Pies coach McRae confirms interest in free agent and explains list build philosophy

Collingwood coach Craig McRae has confirmed the club’s interest in GWS free agent Harry Perryman.

Perryman has long been chased by Port Adelaide but Tom Morris told SEN on Tuesday that the Pies had come late for the 25-year-old. Other reports have suggested that Collingwood’s offer could even be more lucrative than the Power’s.

McRae says that he’s a coach that wants to bring players in over draft picks and he thinks that Perryman can make the Magpies better if he chooses to play for the club in 2025 and beyond.

“That's true, I'm a coach that wants to bring players in,” McRae told SEN The Run Home.

“I said that at the end of the season and it's hard such a hard market fishing from the same pond, but I don't want picks.

“I say to the list mismanagement, ‘I don't want picks, I want players, let's bring players in and make us better, not just any player, but players that are going to make us better’.

“We're somewhat deliberate on that and we think Harry can make us better and we're hoping we can put a case to him that he thinks Collingwood is the place for him.”

Touching on his list-build philosophy, McRae says that his preference for proven players instead of draft picks comes from a standpoint of continuously wanting to improve instead of falling down the ladder to collect picks and build from the ground up.

“It’s just a philosophy,” McRae said in regards to how he wants to build the club’s list.

“I want to get better every day, and I want to bring players in that make us better.

“I don't want to stand still … Geelong have done it extremely well, you look at that as a platform and you see other clubs like this year, Sydney brought players in, and it made them better.

“I don't quite buy into the ‘(premiership) window’ thing, I think, ‘Let’s just keep getting better, keep improving ourselves’.

“That's not excluding our young players either, we've got to make sure our players still get opportunities and improve and, but I certainly would like to bring players in every year if we can.”

Perryman has played 129 games for the Giants since being taken with pick No. 14 in the 2016 Draft including 21 in the 2024 season.