Crisp feeling the love as coaches praise Cats' 'battering ram'

Craig McRae was proud of his team's response as Jack Crisp's kick to win after the siren just missed

Jack Crisp is consoled by teammates after the R8 match between Collingwood and Geelong at the MCG on May 3, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

COLLINGWOOD coach Craig McRae says his side's attitude in the immediate aftermath of Jack Crisp's missed shot after the siren is reflective of a winning team.

Crisp had the opportunity to secure a last-gasp victory for the Pies, but his effort from 45m drifted wide, leaving the final margin a three-point win for Geelong.

MAGPIES v CATS Full match coverage and stats

His teammates immediately congregated to console Crisp, who was playing his record-breaking 245th consecutive match.

"We just celebrated [his] incredible 245 games in a row in the rooms with his family, gave him the match ball and spoke glowingly that his contribution to this footy club is amazing," McRae said.

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07:31 McRae post-match, R8: 'We made a few errors ... and good teams make you pay' Watch Collingwood’s press conference after round eight’s match against Geelong

08:17 Highlights: Collingwood v Geelong The Magpies and Cats clash in round eight of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season

09:34 Scott post-match, R8: 'He just looked like Jonah Lomu there at one stage' Watch Geelong’s press conference after round eight’s match against Collingwood

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"I've said this before – sometimes when you lose, you want to be winners. I reckon sometimes when you win, you can be a loser. I've said that for many years now. When he misses that kick, just look at the response of our team. It's testament to the character and culture we have, that they get around Jack straight away. I think we looked like winners regardless of what the score said."

Speaking to Fox Footy after the match, Crisp said he was nearly brought to tears as players from both teams got around him.

"The ball fell in my lap. That was my moment and it wasn't to be," Crisp said.

Jack Crisp is congratulated by Patrick Dangerfield after the R8 match between Collingwood and Geelong at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 3, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

"I definitely feel a lot of love, everyone getting around me, especially Geelong players as well. It nearly brought a tear to my eye."

McRae said the speed of Geelong caught his side on the hop at times, and that the Pies had other chances to win the game other than Crisp's behind.

"They're really difficult to play against, a bit of rope-a-dope stuff. We had a lot of territory, we were winning the inside 50 battle, a lot of clearances early, they started really well and we expected that.," he said.

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"[It's like] when you play basketball and you have a lot of lay-ups – they've got so much speed in their game, they get you back, then beat you on the other side, they're really hard to play against. It's a well-drilled good team, they're hard to stop.

"I thought if [Crisp] kicked it, did we steal it? But we owned a lot of the numbers throughout the night. We were 20 points up, and within some control of the territory of the game, and a lot of the numbers were green for most of it.

"But good teams find ways, and they found a way to crawl their way back at times. We made a few errors along there, as you do, and good teams make you pay."

Learn More 07:31

Patrick Dangerfield put the superhero cape on against the Pies, with the Geelong skipper reminding his coach of a legendary rugby player with his attack on the footy.

Dangerfield played as a near-permanent forward, recording 29 disposals for the match – 13 coming in the last quarter alone – as well as 17 contested possessions and a crucial final-term goal.

"Not just his last quarter – he just looked like (New Zealand rugby union international) Jonah Lomu there at one stage, like he's just really enjoying that part of the game," Chris Scott said.

"I mean, he always has, and we know that's he's a threat – he's always been a threat forward – and he can attack the ball in the air, but the ground level stuff.

"I'm a bit biased, I like those players, the [Jordan] De Goey type players, that powerful, bull at a gate ones. It's good fun to watch them at the moment."

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McRae joked a pre-game incident may have spurred on Dangerfield.

"I stole his park before the game, and he wasn't that happy. I blame myself," McRae said.

"He's a bloody good player, isn't he? He's a battering ram. We had 20 broken tackles, or 15, and he was the most of them. He just beelines you and runs through you."

Scott said he couldn't repeat what was on his mind when Crisp had his shot after the siren to win the game.

"It was a game where you kind of expected something like that to happen. The holding the ball free kick in the middle added to the theatre of it, and get it forward and have a shot after the siren," he said.

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"The one that was more frustrating was the mark in the goalsquare before that. I mean, we were fortunate, I think, to get away with the win in the end, the way the last two or three minutes played out.

"Not fortunate before that, to get ourselves in that position, after being outplayed for a big part of the middle of the game, and the ability to hang in there and give ourselves a chance, that that was admirable. But, yeah, certainly not sort of sitting here thinking that the execution for the last three minutes was the reason we won the game."

Scott said ruckman Rhys Stanley requires scans on his hamstring injury, which saw the veteran pulled from the game at the first break.

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