.”

“We always look at players maturing, but these coaches are getting better every year. They have only been here for two years with this group, so they are learning things all the time.”

He also praised president Jeff Browne, saying: “the thing with Jeff is that he loves the anonymity of it all, he is sitting in the background.”

Browne organised for Daicos to travel to the Middle East earlier this year to speak to the club’s major sponsors Emirates about his experiences as a former Collingwood player but also what it means to be the father of All-Australian young guns Nick and Josh.

“He (Browne) got me to speak to our major sponsors at Emirates re: Collingwood as a player but also me as a dad (with sons playing with the club), which was really good,” Daicos said.

A number of the club’s 2010 premiership players, including Jarryd Blair who handed new Magpies Dan McStay and Bobby Hill their new jumpers in the lead-up to round 1, have also been invited back into the fold this season.

Some of those past players have developed close ties with the current stars wearing their numbers.

Collingwood’s last premiership coach Mick Malthouse says McRae has been pivotal in the club’s revival.

He was always confident the rebound would be swift, declaring the Pies “had the ingredients of a very good football side”.

Craig McRae has played a leading role in bringing ex-players back to the club. Picture: Getty Images

“I never thought they were a bad side,” Malthouse said. “I had a fair idea what Craig McRae was like as a bloke because I had him in 2011 (as an assistant coach). He’s a very personal sort of bloke and clearly knows the game.

“I like people who have had success and know how to get success. He’s been a part of multiple premierships. He was a part of a very successful football club as a player (at Brisbane) and he’s been a part of a very successful coaching team at Richmond.

“He knows good from bad when it comes to winning and losing – and that’s fundamental to coaching – having a history of knowing the differences.”

Twelve of Collingwood’s 2018 losing grand final team have moved on from the club – some are still playing elsewhere.

“I didn’t think it would take long (to rebound),” Malthouse said.

“But I mean we didn’t know how good (Nick) Daicos was going to be – or that (Scott) Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom would still be around to support the new captain in (Darcy) Moore.

“They are real bonuses and leadership is such a valuable commodity on a ground as big as we’ve got in Australian Rules.”