Triple premiership winning Lion Craig McRae has been announced as Collingwood's 16th full-time coach.
The announcement was made via a Wednesday afternoon press-conference in which the 47-year-old was flanked by club President, Mark Korda, CEO, Mark Anderson, and GM of Football, Graham Wright.
It's official. Craig McRae has been appointed senior coach.
Welcome back, @flybags4!
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) September 1, 2021
“I’m pretty pumped,” McRae stated.
“I have a role to play but so does every player and member of the football program. We will only rise together.
“Success is the product of a process. I have been fortunate to witness up close and share in some very successful programs and I know that teaching solid habits can build a winning habit of its own.
“If we remain realistic about where we are, work hard, make smart decisions, think selflessly and understand that you can always learn from the game then we should make progress.
“The playing group that I’ve seen from afar appears to be very talented. Quite a few are new to the AFL and they will need nurturing but we should all – rookie or veteran - expect to be better in 2022 than we were in 2021.”
McRae will commence his debut term as a senior head coach after stints as an assistant and development coach at Brisbane, Richmond and Hawthorn.
According to The Herald Sun, the South Australian and his new employers are said to have agreed on a contract that will tie McRae to the Magpies until at least the end of 2024.
McRae played 195-games in the sunshine state's capital between 1995 and 2004, and proved an integral member of their Lions' famous 'three-peat' side.
As a coach, the Glenelg product led Richmond's reserves to the 2019 VFL premiership and was also named as the league's Coach of the Year in the same season.
The highly regarded steward that has proven his ability to develop youth in his previous posts was seen as the key candidate by the Pies' board and will start his time at the Holden Centre alongside a familiar face.
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Having worked with McRae at Brisbane and Richmond in both a playing and coaching capacity, former Lions coach Justin Leppitsch will join his friend in black and white next season.
SEN chief sports reporter Sam Edmund broke the news on Wednesday morning of Leppitsch's decision to the rebuff the Blues' advances for his services and join their arch rivals in 2022.
JUSTIN Leppitsch has accepted a new role under incoming coach and good mate Craig Macrae at Collingwood. My understanding is Leppa will have a strategy portfolio with a focus on defence that will see him work across the opposition and analytics departments, among others.
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) August 31, 2021
Lepptisch also spoke glowingly of McRae's ability to "gel" players on the same station earlier on Wednesday.
The pair's start in the role will coincide with the dual departures of former club assistants Robert Harvey and Brenton Sanderson.
Despite claiming that he had not been approached by Carlton, Harvey is expected to link up with his former employers next season should Ross Lyon succeed David Teague in the head coaching role.
