‘Any danger of putting someone on Sicily?’: The blunt feedback for McRae; beloved Roos hard man bids farewell

Pies football manager Graham Wright said on Sunday that Murphy was expected to miss two to three weeks, but McRae told SEN that Murphy’s ankle had improved significantly, to the point where he just needed to train on Wednesday to prove his fitness for Friday night’s meeting with the Cats.

“He’s a chance to play. I don’t know how,” McRae said.

“He’s got to get through training tomorrow. He was no chance on Sunday, and he’s some chance now on Tuesday. Time might be against him being a Friday night game. He’s not so much a 2-3 weeks now.”

McRae said he was confident his team could turn things around after identifying areas that had slipped in their performance against the Hawks.

“I wake up on the Sunday morning and I’m straight into work on my computer and looking for answers,” he said.

“To be honest, they hit me straight in the eyes – really quickly – in terms of certain things we are renowned for that we didn’t deliver.

“We’re not playing anywhere near what we have.”

Asked whether the Pies had become complacent given they were two games clear atop the ladder, McRae said: “I’m fascinated by this.”

“I’ve never lived in this space of three lengths clear with 100 metres to go, in essence of the ladder position,” he said.

“It’s definitely not a conscious thing.

“Last week we trained so unbelievable, so there’s no reason to get to a game with any less thought of ‘what if’.

“We realise everyone wants to play their best against us, and rightly or wrongly, that is what it is, and we accept that. We’re getting back to work. Yesterday is no different, we had a really healthy review.

“There’s optimism of where we’re at, but we need to get to work.”

Meanwhile, McRae also addressed criticism of Nick Daicos, with the star onballer set to face the next six weeks on the sidelines with a fractured leg.

Daicos was criticised in the loss against Carlton for being selfish.

“On the Thursday of last week, not about the comments directly because I didn’t read them or hear them, but I was aware of them,” he said.

“I grabbed Nick just to see if he was OK. That did come up, ‘Has it got past your desk, have you heard this?’ And he goes, ‘Not really’. But I have. It’s a really ugly word, ‘selfishness’ in a team sport.

“I didn’t use that language other than to make sure he was OK.”

McRae defended his decision not to rest Daicos in the lead-up to Saturday’s game, saying there was nothing that could be done to prevent a contact injury.
- Damien Ractliffe

Heart and soul Shinboner’s farewell

Ben Cunnington will retire from the AFL this weekend, almost a year to the day since he returned to the senior side after beating cancer for the second time.

The two-time North Melbourne best and fairest winner will retire after playing Essendon on Saturday at Marvel Stadium.

Cunnington is a revered figure at Arden St and, along with Alastair Clarkson’s return to coaching the team last weekend, North now have ample motivation for upsetting their fierce rivals.

The Kangaroos are on an 18-game losing streak.

Cunnington, 32, has played 237 games for North, but he has been out of the senior side since playing the first eight matches this season.

He made an emotional comeback in round 22 last season after recovering from a second bout of testicular cancer.

Cunnington was sidelined for more than a year because of his illness and needed surgery and chemotherapy.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what I’ve achieved on and off the field in the 14 years at this level,” Cunnington told teammates on Tuesday morning.

“From the moment the club drafted me, it was a dream come true as we were surrounded by interstate clubs on draft night.

“Then to walk into a club that suited my personality, and allowed me to be myself, I couldn’t have asked for a better recipe to get the best out of myself.”

Cunnington said that after his comeback he had lost the desire to keep playing in the AFL.

“I’m proud and grateful of what I’ve overcome in the past few years and for the club to give me the best chance and opportunity to play AFL footy again,” he said.

“But I felt I lost my hunger once I returned, my perspective in life was too great. Then when I fell out of the senior team, I struggled to have the motivation or drive to get back in.

“That’s when I knew it wasn’t fair on myself or you blokes that I continued on next year without being able to give my 100 per cent effort, especially when there are hungry young kids out there that would do anything for the opportunity and to help this team get better.”

At his peak, Cunnington was one of the AFL’s most reliable midfielders and he racked up an incredible 32 contested possessions in a 2018 match against Richmond.

Also on Tuesday, Essendon ruckman Andrew Phillips announced he would retire at the end of the season.

Phillips has played 79 games at GWS, Carlton and Essendon, a with a career-high 17 this season at the Bombers.
- AAP

Cats swingman Jack Henry hobbled by foot injury

Geelong’s hope of having utility Jack Henry available for Friday night’s match against Collingwood were scuttled on Tuesday when the club confirmed the premiership defender had injured the lisfranc ligament in his right foot.

Cats general manager of football Simon Lloyd said the club was surprised to learn about the seriousness of the injury sustained on Saturday night in the win over Port Adelaide.

In more positive news for the club, veterans Tom Hawkins and Mark Blicavs are back running after missing the game against the Power, Gary Rohan is expected to play against the Magpies and Lloyd said starting midfielder Cam Guthrie was closing in on a return after a long lay-off following toe surgery.

The MCG match-up with top-placed Collingwood is crucial for the reigning premier, who are presently outside the eight (ninth) and need to win at least two of their final three matches to have any chance of defending their title in September. Their following games are against finals aspirants St Kilda (at Marvel Stadium) and at home against the Western Bulldogs.

Henry missed the first nine games of this season after injuring his left foot in preseason training, but had strung together 11 games alongside brother Ollie – recruited to Geelong from Collingwood – before being subbed out of Saturday night’s game.

The Cats said the lisfranc injury (middle region of the foot) happened when his foot was stood on in the first half.

“We were surprised to see the results of the scans as the incident occurred innocuously during the game. Our medical team will now work through the options available to provide the optimal outcome for Jack and determine how long he will be sidelined for,” Lloyd said.

“We are all disappointed for Jack, he is a very important player for us, not just with his flexibility to play a number of roles, but because of his calm head and stability he provides down back.

“We know Jack’s work ethic and the attitude he has towards his training and football and know he will attack his rehab in the same manner.”
– Greg Dundas

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