Collingwood coach Craig McRae has vowed to become a better role model, revealing even his wife told him off for aiming a sarcastic gibe at a GWS player.
McRae escaped sanction from the AFL but was given an official warning after saying “well done” to Toby Bedford after the Giants tagger gave away a free kick in Collingwood’s 52-point loss on Sunday.
GWS coach Adam Kingsley immediately had words with McRae after seeing the incident.
The AFL investigated the exchange before confirming no further action will be taken against McRae.
The 2023 premiership coach expressed his regret about the incident when he fronted the media on Wednesday.
“I’m cheeky. I’ve got a great relationship with Kingers, so I have a bit of banter with Kingers,” McRae said.
“But then I realised really quickly (it was wrong), particularly when my wife tells me the next day, ‘You can’t do that Craig’.
“And I understand for the look of the game it’s not what we wanted, for the AFL or for young coaches aspiring to be more than that.
“I apologise for that. I don’t think it’s good for the game.
“My little girl plays for the Williamstown Under 10s, and if her coach was doing that to the other Under 10s, I would be going ‘C’mon mate, what are you doing?’
“I can be cheeky during the week, but I’ve got a responsibility for the game.”
McRae said he needed to protect his players in a more measured way.
“I love to protect our players. But there’s a level in there that’s within the role model that I want to be,” he said.
“I stand here with great values and morals, and I want to represent us, our players, really well.”
McRae worked alongside Kingsley as an assistant coach at Richmond, and said the pair were two mates who had great respect for each other.
But when the question was put to McRae that the bigger issue was his interaction with an opposition player rather than Kingsley, he was less forthcoming.
“I think I’ve made enough comments about that. I think we’re all good with that, aren’t we?” McRae said.
“I take responsibility for all my actions. I want to be a good role model.”
McRae could at least see the funny side when asked about the vision showing him sitting straight back down when confronted by Kingsley on the sidelines.
“I clearly haven’t been in the gym for as long as he has,” McRae said with a smile.
The AFL has been quick to crack down on coaches confronting rival players, with Port Adelaide mentor Ken Hinkley fined $20,000 last year for his heated exchange with Hawthorn players.
Collingwood will be aiming to bounce back from their insipid loss to GWS when they host Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday night.
Josh Daicos (ankle) and Jeremy Howe (knee) are in doubt to play, while Jordan De Goey is still unavailable while he builds up his fitness following a stop-start summer.
Ruckman Mason Cox has been cleared to play after recovering from a finger injury.