“Out of line”: Cornes and Buckley respond to McRae’s “home ground” and “circus” comments

Collingwood coach Craig McRae felt like things might have been different for his team if Friday night’s clash with Sydney was played at the MCG.

In the dying stages of his side’s eventual three-point loss, Dan McStay took a mark just inside the centre square of the SCG as Tom McCartin appeared to momentarily encroach the mark.

No 50-metre penalty was paid, when perhaps it might have in another instance, which denied the Pies a shot at goal to win the game.

The reigning premiers had been 27 points up in the final term, but ended up losing which resulted in McRae’s criticism of the match officials.

He indicated that the umpires could have paid that for his team if the game was in Melbourne.

“I reckon if it was at the MCG it would have been paid,” McRae said of the non-50 call at his post-match press conference.

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

“I’m sure the AFL will come out and say it was a 50-metre penalty. There were a lot of deliberates tonight too, that was a bit of a circus. I’m sure they’ll come out and justify that too.

“Umpires don’t always get it right.”

Kane Cornes has slammed McRae for his choice of words in the face of a defeat which has the Pies sitting a game outside the eight.

He feels the Magpies get enough favours due to the amount of games they get to play at the MCG each season so felt the comments were a bit rich in that regard.

“I’m not sure Craig McRae needed to go down this path on Friday night,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“C’mon Craig. 14 (games) at the MCG, 17 in Melbourne, you get to play the Grand Final on your home ground.

“So 14 times you get the rub of the green and one time you have to go and play in Sydney on a Friday night you’re complaining about that.

“It was the wrong time. I thought he was out of line.”

Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley also commented on the situation.

He understands McRae’s frustrations but wasn’t as adamant that the 50-metre penalty should have been paid.

“He did say that he was wrestling with having a losing mentality. He spoke about being caught in the blame game,” Buckley said.

“I think the reason he prefaced that was because he wanted to get caught in the blame game a little.

“I known how difficult it can be when your season has pretty much been ended on the back of 20 minutes of footy, you haven’t been able to get the job done and a few calls that might have gone your way didn’t.

“I thought the 50 (non call) was actually acceptable.”

Cornes added: “I thought he (McRae) was right, I thought it was definitely a 50.”

Buckley replied: “I thought that McCartin was actually in the process of (moving back). They were flat out and maybe he could have slowed down quicker.

“The umpire was in the process of calling him back when McStay played on.”

Cornes said further: “He took three or four extra steps than what he needed to.”

Buckley concluded: “And I see those deliberate out of bounds (calls) were marginal as well.

“Sometimes you get the rub of the green, sometimes you don’t. And the idea of having a home ground advantage or the pressure of the crowd is definitely a real thing.”

The AFL is expected to question McRae on the comments, but Channel Nine’s Tom Morris journalist is unsure if the league’s new administration will sanction him.

Morris said that some rival clubs were surprised by what McRae had to say.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he receives a ‘please explain’. What happens from there I’m not sure,” Morris said.

“There are two comments that could draw the ire of the AFL. One is the MCG comment and the other is referring to the insufficient intent rule as a bit of a circus. I think the word circus doesn’t do him any favours.

“There are some non-Victorian clubs that were a bit bemused by his comments.

“The AFL does take a dim view to these sorts of things. Coaches in years gone by have been fined for these sorts of comments. Under this administration we haven’t really be tested too much yet.”

The Pies have their season on the line when they meet Brisbane at the MCG on August 17.