Former Lion to be king at Pies

CRAIG McRae is almost certain to be unveiled as Collingwood’s senior coach on Wednesday as he looks to help reshape the Magpies’ destiny after one of the most difficult years in the club’s history.

While other Magpie coaching appointments over the years have often been big production affairs, McRae’s elevation to the role will come via a low-key press conference conducted on Zoom.

The event will be in keeping with the no-fuss, no-nonsense approach that helped the three-time premiership Lion win the role.

The Magpies embarked on one of the most thorough processes in the club’s history to find Nathan Buckley’s replacement, with board member and coaching subcommittee member Paul Licuria insisting it was about finding the right coach, not the one with the highest profile.

McRae was the clear choice of the five-man panel, with the highly respected but low-profile 47-year-old locking in to what is believed to be a threeyear deal.

It is understood a number of new assistant coaches and other football-related appointments will come in the next few weeks, following on from Collingwood’s commitment to put an experienced, off-field support team around McRae.

McRae had been the favourite for the Magpies’ coaching job in recent weeks, but his appointment had to be ratified by the Magpies’ board.

The Hawthorn assistant coach — who also had successful stints at Richmond and Collingwood — is likely to bring with him his premiership teammate Justin Leppitsch in a

defensive coaching and list management role.

Leppitsch said on Tuesday he was open to joining the Magpies if the opportunity arose, believing McRae was a brilliant appointment.

But he said he was yet to have in-depth discussions with the Magpies.

Leppitsch said McRae’s coaching experience and his portfolio of experiences provided him with the perfect grounding to become a senior coach, something he and Michael Voss never really had before coaching Brisbane.

“He (McRae) has lived through every scenario in footy, through the highs of the highs to the lows of the low, but he has actually had more highs,” Leppitsch said on SEN.

“But he has also got that well-rounded experience … he has seen a lot of different sports.

“I think it is a really mature appointment from Collingwood, going down this path …

“I sometimes think he (McRae) is lucky in the way that he has been able to do it (come into senior coaching after a long background as an assistant coach).

“It is a better and more rounded starting point.”

Leppitsch stepped away from an assistant coaching role at Richmond at the end of last season, but is looking to return to the AFL system.