‘Country footy’ culture helps Pies turn fortunes
Collingwood coach Craig McRae says a “country footy” style focus on family has been a driving force behind the Magpies’ dramatic turnaround in form.
McRae’s side is knocking on the door of the top eight after stringing together three wins on the trot following a listless 0-3 start to its premiership defence.
Coming into the Anzac Day game off the back of an impressive 42-point rout of Port Adelaide, McRae said the Magpies “feel like us” again and credited a family-first approach to rediscovering their “DNA”.
“We don’t want to stand still, but there’s a lot of positive signs (from the Power win),” he said on Tuesday.
“We want to be exciting to watch and fun to play – those things really expressed themselves.”
More than 65,000 turned out on Saturday to watch Collingwood’s win and a crowd of 95,000 is expected for Anzac Day, but McRae said the Magpies’ rooms felt like a “country footy club”.
“Culturally, the last couple of weeks in particular, you walk in there and we want to be a family-first footy club, so there’s a function before the game and all our partners and all our kids and nothing but positive reports about what that looked like,” he said.
“And then after the game, you work really hard and perform well, and then there’s all these kids in the changerooms floating around, so those little things that are who we want to be, to see it and feel it … a country footy club if you like.
“(It was our) real home game since round 1 … the noise the fans make when we’re going well, it just feels like us, being ourselves and our DNA.”
McRae said the Magpies were poised to enter Anzac Day unchanged after their 23 from the Power clash all trained strongly despite the short turnaround.
Conscious of the five-day break, small forward Harvey Harrison and untried midfielder Lachie Sullivan had been held over from the VFL, but McRae said it was unlikely either would be required.
The coach reiterated how “grateful” Collingwood was to continue to play on Anzac Day as he reflected back on captain Darcy Moore’s stirring speech following the 13-point win on the occasion last year.
“I think the day itself has so much significance for all of us. I think last year what Darcy (Moore) spoke really well of afterwards is the families that are associated with war, and hopefully we can put a smile on some of those faces that have had some tough times over the years,” he said.
“When you’re standing in the middle of the MCG with 95,000 there and then the bugle plays, there’s not an experience like it that I’ve had in my life.
“It just gives you a real sense of occasion and gratitude and just emotion – I sit there and just feel how lucky we are, how lucky I am to be standing there in the middle of the MCG.”