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Macrae says the parting message from Collingwood coach Craig McRae was to seize his new opportunity after he struggled to crack into the Magpies\u2019 experienced side.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just about putting my best foot forward and when the opportunity comes, try to take it,\u201d Macrae told SEN WA Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was probably a fair few really good players and experienced players ahead of me at different times. I didn\u2019t quite get the opportunity I was after in extended periods.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m really excited to be at West Coast and I feel I\u2019ve still got a lot more to offer in my AFL career. Really excited about the young group here and what I can bring to that team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were definitely times playing VFL in the last few years where I was getting a bit frustrated playing forward or out on the fat side wing at times.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the long run that\u2019s definitely helped me and shaped me as a better player. Wherever the Eagles want, I\u2019m more than happy to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fin Macrae in action against West Coast (Pic: Michael Klein)Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Macrae, the half-brother of Saints midfielder Jack, has only completed two training session with the Eagles as he begins life out west.<\/p>\n
Originally drafted as a midfielder, Macrae said West Coast coach Andrew McQualter flagged he\u2019d play on the ball, the wing and across half-forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to \u2018Mini\u2019 (McQualter) when I came over a month and a bit ago, that was the spot he flagged a bit of interest for me and where he could see me playing,\u201d the former first-round pick added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m training a bit as a forward and a mid at the moment. We\u2019ve only had two sessions, so still a long way to go, but that\u2019s where I\u2019ve been trying my hand a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Jumping before he is pushed’ | 04:42<\/p>\n
The additions of Macrae, Robertson and Schoenberg continue an overhaul of West Coast\u2019s list as it continues to rebuild under McQualter following just one win in his first season as coach.<\/p>\n
First-round draftees Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay were among the youngsters to join the club last week after dual premiership Lion Brandon Starcevich arrived in the trade period and Oscar Allen and others departed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting. \u2018Mini\u2019 sort of spoke about the depth he\u2019s after,\u201d Macrae continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably what we\u2019ve got this year, compared to previous years, it\u2019s been a big turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s about 10 or 12 new guys this year, so it is a very exciting time. From all reports, the energy in the group is a bit different to what it was this time last year.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Eagles are bullish about what Macrae can add to their group.<\/p>\n
\u201cFin has consistently performed at a high level in the state league and has always been right in the mix for senior opportunities,\u201d West Coast list manager Matt Clarke said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a really good athlete and a strong transition runner. A great person and a genuine pro who will lift the standards of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ex-Magpie Fin Macrae has admitted he was \u201cfrustrated\u201d by his lack of senior opportunities at Collingwood at times…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,8406,64,63,55,639,684,3434,10143,8011,3496,3459,25555,15819,176918,15836,176916,11330,114671,19545,20210,31713,85,176919,1133,176917,7067,95039,25581],"class_list":{"0":"post-312423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-andrew-mcqualter","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australian-football-league","13":"tag-australianfootballleague","14":"tag-ben-cotton","15":"tag-cooper-duff-tytler","16":"tag-craig-mcrae","17":"tag-david-zita","18":"tag-dual-premiership","19":"tag-josh-lindsay","20":"tag-list-manager","21":"tag-list-spots","22":"tag-matt-clarke","23":"tag-oscar-allen","24":"tag-parting-message","25":"tag-pre-season-training","26":"tag-rookie-list","27":"tag-saints","28":"tag-senior-appearances","29":"tag-senior-opportunities","30":"tag-sports","31":"tag-top-draftee","32":"tag-trade-period","33":"tag-transition-runner","34":"tag-west-coast-eagles","35":"tag-young-group","36":"tag-zach-merrett"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}