Giants and Pies coaches clash in heated mid-game bench exchange

AFL coaches Adam Kingsley and Craig McRae have been caught up in an off-field incident during Sunday’s clash between GWS and Collingwood.

AFL coaches Adam Kingsley and Craig McRae have both played down their heated off-field discussion during Sunday’s clash between GWS and Collingwood.

Fox Footy cameras captured a tense exchange between the duo as they stood in front of their respective benches at ENGIE Stadium on Sunday.

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McRae was initially seen calling out towards the Giants bench as he cupped his hands to his face to make his comments heard.

Kingsley then gestured back at his rival after an apparent sledge aimed at a GWS star.

The moment, which you can watch in the video player above, happened in the second term after Giant Toby Bedford gave away a costly 50m penalty.

“They both wear their hearts on their sleeve and these are two teams that see themselves as top four prospects – and rightfully they should,” commentator Nathan Buckley said.

“Fly’s (McRae) getting into Toby Bedford a bit, that’s a little bit of the niggle.

The moment between Adam Kingsley and Craig McRae on the sidelines.

“‘Kingers’ (Kingsley) is looking across saying ‘maybe look after your own backyard there’.”

Fox Footy’s Jordan Lewis added the exchange was a “risk” from McRae.

“It was after Toby Bedford gave away the 50m penalty, but you run the risk,” Lewis said.

“If that’s a different player, it might ignite things on the bench.

“I think the coaches have a duty of care when they’re on the bench.”

Both coaches were asked about the incident post-match.

“I don’t know if it was that confrontational. I mean we were just having a chat about the game in general,” Kingsley told reporters.

“He’s a good man, ‘Fly’. He’s a really good mate of mine. We were just having a discussion.”

Asked if it was related to McRae clapping towards Bedford after the Giants player gave away a 50m penalty, Kingsley said: “That might’ve been accurate, yeah.”

McRae insisted he “was just having a bit of fun” with Kingsley, who was also on Richmond’s coaching panel during the club’s recent golden premiership era.

“Nah I was just stirring him up, saying ‘we’re coming’. He just had a bit of fun,” McRae said.

The exchange between rival coaches Adam Kingsley and Craig McRae on the bench.

“He’s a bit more fiery than me, I’m a bit more humorous.

Asked if it stemmed from celebrating a 50m penalty, McRae said: “Oh yeah, I like to celebrate all the little things. Nah, there’s nothing to it. If you want to make it a story, it’s a nothing story.”

The Herald Sun reported McRae could be facing scrutiny from the league for inciting the incident.

Port Adelaide’s Ken Hinkley was fined $20,000 in last year’s finals when he targeted Hawthorn players verbally after their dramatic semi-final victory, being charged with conduct unbecoming.

Geelong’s Chris Scott received a suspended $10,000 fine in 2021 after exchanging words with Brisbane players after an on-field incident.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s First Crack, Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark declared “the AFL has to act”.

“Why wouldn’t there be some sort of sanction or suspended fine for Craig McRae over this?” Clark told First Crack.

“It’s a quick exchange, but make no mistake Adam Kingsley is not mucking around there.

“I know it’s probably on the lighter end with Craig McRae, but if the AFL is going to be consistent, why is there not some sort of sanction or some sort of fine? They will be on the phone, Laura Kane and Andrew Dillon, to Craig McRae tomorrow.”

The fiery exchange came after Bedford went after Nick Daicos. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Clark later added: “You go to a junior football game and what are the signs you see? You see ‘don’t be that parent’. Maybe the AFL has to say: ‘Don’t be that coach, don’t engage in that way.’ Because you can intimidate young players in that sort of situation.

“We’ve seen ‘Fly’ react really emotionally on the bench over several seasons. The electric finishes, the goals from the boundary line. He says ‘we want to celebrate those moments’, but equally I don’t think the emotion should get to him in a way that he’s going at opposition players. I think his focus should be on-field and his own team.”

Dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna said for the AFL, it loomed as “a great opportunity for them to stamp it out right now”.

“We’ve seen in the past when the AFL hasn’t acted on things straight away and it becomes a bigger issue when they’ve had the chance,” Montagna said.

“I don’t think it’s a massive issue. It didn’t seem too threatening – Adam Kingsley obviously didn’t like it – but it’s still probably enough.

“For me it has become a bit more prevalent in recent years, because we are seeing a lot more coaches sit on the bench and they can interact with opposition players a lot more. It is something they need to address, the AFL … if this had have escalated, no doubt it would’ve been a sanction. So maybe you eliminate that risk and do something about it right now.”

Dual premiership Kangaroo David King added: “This is something you absolutely cannot have when it’s unregulated at lower levels really. There isn’t the common sense approach, at times, when things bubble like this.

“I don’t know if there’s a lot in it. I’m leaning towards a phone call, maybe a ‘please explain’, but not interest in big fines for that.”

Tensions between both sides threatened to spill over multiple times in the first half as scuffles broke out.

Pre-game Kingsley had called for “controlled violence” from his players.

“Playing angry does have its benefits – so long as it remains disciplined. That really is our purpose,” he told Fox Footy.

“We want to play that real physical, violent brand of footy within the rules.

“Maybe step over the edge every now and then we do, but we like to play on the edge – I think that’s when we are at our best.”