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Coach Craig McRae

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MagpieDean said:
I think I'd rather a President who let the coach speak. Eddie unveiling Mick in the back of this car sponsor complete with smoke machine was a bit over the top for mine.....
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At the time that is possibly what the club needed. We were broke and needed to show the footy world Collingwood was back in business. We all know Ed likes to exaggerate things, but I heard him say on SEN today that Collingwood made millions on the back of that big announcement.

While today was the perfect announcement for our current state. Humble and showing we know we're not entitled to success.
 
I think the club has got this appointment right.McRae was definitely the most qualified of all the candidates we interviewed.He’s done a long apprenticeship,about 15 years or so,but I think he’s well and truly ready to go now.Strap in the for the ride Collingwood fans,it’s going to be fun.But be patient.He’s no miracle worker and he’s not going to turn things around overnight,or even in the next year or two.
 

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partypie said:
If we make that mistake then the narrative turns to how he needed to be shielded from the media and maybe he's not confident in his ability to fulfil the role.

No matter which way those responses went he was in a no-win situation because the line of questioning itself was ordinary at best and a little nasty at worst, but I personally am happy that he had the confidence to unequivocally stand up for himself on day one and not take a backward step.
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I think you are right it was a bit ordinary some of the questions but he handled them well some of the journalists need to have a look at themselves though I think.
 
ipswichpies said:
I think you are right it was a bit ordinary some of the questions but he handled them well some of the journalists need to have a look at themselves though I think.
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That will never happen, this club needs to stand up to the media and ban those that run blatantly biased vendettas against the club - looking at you CARO.

Ignore their questions in pressers and ban them from the club precincts and players instructed to not talk to them.

It's time the ship was tightened up completely.

The media as a group has always and always will attack this club, no amount of appeasement and accessibility will change that so let them suffer.
 
Jason Akermanis encouraged close friend Craig McRae to apply for the Collingwood senior coaching vacancy after McRae told his three-time premiership teammate that he doubted he had a high enough profile to land the job.
On that front McRae, 47, was wrong. The former Brisbane Lions goalsneak was confirmed as the Pies’ new coach on Wednesday, taking over the role left open after Nathan Buckley’s mid-season resignation.


Akermanis, a 25-year friend of McRae’s since the pair’s playing days at Brisbane, said McRae had questioned whether he was a big enough name to get the gig at such a storied Victorian club.
“When I said to him when Buckley stepped down, I said, ‘you should go for that job’. And he said ‘I’m not high enough profile for that job, there’s no way I’ll get it,’” Akermanis revealed to The Age on Wednesday.

“I said ‘mate, you’re really good at what you do’. As a friend, you’re always trying to help him out and give him a push along. He wasn’t that confident in his profile yet within the industry, how well he’s regarded is probably the reason he was able to get the job. He deserves it.
“He’s been part of seven VFL/AFL premierships. It’s a really cool story.”



Akermanis and McRae built an instant rapport when they arrived at the Gabba in the mid-1990s and would remain tight until McRae’s retirement at the end of 2004 and then beyond.

The Brownlow medallist said McRae had a somewhat unusual personality type, being outgoing and chatty but also exceptionally thoughtful and organised.

“He’s one of the most popular players I would have played with because he’s just a very humorous guy,” Akermanis said.

“He’s got a great balance between seriousness and the jovial nature he does have. He would run our Mad Mondays, he would run our overseas trips and just a great organiser.”
Akermanis added that McRae was “able to soften up bad news” as well as being good at instilling confidence in others and talking people through difficult situations.
“He’s also got the subtle art of the velvet sledgehammer.”

Akermanis, these days living back in Brisbane and working in real estate, has long bemoaned his own inability to land a coaching job at an AFL club, and said he would entertain any offer from the Pies, but noted that Macrae had an abundance of strong candidates to support him.
“He knows my footy brain. It’s always been a shame that I couldn’t use it because of the reputation that precedes me ... I’d never say never,” Akermanis said.



“Craig’s got plenty of choice ... If he asked me, I’d talk to him about it. In the end, the most important thing is he’s got the new role.”
Meanwhile, former Gold Coast, St Kilda and Richmond hard nut Maverick Weller lauded McRae, who coached Weller for a season at the Tigers where they claimed the 2019 VFL premiership together.

“He’s an amazing person. He’s a real relationships coach ... and is able to coach different personalities,” Weller said from Tasmania where he now coaches Penguin.
“I had a year with him and I just felt like I knew him for 10 years.



“He’s a very empathetic coach, very caring. I haven’t got a bad word to say about him. The belief that he had in me straight away, he made me feel like I had a real chance.”

Since retiring from playing, McRae has coached in two separate stints at Richmond, had a year on the Lions’ coaching panel, was a development coach at the Magpies and spent 2020 working with Hawthorn. It means he has played under or worked alongside Leigh Matthews, Mick Malthouse, Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson.
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www.theage.com.au

Akermanis helped McRae overcome Collingwood doubts

Jason Akermanis encouraged close friend Craig McRae to apply for the Collingwood senior coaching vacancy after McRae told his three-time premiership teammate that he doubted he had a high enough profile to land the job.
www.theage.com.au www.theage.com.au
 
Trickster said:
Bad luck you missed out Laurie. Must have been right up there turning that team around, plus Hayward, to win the flag :)
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Been there, done that. It's time for the next generation. :P
 

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Won me at "18th for Inside 50s is not the team we want to be".
Finally a man who understands what the expectation is at a club like this.
Sure, winning is important but the manner in which we win--and at Collingwood it is to entertain--which is equally as important as winning.
 
Love the appointment.

There is only 1 final piece of the puzzle to fall and this is Clarkson not signing with Carlton (which I believe will happen)

If it doesn't however, I think we are set for a really good 5-10 year build here and it wouldn't surprise me if we turn it around quickly.
 
Glad to have you on board Macca, can't wait to see what the future holds for you and your team (our team).
Time to get stuck in....

Go Pies!
 

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Masked Magician said:
Love the appointment.

There is only 1 final piece of the puzzle to fall and this is Clarkson not signing with Carlton (which I believe will happen)

If it doesn't however, I think we are set for a really good 5-10 year build here and it wouldn't surprise me if we turn it around quickly.
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Clarkson has already ruled out coaching for 2022 in its entirety?
 

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