Collingwood coach Craig McRae wants the fire without the fines.<\/p>\n
The Magpies coach says he\u2019s always searching for the ferocity his players took into the halftime break after their bench-clearing melee with the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday.<\/p>\n
But McRae also knows there\u2019s a fine line between entertainment and the need to play within the rules.<\/p>\n
The fracas started after Sun Ben Long landed a gut-punch on Collingwood\u2019s spiritual leader Brayden Maynard.<\/p>\n
Maynard retaliated on the halftime siren, sparking an all-in battle and fine frenzy for the AFL.<\/p>\n
McRae demands his players fiercely defend each other but says it must come with the balance of consideration for the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s great for the game (the Suns-Magpies growing rivalry), I think anyone watching that game would\u2019ve been excited,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing our players walk in at halftime with a real look in their eye and an energy, as a coach you go, \u2018Come on, how do we get that (every week)?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you have to manufacture it, you want your players to be dialled in and hungry \u2013 that\u2019s what we want within our four walls.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, within the rules, but we also don\u2019t want to run around having $16,000 in fines every week, that doesn\u2019t make sense either, you\u2019re not playing the game within the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnywhere we can get a fine line of being on the edge, we\u2019re going to hunt the opposition and again we\u2019ll try do it this week within the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maynard was fined for three separate cases in the game, including brushing the umpire on his way into initiate the second melee.<\/p>\n
McRae knew there was scope for a charge but felt the incident was treated correctly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh look, I thought it was incidental as it was graded. I can see how you\u2019d make a case for wanting to make a stand of protecting the umpires,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that\u2019s the case too.I know they changed the positioning in recent weeks in contact and there\u2019s been a mandate from clubs to make sure we look after them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be a part of that, that\u2019s significant in making sure this game operates well, but I do think it was incidental.\u201d<\/p>\n