![\"Crafty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/7b93c331faf189c73b5d800130e1aae2495fb29b.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\u201cBut I think there are two parts to this situation \u2026 I want to be a coach, and we want to be an environment where we just love and care for our people, all our people, from players to staff, and then there\u2019s the high-performance part.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re paid to win. You come to the MCG not to love and care. You want to see winners.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Crafty forward Bobby Hill\u2019s future at Collingwood is unclear.Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
Hill was given personal leave in the second half of last season, but returned to the senior line-up against Brisbane in round 22. He was used as the substitute in that match and had just the four disposals, and did not play in the finals after the Magpies prioritised fitter players over the match-winning abilities of the 2023 Norm Smith medallist.<\/p>\n
He is contracted until the end of 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor most of the year, for Bobby, it was about love and support, and there was very little attention to high performance because we just wanted to care for him,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThen there comes a time late in the year when they become about high performance. That\u2019s where it\u2019s sitting at the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always a delicate balance of those two magnets. They somewhat collide, at times. But we\u2019ll continue to love and support him, and at the right time, get him in the environment to push forward for high performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been speaking to him regularly, yesterday [Tuesday] even. I\u2019m constantly talking to Bobby. It\u2019s probably a bit too early to say [when he\u2019ll return], but we\u2019re confident that it\u2019s progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n