With Glenelg, McRae started his senior league career, participating in 41 games and scoring 59 goals between 1993 and 1994.
After being selected with pick number 22 in the 1993 preseason draft, he signed up with Brisbane after the 1994 campaign.
He was a constant for the Bears in his first season, receiving the club’s best first-year player award, and was an essential part of the Brisbane team for ten years. He possessed exceptional reflexes, incredible pace, and an unwaveringly accurate left foot.
McRae, a representative of South Australia‘s state league and state of origin, was a relatively underappreciated player on Brisbane’s 2001-2-3 title sides.
However, his ability to see the front line packs and score from nearly any position made him a valued ‘bit part’ player.
After participating in 195 AFL games and striking 232 goals, he announced his retirement at the end of the 2004 campaign.
He Was An AFL Assistant Coach At Richmond
After spending four years with Richmond and one with the Lions, McRae, a three-time Brisbane premiership player, joined Collingwood after 2010.
In 2011, McRae was in charge of the club’s younger players’ VFL development.
His position was strengthened in 2012 when Mitch Hahn, Dale Tapping, and Anthony Rocca joined him in the development coaching office. At the end of 2013, Hahn moved to Brisbane, and Steve Grace joined the team.
Likewise, the AFL Coaches Association recognized McRae’s commitment and track record of success in developing young football players when it presented him with its first Development Coach of the Year Award.
The award honors the remarkable dedication, devotion, and ingenuity in the training and development of young players for Australian Football League (AFL) football.
