Craig McRae blasts Collingwood stars for slumping to the turf after losing EPIC qualifying final

Collingwood coach Craig McRae blasted some of his players for ‘acting like losers’ in the aftermath of a dramatic loss in an epic qualifying final against Geelong.

The Cats were behind at every change in Saturday’s clash, but kicked four of the last five goals to win 11.12 (78) to 10.12 (72) in front of 91,525 fans at the MCG.

The defeat to the minor premiers means the Pies will play either Fremantle or the Western Bulldogs in the semi-final next week, but McRae warned his troops a change in mentality was needed. 

‘We want to act like winners. The siren goes and there’s half a dozen guys laying on the ground,’ he said in his post-match press conference.

‘For me that’s not a winner. That’s acting like a loser. We lost a game, we’re not losers.

‘We’re here to win this thing. We’ll give it everything we’ve got.’

McRae, who has lifted Collingwood from 17th to a top-four finish in his first season in charge, said he delivered the message to his players in the sheds after the game.

McRae criticised some of his players’ for slumping to the turf after the final siren

Collingwood led at every break but came up just short against the minor premiers

The Pies will face either Fremantle or the Western Bulldogs in the semi-final next week 

Speaking to reporters after the game, the Pies coach added he’d told his players slumping to the turf after a defeat was only acceptable after losing a Grand Final.

McRae also confirmed Taylor Adams suffered a serious groin injury, a crucial blow for the Magpies star who made his return on Saturday after suffering a similar issue in Round 20.

‘He’s torn the groin off the bone, I think,’ the Collingwood coach said.

Before Saturday, the Cats had won just 10 of 25 finals under coach Chris Scott and since he took over in 2011, their most recent premiership, they were a dismal 2-8 in the first week of September.

McRae also confirmed Taylor Adams had suffered a serious groin injury on Saturday

Jeremy Cameron and Gary Rohan kicked three goals for the Cats and captain Joel Selwood starred, while Darcy Moore and Jordan De Goey were Collingwood’s best.

Collingwood made the early running, kicking the first three goals for a 19-point lead late in the first quarter. They led by a point at half-time and by seven at the final change, stretching their lead out to 12 points after De Goey kicked his first major of the game in the final term.

But the Cats booted four of the last five majors to win their second consecutive finals against Collingwood, after thrashing the Pies 15.10 (100) to 5.2 (32) in the 2020 semi-final.