Rankine had initially been handed a five-match sanction, but his club was able to successfully argue it down to four, citing a “compelling medical submission.”

Quaynor was booed from the first time he got the ball on Thursday night, something Collingwood coach Craig McRae labelled as “disappointing” after the match.

The small defender played the game of his life and was a key reason the Magpies were able to keep the competition’s No.1 offence to just eight goals.

The 25-year-old 2023 premiership player said he noticed the booing during his first possession but then did his best to block it out.

“It is what it is – I’m just out there playing a game, doing what I do,” Quaynor said.

“It’s their choice to boo.

“I mean, probably [it’s to do with what happened in round 23]. But that’s all dealt with now, I just want to move forward.”

Quaynor acknowledged it was a difficult situation to deal with.

“It’s not an ideal situation to be in for anyone, and I’m just glad the club did an incredible job dealing with it,” he said.

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“Darcy [Moore], Fly [McRae], [football boss] Charlie Gardiner – they were absolutely incredible, so I’m very lucky to be at this club.”

McRae spoke about the booing in his post-match press conference.

“Was he actually getting booed? I thought they were yelling out ‘Q’. It is disappointing.

“There are always stories behind it, but I’m just not a booer – I said this years ago,” he said.

“I just get disappointed with that. When I first heard it, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s disappointing’. Jeez, he must’ve touched the footy a lot because he had a lot of the ball.

“I’m really proud of him and Dan [Houston] and others.”

But Quaynor and Houston weren’t the only Collingwood players to feel the wrath of Crows fans.

Billy Frampton was also booed – seemingly due to his past history as a Port Adelaide [and former Adelaide] player, while ruckman Mason Cox was also jeered.

When Nicks was asked about the booing, he said: “It’s not one for me to comment on.”

“But I am also sitting in a box, I’m not seeing or hearing any of that. I’m seeing a stadium that’s rocking, which it should do for a final, but I’m not going to comment around that.”

Quaynor conceded that his team hadn’t been in the best form in the past two months, but was adamant the group didn’t lose confidence.

“We knew going into this finals series we were doing a lot of things right, and we just weren’t quite getting that nourishment with the four points,” Quaynor said.

“But there was a lot of confidence going into this game and this week that what we had been working on; our game plan stacks up in finals.”

The Magpies now head into a week off before a home preliminary final at the MCG.

It’s been a roller-coaster second half of the year. The Pies were two-and-a-half games clear atop the ladder before their form disintegrated and they nearly slipped out of the top four, which would have seen them miss a crucial double chance.

“It’s pretty big [to get through],” Quaynor said.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think anyone got hurt. I think it now allows us to knuckle down on a few specifics of the game and put a bit more time into resting up and feeling fresh for the prelim.”

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Quaynor and Moore could be joined in the back six by intercept defender Jeremy Howe, who suffered an adductor injury in the round-24 win over Melbourne.

McRae wasn’t willing to guarantee Howe’s selection in two weeks when asked about it after the game.

“He’s a good healer, he keeps telling me, he’ll be a chance for the prelim,” McRae said.

“We went into this year learning some great lessons from last year. The magnets looked really good last year. They were fit to play, but they weren’t fit to perform.

“That’s been our catch-cry all year. If someone is not fit to perform, they don’t play.

“It’s not risk v reward, we are risk-takers. He will play if he’s fit to perform.”

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