Collingwood coach Craig McRae has today revealed one of his most senior players is set to sign on for a 17th season at the top level in a heart-warming revelation for Pies fans.
McRae also said he has not spoken to John Longmire since their public disagreement but reiterated he has “enormous respect” for his Sydney counterpart.
McRae said he did not want to take back his claims that crucial umpiring decisions in the closing stages of the Magpies’ loss to the Swans had been influenced by the SCG crowd but conceded his response had been “a bit selfish”.
Longmire on Monday called McRae’s comments “an extraordinary admission from a coach of a team that has the biggest home ground advantage in the AFL”.
While he had not spoken privately with the Swans coach, McRae said there was no bad blood between the pair.
“I’ve got enormous respect for John, and this job is a really difficult one. For someone to do what he’s done over such a long period of time – I’m repeating myself here, but it’s an inspiration,” McRae said.
“Obviously (he’s had success) interstate too, which adds different layers to it, so I’m not going to get caught up in it other than showing my respect for what a good coach he is.”
McRae said he regretted the timing of his criticism of the umpires but saw no point in taking it back.
“I reflect really heavily on everything I do. I’m disappointed in myself that I went into a ‘frustration’ mode rather than a ‘disappointed’ mode,” he said.
“I’m allowed to be disappointed – who wouldn’t be? That shows that I care, but to be frustrated, I think it’s a bit selfish.
“But I don’t want to retract on things that I’ve done because they’re all good lessons for us or for me in particular.”
The coach confirmed that veteran Steele Sidebottom was on the brink of signing a one-year deal to extend his career into a 17th season, meaning all nine of the Magpies players over the age of 30 are set to continue on.
“This is ongoing, we’re not in a hurry to do certain things, we have certain processes we need to go through to make these official, but it’s going to be hard to argue against Steele’s form and the way he adds to our DNA and adds to our culture, he’s such a ‘glue’ guy,” McRae said.
“He looks like he’s got a lot of life left in those old legs of his.”
McRae acknowledged the contracting decisions would leave less room to stagger the departures of senior players but said having abundant experience on the list was still “really valuable”.
He said it had not been discussed with players whether they were willing to play games at VFL level if younger players went past them.
“I don’t think we should be in a hurry to exit the experience off our list because I think those things are really beneficial for our young group,” he said.
“I haven’t got to that level (around VFL games), but form dictates a lot of things. You have currency for past experiences, and you get certain grace, but if there comes a time someone is performing really well (in the VFL), you’d want to be performing in your role.
“That’s not just experience, that’s part and parcel of every week when you go to selection … we want to keep evolving and keep growing.”
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