The light bulb moment which ignited Beau McCreery’s career and ‘pulled him into line’

They’re a mix of workhorse talls, speedy smalls and mid-range draft picks, but by being ‘dog hungry’, the Collingwood forward line has found a recipe for success.

Beau McCreery remembers the long days on the shovel back home in Adelaide.

Before the Collingwood wrecking ball was hunting opposition defenders at the MCG, he was a full-time landscaper doing a lot of “wheelbarrowing and jackhammering” who had all but written-off his AFL dream.

But then a call from an unknown number changed everything.

It was the Sydney Swans. The light bulb moment.

“I remember I was working on my own that day and I wasn’t sure I was even going to answer the call,” McCreery said.

Beau McCreery went from working a jackhammer to playing in the AFL. Picture: Michael Klein

“But I’m glad I did.

“I had started to play a bit of league (SANFL) and when that first call came it started to sink in that I might be a chance.

“I was just praying for a rookie contract to be honest, so when Collingwood took me in the national (draft), yeah we were pretty excited.”

It has proven to be the perfect landing spot for the former skinny midfielder who packed on the muscle and “chased a---” to become not only one of the most dangerous pressure forwards in the game, but also something of a black and white-striped cult hero.

It’s a title his mother, Julie, also shares after giving the team a “tackle haaard” rev-up on Mother’s Day which still gets a run in the Collingwood locker room.

Tenacity over talent has gotten Beau McCreery to where he is in the AFL. Picture: Michael Klein

While McCreery, 22, has received plenty of pep talks from footy’s favourite mum over the journey, there is another special ingredient which powers the Collingwood forward line.

And it’s not talent.

It’s tenacity.

More than anything, McCreery says the Collingwood forwards, who are a motley crew of workhorse talls, speedy smalls and mid-range draft picks, want to be “dog hungry”.

“That is the DNA we are trying to build with this group,” McCreery said.

“We all just have a crack and fight, and I think we all have a bit of dog in us.

“We don’t like losing, we don’t like losing one-on-one. We all just want to crack-in, and that goes further than having talent, I believe.

“The whole team just bonds so well, so it is good fun, but our forward line has a few young boys like Bob (Hill) and ‘Ginni’ (Jack Ginnivan), and we just really enjoy playing with each other.”

But there were some hiccups early in the journey, too.

As much as McCreery relished the AFL opportunity, kicking snags at a packed-out MCG most weeks, life at Collingwood can be a head-spin for young players.

The 186cm speedster had plenty to learn about AFL professionalism, he said looking back.

“I was still young when I first moved here, so I mucked around a bit. But I got pulled into line pretty quick,” McCreery said.

“I had a sit down with ‘Bucks’ (Nathan Buckley) and a few of the leaders a few times, but we got there in the end.”

Now, after losing 11 of his first 13 AFL games in Collingwood’s dismal 2021 campaign, McCreery will on Friday night play in his second-straight preliminary final.

McCreery will play in his second consecutive preliminary final on Friday night. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He booted two goals, but laid only one tackle in the Magpies’ crushing loss to the Swans in the preliminary final last year.

Then the Pies watched on with broken hearts as the Swans got pulverised by the Cats in the premiership decider the following week.

It was an opportunity missed, which fuelled the fire over summer, while the pundits talked a lot about the Magpies sliding in 2023, after so many narrow comeback wins the year before.

But the Magpies wanted to show they belonged at the pointy end.

And the stakes could hardly be higher against the red-hot GWS Giants on Friday night.

As Mrs McCreery said “go out there, make us proud, believe in yourselves, believe in each other, and chase that ball.”

“And when you are in front of the goals, make it count.”

Those words still ring in the Collingwood players’ ears so much that there are rumours of another cameo appearance before another big game.

“There is definitely talk of that, but I don’t know whether she would be able to deliver again,” McCreery laughed.

“When she came in and did it for the boys, it was a pretty amazing moment.

“I have copped a lot from it, but good on her. It was pretty cool.”