It should have been a 50m penalty: Magpies coach says umps got it wrong

“I reckon if it was at the MCG, it would have been paid,” McRae said of the incident.

“There is definitely an advantage for a home crowd. I thought it was a 50-metre penalty to the letter of law.

“I’m sure the AFL will come out and say it’s a free kick or a 50-minute penalty. There were a lot of deliberates (out of bounds) tonight, too. That was a bit of a circus. So, I’m sure they’ll come out and justify that too.

“But, umpires don’t always get it right. That’s fair.”

McRae said Swans midfielder Isaac Heeney’s last-quarter heroics made it hard for the Magpies to defend their last-quarter lead.

“He was pretty special, wasn’t he? He was amazing. I don’t think I’ve seen a player impact a game like that in a quarter. Unbelievable,” the Magpies coach said.

“I think the game is probably harder than ever to maintain a lead. I’m watching last week, and Essendon did the same thing to Freo, and you just go through it, like we’re having to go through that in the last couple of weeks of being in a position to win the game and then having to hold on.

“I’m just reflecting myself now without the vision in front of me. But you’re thinking, maybe the method’s not the right one, but this is a competition thing.

“We started some stuff a couple of years ago that makes it really hard to hold a lead. You know, if you take enormous risks, and credit to Sydney, they really got their game going from contests.”

McRae kept the Collingwood players behind closed doors for a lengthy period of time following the heartbreaking loss that means they won’t make the finals and won’t be able to defend their premiership crown.

“It hurts. It really hurts. To play well, and then let a game go like that, and then, yeah, it hurts,” he said.

“I’m sure our fans at home are hurting, and we’re no different. We’re human. We have emotions to attach to this. It means a lot to a lot of people.

“It doesn’t feel comfortable right now sitting in this chair because there’s a lot at stake in these games.”

McRae said it was difficult to speak to the playing group about a loss that affectively ended their year.

“I think when you have a result like that, we sort of speak about a couple of things,” he said.

“We’ve openly talked about what winning looks like and behaviours like that, and then losing behaviours, and I think blame is a real losing behaviour, so I’m wrestling with that at the moment.

“Yeah, wrestling with trying to blame others or blame umpires or blame whatever, because that’s really difficult when you lose.

“We talk about other things. Good perspective, too. Harvey Harrison looks like he might have done an ACL today, in the VFL, so put a bit of perspective on things.

“We lost the game, and it may mean more than that, who knows, but we talk about a bit of perspective as much as it’s hurting us.”

I think across the board it was just, you just see everyone lift when they, and it was just fantastic to watch. It would have been, the last quarter was as good as I’ve seen us play for what was needed.

Q: Was there anything particularly you did to spark that response?

Longmire: Unfortunately, I can’t claim that quarter. The last quarter was something magical ... it just doesn’t work like that. I wish it did because I would turn to it a bit more often. Sometimes it’s as simple as just, just winning your contests, and it’s nothing more than that at times. We started to turn the tide in the real contests, you know, some big contests in the marking contests, which I thought we got beaten a bit too much in the air. But the last term, we turned that around and then we played the last, we hit the front with four minutes to go, and I thought we played it pretty smart. You know, there’s some things that the team did and we played that out really well.

Q: Errol Gulden had a pretty dirty night, unusual for him, but then he’s bobbed up late to kick what turns out to be a pretty decisive goal.

Longmire: Yeah, that’s right. I mean, Steele Sidebottom (who tagged Gulden) is one of the all-time great players. He’s amazing, he’s so smart, he’s got a great tank. You know, he’s a very good player. And so to keep persisting, you’re a young player, you know, you’re still finding your way in the AFL world with high expectations on yourself, not so much elsewhere, but on yourself, and to keep persisting and to kick that goal was terrific.

Except someone forgot to tell the Swans’ midfield. Luke Parker (two goals) was swung into the guts in the final term, and he was able to spark Isaac Heeney (32 disposals, one goal) and Chad Warner (33 disposals, two goals) into action. They took over the game, continually winning the ball at the contest, as Collingwood missed the strength and composure of injured Jordan De Goey.

The Swans kicked the next five goals of the game to snatch the lead with three minutes remaining.

The win means they hold top spot for another week, and maybe they have rediscovered flag-winning form. They play Essendon at Marvel Stadium next Friday night.

Should it have been a 50m penalty?: The talkback radio lines will light up tomorrow with Collingwood fans spitting chips. They will say, and perhaps rightly so, that forward Daniel McStay should have been paid a 50m penalty inside the final minute.

McStay had led up the centre of the ground and found himself on the end of a pinpoint pass from Magpie teammate Josh Daicos. The controversial moment came next. Swans defender Tom McCartin was hot in pursuit of his Collingwood opponent, and he overshot the mark by more than five metres.

The umpire called him back, but was it too little too late? The commentary teams were divided. Some thought it was an infraction deserving of a 50m penalty, others thought that there was nothing else McCartin could have done.

It was a line ball call with significant consequences. Had McStay been paid 50m, he would have been kicking at goal from 15m dead in front with 30 seconds on the clock. Had he kicked truly, the Pies would have edged three points ahead and they would still be in the finals hunt.

End of the line for 2024 Magpies: The loss means that Collingwood is done for the year. Sadly, they won’t be around in September to defend their premiership crown.

That’s a strike against the club. So what happens next?

The Magpies have some ageing stars on their list. Former skipper Scott Pendlebury is 36 and has signed for another year. The futures of Steele Sidebottom, 33, and Jeremy Howe, 34, are less certain.

Collingwood coach Craig McCrae said during the week that the list management could not “quite commit” yet to a number of players. But it’s hard to see Sidebottom and Howe not being asked back.

Sidebottom was one of the game’s better players on Friday night. He had 21 disposals and kept Errol Gulden quiet.

The Magpies went missing in the final term, and their prime movers were reasonable well held. Nick Daicos was kept to 25 possessions, Josh Daicos managed 26 disposals and Scott Pendlebury toiled away with 17 possessions.

There is no doubt the Magpies copped a raw deal with injuries this year. Maybe they need a rest.