Collingwood coach Craig McRae has declared his side wouldn’t have beaten Brisbane even if they’d received a controversial non-call in the dying stages of Saturday night’s preliminary final. The AFL world is completely divided on a contentious call that went against the Magpies, but many believe the black and whites were robbed.
With the Lions up 12 points in the final quarter, Brandon Starcevich raced back and spoiled the ball as Jamie Elliott was attempting to mark it. Many felt Elliott should have received a free kick for front-on contact or chopping the arm, but the call never came.
Craig McRae (R) doesn’t think the controversial call (L) cost Collingwood a spot in the AFL grand final. Image: Channel 7
Elliott would have had a set shot from close range to get the Pies within a goal, but the Lions took advantage of the non-call and kicked a string of goals to ice the game. The majority of AFL fans and commentators believe the umpire missed the call, but McRae was keeping things in perspective after the game.
Speaking after the Lions won by 29 points to advance to the grand final, the Collingwood coach said the call didn’t cost his team as Brisbane were simply too good. “It looked like that (front-on contract), yeah it did,” the coach said before adding: “No guarantee he kicks the goal, though, is it?
“This is the world I live in. I never make excuses. I don’t want our fans to see a coach that leads our group through excuses because it just doesn’t get you anywhere. I think losers make excuses. We don’t. We’re winners, and we didn’t win today. Clearly beaten by a better team. I think they would have beaten us anyway, the way they were playing.
“So you could say what if and if only, but it’s not the space we live in. We didn’t control the things we could control well, and, you know, around stoppage, and then we had great momentum going into half-time, and we just let it slip real quick, and this is against really good opposition.
“They make three grand finals in a row. Really well coached. (Chris Fagan’s) had a great year again and they got a few out, and it just shows the depth of their belief in their system, and today was just a bit better than us.”
AFL world completely divided on controversial moment
McRae’s comments won’t do much to lift the spirits of Collingwood supporters who believe they were robbed. Crucially, the rules state a free kick for front-on contact should only be paid if the defender’s “sole objective is not to contest or spoil a mark”.
Starcevich appeared to only have eyes for the ball, but whether he made contact with the ball or Elliott’s arm is up for debate. Nick Riewoldt said on Channel 7: “Starcevich has got his eyes on the ball … and makes a play on the ball, but at the same time he takes Jamie Elliott out.
“That has been paid all year. There’s going to be countless conversations about eyes on the ball, contact with the ball, but he’s also made front-on contact with Jamie Elliott, that’s a free kick every day of the week. Not saying it decided the game, but it was a big moment.”
Craig McRae with Collingwood players after their preliminary final loss to Brisbane. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
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Jack Riewoldt said on Fox Footy: “There’s four of them (umpires) out there. One of them needed to pay it. That is a free kick every day of the week in the biggest game of the year.”
But Jason Dunstall disagreed, saying: “The more I look at it, the more I think the umpire made the right decision. At no stage does he take his eye off the ball. He is running flat stick with his head up tracking the ball and it looks like he maybe got a finger on the ball, not so much the arm. I think the umpires often take their queues from where the players’ eyes are and, to his Starcevich’s credit, his eyes never left the ball.”
Many were quick to point out that Collingwood benefited from a number of calls that appeared to be incorrect in the second quarter. The Pies kicked a goal after Isaac Quaynor wasn’t pinged for a clear high tackle.