What is it that stands out about Craig McRae’s coaching?
He has Collingwood sitting inside the eight after 15 rounds with a win-loss record of 9-5 and in a position that not many experts forecast prior to the season.
McRae has come in and breathed new life into the Magpies after they finished 17th in 2021, but what is it about the Brisbane champion that has impacted so positively at the AIA Centre?
Midfielder Taylor Adams explained why McRae, also known as ‘Fly’, has been “awesome” for the club, tipping his hat to the first-year AFL coach.
“I think the authenticity about him, he’s done things his own way,” Adams said on SEN Breakfast.
“He’s given great opportunity to his senior assistants and leans on them quite a bit in terms of allowing them to run meetings and have their say on the game plan. He’s obviously got some experience there in Justin Leppitsch, Hayden Skipworth and Brendon Bolton.
“He just coaches the DNA, what we really stand for, the togetherness of Collingwood. He does a really good job of motivating us. He’s a really creative guy, he comes up with his themes every week.
“He’s been awesome for us. I absolutely love playing underneath him and what he has brought to the footy club has been awesome.”
Adams says some of the themes McRae comes up with have been somewhat “quirky”, including the celebration of a Darcy Cameron ‘milestone’ back in Round 12 against Hawthorn.
“He does really quirky things,” he added.
“I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the Darcy Cameron 40th game theme that we went into a few weeks ago. We celebrated Darcy Cameron’s 40th game, which sounds extremely odd.
“He likes to put the spotlight on us rather than the opposition team. Obviously we do a heap of work on understanding what they do well and where their strengths lie.
“Ultimately his focus is on us as a team. He likes to poke fun at what we’re doing and make it really enjoyable. It takes, not the seriousness out of it, but it makes you feel more comfortable, especially pre-game when those sort of things happen.”
McRae will lead the Pies into action against the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium this Saturday night.
A win would make it six on the bounce for the black and white and keep them knocking on the door of the top four.