Red-wine replay? Giddy McRae hails Collingwood’s latest escape
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Key points
- Collingwood coach Craig McRae hailed his players’ will to win after another great escape.
- The Daicos brothers, Nick and Josh, combined for 70 disposals in a magnificent performance.
- Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said it was a painful defeat, but his Crows stood up on a big occasion.
A giddy Craig McRae has praised Collingwood’s extraordinary will to win after they wriggled out of a difficult position to inflict another close defeat on Adelaide on Sunday.
The Magpies leapfrogged Port Adelaide into top spot and have won three games by six points or fewer this year – two of them over the Crows – after claiming nine single-digit victories in McRae’s first season at the helm.
John Noble on the run for the Magpies in the thriller against Adelaide on Sunday.Credit: AFL Photos
They had to weather a seven-goal-to-none third term to achieve the two-point victory in front of 65,930 fans at the MCG.
“Ideally, we don’t put ourselves in that position, but credit to the Crows – I thought their third quarter was outstanding,” McRae said.
“You’ve heard it all before, but we just want to win. Johnny Noble’s efforts in the last quarter and over the other side of the ground are testament to [that] … there’s a number of players who just don’t want to give up.”
McRae hailed Brownlow Medal favourite Nick Daicos’ latest heroic performance, which proved he is as capable of being a match-winner and racking up disposals as a midfielder as when he plays at half-back.
Nick Daicos starred again for the Pies.Credit: Getty Images
His older brother Josh was the Pies’ other standout as they combined for 70 touches, prompting McRae to say their champion father Peter would be “pretty happy tonight”.
“We thought we’d go into this game playing Nick as a mid. With Jordy [De Goey] out, we thought there was an opportunity,” McRae said. “He’s an incredible athlete. What’s lost in all the spectacular possessions and goals and stuff is how good a runner he is. He’s remarkable.”
Mason Cox’s back-to-back goals in the final quarter and the part he played in injecting energy into Collingwood’s comeback bid also earned plaudits from McRae, who said the American was having a great season.
Mason Cox has his glasses knocked off as he comes in for plenty of attention.Credit: AFL Photos
McRae’s buoyant post-match reaction, where he shared his penchant for a “red-wine replay” after wins, contrasted with his Adelaide counterpart Matthew Nicks.
“You obviously want to show up at the big venues. I thought we showed what we’re about,” Nicks said.
“We started well, [and] we showed some grit when we were challenged and behind. When we play aggressive footy, we are a really good side to watch – and I would say we probably put two or three quarters of that out there.
“To our opposition’s credit, though, they’re where they are for a reason … we are hurting at the moment. That’s the most we’ve felt the pain post a loss, but you’ve got to butter up and get ready to go next week.”
Nicks’ side remains in eighth spot despite an unenviable 1-5 away record, but he was confident they were close to resolving the problem.
“The commentary around our away record [is fair]. If you talk win-loss, it’s not good,” he said.
“We might have put two quarters out there in round one and didn’t win the game. We found ourselves 30 points up in other away games and haven’t won the game. Maybe, this is part of our journey.
“If you look at win-loss, we lost another one tonight and people can go back and look at that, but everyone who was in the stadium today – that was a battle, that was good footy.”
McRae was optimistic Brayden Maynard was only winded when he went off late in the game, while Nicks said Nick Murray would undergo scans on his left hamstring, but his substitution was precautionary.
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