Collingwood coach Craig McRae's unique style of coaching proving successful

Aidan Cellini

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Collingwood coach Craig McRae's unique style of coaching proving successful image

Collingwood coach Craig McRae seemingly has the recipe for success after the club demolished the Giants at the MCG on Mother's Day by 65 points.

Aside from the tactical warfare coaches engage in on match day, McRae generally opts to do things a little different, which has been proven to be effective across the past 18 months.

On Sunday, the Pies invited all the players' mothers to a lunch at the AIA Centre before welcoming them into the club rooms and onto the field prior to the game.

In a gesture from the players, vision showed bouquets of flowers being handed to the mums to honour the day and their contribution to their lives.

McRae admitted in the post-match press conference that "keeping things light" tends to work in their favour before getting into the nitty gritty as Julie McCreery (Beau McCreery's mum) gave a pre-game rev up.

"I didn't say much at all, she (Julie McCreery) was fantastic," McRae said with a wry smile.

"I think we will release that at some stage. She's got good character. 

"We like to keep our meetings on match day light, particularly the first bit of it. Find some sense of humour.

"I'm not that funny but I try to. And then we get serious. So part of that start of every meeting has some sense of humour attached to it.

"But Julie was exceptional today and I think we will release (the video) this week so you'll be able to see how good she was."

And it worked.

The Pies jumped out of the gates to lead by 15 points at quarter-time and never looked back.

Since joining Collingwood at the end of 2021, McRae has always shown to be big on family involvement in and around the club, which has been highlighted countless times when children of players join in on the club song.

However, after taking down GWS, it was the mothers' turn to join in on the chorus as the Pies claimed their eighth victory of the season to sit a game clear on top of the ladder.

McRae's openness, honest and mindfulness has been heralded as the prototype for the modern-day coach, resulting in players thriving.

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None other than recruit Bobby Hill, who played his 50th game against his former side on Sunday.

Hill was able to hit the scoreboard early in the game with a perfected dribble kick, slotting two majors in the first quarter to get his milestone match off to a flyer.

The 23-year-old finished Sunday with 11 touches, five score involvements and six tackles, three of them inside 50.

Last week against Sydney, Hill was subbed out of the game due to a lack of influence and speculation grew that he might be replaced by Jack Ginnivan.

However, McRae immediately reassured the former Giant that he has a place in the Collingwood side and his performance on Sunday was testament to his belief.

"I want to be a coach that backs people in and believes in people sometimes more than they believe in themselves," McRae said after the Giants game.

"Last week we subbed him (Bobby Hill) out and went straight up to him after the game and said 'mate, you're playing next week. You're playing against your old team. We'll back you in. Train well.'

"If you're not getting nourishment out here at the MCG, you've got to get it at training. Whether it's in the gym or on the track, feel good about yourself.

"Give yourself belief to then come out with less hope and more 'here I come. I'm ready to perform,' and he did that and he got rewarded.

"I want to be a coach that backs his players in."

So far in his tenure, McRae has led Collingwood 34 times for 25 wins and were one point short of a Grand Final berth in 2022.

Sitting as the frontrunner for the premiership this year and a game clear on top, the former Brisbane Lions champion believes that there is still plenty of work to do.

"It's affirmation but really it's not the ladder we measure ourselves on," McRae said.

"We have another measurement for that so we will get back to work. There's still a long way to go.

"We've got a big game next week against an arch-rival so we'll live in the moment for now."

Collingwood come up against Carlton in a traditional Sunday afternoon clash at the MCG.

Expected to host over 80,000 at the home of football, this game has plenty riding on it.

In last year's encounters, the Pies came away victors by four and one point in thrillers, with the round 23 win eliminating the Blues from the finals.

Both these clubs have a long history dating back to 1897, with the black-and-white army currently holding bragging rights (130 wins to 128).

Aidan Cellini

Aidan Cellini Photo

Aidan has surrounded himself with all types of sport, but resonates most with AFL and basketball as he still plays both competitively. He loves being active and enjoys sharing sporting moments with friends and family.

In his spare time, Aidan likes to read biographies as well as keep active and healthy. He's also a big fan of Matthew McConaughey and Marvel movies.