{"id":791680,"date":"2026-07-10T16:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/791680\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T16:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T16:17:11","slug":"afl-2026-craig-mcrae-press-conference-hits-out-at-arc-technology-collingwood-magpies-def-north-melbourne-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/791680\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL 2026: Craig McRae press conference, hits out at ARC technology, Collingwood Magpies def North Melbourne, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Craig McRae has delivered a damning assessment of the AFL\u2019s standard of technology, declaring it\u2019s \u201cnot up to scratch\u201d after a controversial score review went against his side<\/a> on Friday night. <\/p>\n

The AFL Review Centre has drawn the ire of footy pundits throughout the season, but in Collingwood\u2019s thrilling win over North Melbourne<\/a>, it was a \u201cmissing frame\u201d that left all guessing.<\/p>\n

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the 12-minute mark of a frenetic final term at Docklands, with the Magpies trailing the Kangaroos by just two points, Patrick Lipinski set sail on a goal-bound kick from 50 metres out. <\/p>\n

North Melbourne\u2019s Cam Zurhaar got a touch on it right at the goalline, though, with the goal umpire promptly calling for a score review after a soft call of \u2018touched behind\u2019. <\/p>\n

Zurhaar clearly got fingers to the footy – with vision showing them pulled back by the ball – with the question then turning to whether the Sherrin had crossed the back of the behind line before the touch. <\/p>\n

The goalpost angle showed two frames that told different stories. The first suggested part of the ball hadn\u2019t crossed the back of the line when it was touched, while the second displayed a definitive touch with the ball having crossed the line. <\/p>\n

The ARC just needed to see the frame in between. <\/p>\n

But as the current technology doesn\u2019t allow that, the ruling was \u2018insufficient evidence to overturn the umpire\u2019s call\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u201cIs it touching there or not?\u201d Fox Footy caller Anthony Hudson asked of the first frame.<\/p>\n

MORE COVERAGE:<\/p>\n

THE 3-2-1: PIES PREVAIL! Friday night classic keeps wildcard dream alive to inflict Roo heartbreak<\/a><\/p>\n

AFL DAILY: Dons star rejects rivals; fresh details as pedestrian car accident leaves Crow \u2018shaken\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

DEEP DIVE: AFL\u2019s next big trade domino has begun to wobble. These five names are at the centre<\/a><\/p>\n

This frame of North Melbourne’s Cameron Zurhaar attempting to touch the ball before it crossed over the goal line was deemed inconclusive by the ARC.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

Dwayne Russell added: \u201cThey say it\u2019s a game of millimetres, well there\u2019s a millimetre in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a millimetre of evidence we agonisingly weren\u2019t privy to, and McRae post-game grasped his opportunity to vent his frustration at that fact. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a strong opinion,\u201d he began to reporters at Marvel Stadium. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do. And I don\u2019t know if I can share it, but the technology is not up to scratch. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I know that, because I\u2019ve seen technology out there that\u2019s way better than what we\u2019re using, and the AFL\u2019s seen it, too. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision itself is what it is, but the technology doesn\u2019t show the full picture \u2026 it misses a frame. It probably looked like it was touched, but insufficient evidence – we\u2019ve got technology that\u2019s there to be used. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure why the AFL is resisting using it. I\u2019m not privy to any conversation, other than I\u2019ve seen the footage that\u2019s out there that we could be using.\u201d<\/p>\n

The belief, at present, is that the AFL isn\u2019t willing to invest financially in more specialised hardware relating to its ARC technology – particularly given they\u2019d have to standardise it across all venues. <\/p>\n

Asked who had seen the footage McRae spoke of, the Pies coach responded: \u201cThe AFL have seen it. There\u2019s a private company that produced it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen it myself. I\u2019ve seen the frame-by-frame capability of this technology. Now, that\u2019s only one version – I\u2019m sure there\u2019s more. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a pretty amazing, tight competition with big stakes. Grand finals decided by inconclusive footage? I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s the world we want to live in, in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

He finished by adding: \u201cAnd technology is not bulletproof \u2026 there are mistakes still made with technology, but I know the technology is out there to make this better (and) more accurate in terms of assumptions of what\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schultz, Blamires injury update | 01:05<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Collingwood still got the chocolates in a scintillating four-point win – its fourth on the trot – after withstanding a threatening North Melbourne surge. <\/p>\n

It puts the Pies a game and a half clear inside the top 10, with the 11th-placed Roos agonisingly on the wrong end of a crucial swing game. <\/p>\n

Speaking during Fox Footy\u2019s post-match coverage before his press conference, McRae revealed his reaction to a peculiar question one of his players was asked recently about wildcard aspirations. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery win is huge this time of year, and particularly when you\u2019re playing teams around the same ladder position,\u201d McRae told Fox Footy post-game. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut yeah, last week one of our players was interviewed and was asked, \u2018Are you striving to make the top 10 and this wildcard?\u2019 and I just almost cringed. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, it\u2019s like, \u2018Are you serious?\u2019 Like, why would we put ceilings on ourselves?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the business of trying to get as high up the ladder as we can and qualify. And that\u2019s all this is. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got six games to go now, and that\u2019s all it is. We just need to keep winning, and who knows where you\u2019ll be on the ladder? So we\u2019ve just got to put that energy into those things we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collingwood clashes with Carlton next Saturday night in another finals-shaping blockbuster. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Craig McRae has delivered a damning assessment of the AFL\u2019s standard of technology, declaring it\u2019s \u201cnot up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":791681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-791680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791680","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=791680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/791681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}