[ad_1]
Collingwood coach Craig McRae admits even he felt another incredible comeback victory was a bridge too far at stages of Sunday’s extraordinary one-point win over Carlton at the MCG.
The Blues led by as much as 25 points early in the last quarter before the Pies kicked the final five goals of the match, including the eventual match-winner from Jamie Elliott with less than two minutes remaining.
Fronting the media after the match, which saw Collingwood cement a top-four berth, an elated McRae was almost at a loss for words.
Stream every match of every round of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
“I don‘t know what to say, I really don’t. Just watching this group, I’m speechless,” he said.
“I just can’t believe it, I really can’t, that we’ve found another way to win.
“I tried to get a couple of minutes by myself in a little bit of a quiet space to just take it all in, because it’s hard to realise what we just did.”
McRae said he felt a win may’ve been out of reach early in the fourth quarter, as Carlton threatened to add to their tally of 10 goals but ultimately didn’t.
“Absolutely. I didn’t tell the players that, but I did think that (it was a bridge too far),” he said.
“There was a moment particularly when they peppered (the goals) in the last quarter, I thought if they get one of those goals, we’re done.
“A bounce of the ball this way and a missed shot that gives us hope. This group doesn’t need much hope.”
Asked how he addressed the group at three-quarter time following a 43-point turnaround in favour of the Blues, McRae pointed to the side’s resilience throughout the season.
“This group is probably the best I’ve ever seen at being able to manage the moments and play the minutes,” he said.
“That’s been a consistent language, I’ve used it pre-game, halftime and the like. You have to play the minutes to beat us and today we showed that.”
Additionally, McRae pointed to an analogy he has often returned to throughout the whirlwind season.
“I’m really big on, to use this windscreen wiper analogy, moving things to the side,” he said.
“A lot of stuff was out of our control in the third quarter. I thought the rub of the green sort of went their way with decisions that were maybe not there.
“Oh well, that happens, wipe it away, stay present, move on. It was a bit of removing what was and then let’s get our eyes on hey, this is what we do, let’s be really aggressive with our ball movement and see what happens.”
[ad_2]
Source link
