\u201cI\u2019m really comfortable with my values and morals, and what people say about me, I can\u2019t control.\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae said he spoke to the players for \u201c10 seconds of a 30-minute meeting\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just addressing the world we\u2019re in,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s heroes and villains, and wins and losses, and we\u2019re all caught up in that. We play the game … which is kicks marks and handballs, and this is the other game.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the other game tries to get involved in our kicks, marks and handballs, which we try to educate our players around. Maybe I was a living example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae said he had not tried to track down the source of the rumours.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy private life, we are very comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cMy wife (Gabrielle) and I have never been happier. What others write about is what we can never control.<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I disappointed? Yeah, but I\u2019m not a victim. I\u2019m here to do my job, and how good is the footy?\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae is lining up for his 100th game in charge of the Magpies against St Kilda at the MCG on Sunday, following a week in which he was made an AFL life member.<\/p>\n
He said Collingwood would introduce tall timber Jack Buller, recruited from Sydney, to their forward line.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gets recruited for a reason and he competes hard. He\u2019s a genuine forward for us, he\u2019s a competitive guy and well liked already.\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae was confident the Magpies\u2019 system would allow their back six to compensate for the absence of captain Darcy Moore and veteran defender Jeremy Howe.<\/p>\n
But the Collingwood coach would not be drawn on a recent comparison that suggested St Kilda\u2019s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera had already surpassed Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaz is an incredible player,\u201d McRae said. \u201cWow, what an exciting player. You could build a whole club around him, and so great respect for what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t like comparisons. I actually say to our players all the time, \u2018comparisons are evil\u2019 because you can never live up to someone else, so just be the best version of you. And Nick\u2019s a pretty good version of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
McRae said it was unlikely fans would see Wanganeen-Milera and Daicos go head-to-head on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019d be pretty nice to see, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t reckon [Saints coach] Ross [Lyon] would allow that. I think he might have some plans for Nick.\u201d<\/p>\n