McRae of sunshine: The Lion bringing his winning ways to Collingwood

#McRaesunshine #The #Lionbringing
Got it Normal Larger text size Extra large A month before Collingwood faced his former team in 2023 grand final, Craig McRae appeared before Brisbane Lions players and spoke briefly to them about the possibility of a premiership for Magpies or The Guardian. Lions. "If we don't win, I hope you win," McRae said, according to former Brisbane team-mate Luke Power, and also joked about the room at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center where he didn't want to "win". Inspire the children of Brisbane.” Or words to that effect. It is a measure of McRae's commitment and bond of friendship that that week, during pre-final farewell, he traveled to Brisbane with his former teammates for 2003 championship meeting; This is second major final in which they have defeated club they currently own. coaches — and being inducted into the Lions' hall of fame. Collingwood coach Craig McRae. AFL Photos On Saturday, Collingwood coach's first or second choice will come true, as grand final will be run and won by either mammoth traditional club he has reinvented or fringe AFL team for which he played 195 games. and three premierships under the stern eye of Leigh Matthews. Given that Magpies have been rich in contention and poor in championships throughout their modern history and Chris Fagan's Lions have been consistent, the stakes go beyond even usual grand final. Despite hosting many finals in the Gabbatoir strongholds, there have been competitors without a flag since 2019. Sand is also trickling down the hourglass for Collingwood veterans Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Jeremy Howe, Jamie Elliott, Brodie Mihocek, Mason Cox and Tom Mitchell. They may not get another shot. But if the Magpies win, McRae will have turned this massive powerhouse but enduring bridesmaid club into a word he likes to use and one that has rarely been mentioned at Collingwood Football Club for decades winners. "I'm a winner," was McRae's first comment to the Collingwood panel that interviewed him for the coaching position in late 2021. While he may have seemed contradictory - McRae carries little ego, as his former Brisbane team-mates attest - he quickly provided the necessary support. Context of what “winner” means. “He said, 'I mean, I'm working on winning behaviors every day,'” recalled Peter Murphy, a former Collingwood board member and co-chairman who was on the manager search panel alongside director of football and influential football boss Paul Licuria. Premier player Graham Wright. “And sometimes I fall short.” McRae's appointment alone represented a minor revolution for Collingwood, as he was low-profile and understated – not words typically associated with the Magpies, whose flamboyant and headline-generating abilities had fueled the voracious media for decades. His hiring also went against Collingwood tradition as it was an open process involving "unproven" assistant coaches. He was neither Collingwood's favorite son nor