Collingwood coach Craig McRae cops it for disrespectful ‘whacking’ of Western Bulldogs

Collingwood coach Craig McRae has upset some fans with a seemingly innocent crack at the Western Bulldogs and their modest supporter base.

Speaking after the loss to Brisbane on Friday night , McRae was asked about the inaugural Wildcard Round which will be played next week to see who progresses into the elimination finals.

As it stood, Collingwood finished the year in eighth and the Western Bulldogs were in ninth, so they would play in what the AFL is calling “Wildcard Final 2”.

But if Carlton defeated Fremantle on Saturday (it was a few goals in it at the time of writing) and the Western Bulldogs lose to Melbourne in the following game, Carlton would finish above the Bulldogs.

Carlton and Collingwood are obviously famous rivals with huge fan bases and a blockbuster Wildcard match-up would certainly attract a monster crowd at the MCG.

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing, if Carlton beat Freo tomorrow and the Bulldogs lose, I think it’ll feel like a final,” McRae told reporters.

“There’ll be a big crowd here (at the MCG), don’t worry about that. And we’ll absolutely understand what we’re in now.

“It’s knockout. So when you get into match play, we’ll get busy on what that looks like to beat whatever opposition’s in front of us. It’ll feel like a final when there’s only one game in Melbourne potentially next week. I think it’ll definitely feel like a final.”

Of course, fans were quick to note by excitedly talking up a possible clash with Carlton, McRae was unintentionally suggesting that a Wildcard clash with the Dogs may not really feel like final.

“So we are just whacking the Bulldogs 🤣 noted,” one fan quickly said on social media.

“That’s one way to disrespect the Western Bulldogs,” another fan said.

One fan also noted that in an elimination final in 2024 between Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs, 97,828 were at the MCG.

While McRae is a well respected figure, his gaffes continue to put some people offside.

Last year at Collingwood’s best and fairest he was also accused of disrespect when he made a joke about Gold Coast star Matt Rowell’s Brownlow Medal win.