AFL Senior Coach Craig McRae spoke to the media on Tuesday ahead of the Pies’ Qualifying Final against the Adelaide Crows on Thursday night.
McRae, who will coach his seventh final in the clash, touched on the support the Magpie Army will provide, some key team selection questions, and the Pies’ recent games against the Crows.
McCreery’s availability confirmed
“Beau will play. He’s done everything he’s needed to do to prove his fitness today,” McRae said.
“We’ll back him in and back our medical department in that he’ll be available.”
Covering the loss of Jeremy Howe
“We’ll certainly consider Wil (Parker),” McRae said.
“He played really well in Adelaide only a couple of Rounds ago and we just love his fight and his tenacity at the ball.
“He’s certainly a name that his magnet will be hard to remove from the team.
“A couple of weeks ago we had the same issue with Howie not playing, but out system really stands up.
“We’ve just got to back our system in that we've got players behind the ball to support the aerial stuff.
“It’s not a one-person defence and we kept them to 30-odd inside 50s that day and I know this game will be a lot different but there’s a similar approach to how we attack our defence.”
Forward mix
“Dan’s (McStay) magnet will come up for discussion with where we need him and we’ll weigh up if we go with Dan or some other options, maybe Mason (Cox) – his name might be there for consideration,” McRae said.
“We might go smaller too but it’s probably more likely between those two.”
The Adelaide Oval dimensions
“There’s no wings, that’s reality,” McRae said.
“The ground is a different dimension and it’s somewhat easier to defend sometimes and then it’s hard to move the ball at time.
“We want to make sour players are ready and adapt for that.”
The Adelaide crowd
“We’ve just got to step into it, it’s going to be a big challenge,” McRae said.
“We’re not naïve … you’re playing a team that’s won nine-odd games in a row, they’re top of the ladder and there’s a huge build up in Adelaide for what’s coming.
“A lot of their players playing their first final, that’s a huge build up and we just need to embrace and accept that.
“We’re going over with a real energy, but we understand what we’re getting into.”
The team’s finals experience
“This time around is when you need your experience and we’ve got a lot of it,” McRae said.
“There’ll be times in the game when you’re going to need it and maybe there’s times in the game when you wish you had a youthful enthusiasm that didn’t have it – time will tell.
“I’m glad we’ve got what we have with the likes of Pendles and Steele to set up others and across every line we’ve got the experience to deal with what comes out way.
