‘Might have been taken away from me’: McStay concedes grand final dream is all but over
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A despondent Dan McStay fears his hopes of playing in the grand final are all but over as he awaits results of scans on his injured knee.
The Magpies forward was on crutches as he turned up for scans on Saturday morning on a suspected injury to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Dan McStay is consoled by teammates after Collingwood’s preliminary final victory.Credit: AFL Photos
McStay suffered the injury after Greater Western Sydney defender Jack Buckley accidentally fell across his knee in the third quarter of the Magpies’ epic one-point win in the preliminary final on Friday night. He was subbed out soon after.
In a heartbreaking postscript to the Magpies’ thrilling victory in an epic preliminary final, even if scans clear McStay of injury, his grand final dream would still be in extreme doubt.
“Obviously you just hope for the best and I’ll leave that in the hands of the doctors,” McStay said.
“It’s pretty scary so close to playing in a granny and it might have been taken away from me, so we will wait and see.”
“We’ve just had the scans so we’re not entirely sure.”
McStay played an important role in getting the Pies to the last Saturday of September, kicking two priceless goals in a low-scoring game.
“Obviously for myself, it’s a bit of mixed emotions but I’m just incredibly proud of the boys and the way they played last night and the way they were able to shut the game down,” McStay said.
“Just to be a part of it was really special.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae was not confident of McStay’s grand final chances on Friday night.
“I’m not great with the terminology, I’m not sure if it’s an MCL,” Pies coach Craig McRae said after the game. “I don’t want to put a definite decision on it but, at this stage, I think he might be unlucky to miss out. We will wait and see.
“Until you really know, you just put your arms around him and show love and support as best you can. That will play out pretty quickly, I would have thought.”
McRae said it would be a blow for the Pies should McStay be ruled out of the decider.
“He had moments, he really did,” McRae said. “Early, he was significant, jumping and marking the ball. You can see why we get him, why he’s important to us. We need someone who can mark it forward of centre. And if he doesn’t quite get up well he’ll be missed.”
Vice-captain Taylor Adams is another injury concern for the Pies, as he races the clock to recover from a minor hamstring strain sustained last week at training.
“That’s going to be a watch the clock,” McRae said. “I think every second is going to be needed. We’ll push it to the line and see what we get.”
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