PORT Adelaide champion Kane Cornes says Collingwood coach Craig McRae should be fined at least $20,000 by the AFL for his boundary-side exchange with Greater Western Sydney coach Adam Kingsley on Sunday.
Cornes believes the precedent set by Ken Hinkley's baiting of Jack Ginnivan during last year's semi-final at Adelaide Oval means the League must come down hard on McRae as well.
McRae, coaching from the boundary at Engie Stadium on Sunday afternoon, appeared to yell in the direction of the Giants bench as tagger Toby Bedford came from the ground and spoke with Kingsley. Kingsley then responded, sending some words back and pointing at McRae as the Pies coach resumed his seat on the bench.
While both coaches played down the incident after the match, Cornes says the Hinkley-Ginnivan example – which saw the Port Adelaide coach cop a fine of $20,000 – means McRae should be hit with the same punishment, if not more.
"This is off limits. You cannot have an opposition coach going at an opposition player," Cornes said on First Up with Kane Cornes on AFL.com.au.
"There's a precedent for this; the AFL hates it.
"This isn't as demonstrative as Hinkley was with Jack Ginnivan in that Hawthorn final last year, but this is during a game. The risk (is) that this really boils over on the interchange bench.
"This is closer than what Hinkley was with Ginnivan, it was from a shorter distance, there are players involved. You can't have Craig McRae going at an opposition player and then the senior coach from the other side responding.
"Hinkley got $20,000, I would expect the AFL would hand down the exact same fine to Craig McRae. And if it wasn't Craig McRae, if it was Alastair Clarkson or Ken Hinkley, I think we'd be talking about more.
"But it's one for the AFL to really go hard on again. And if it is to be a more significant fine considering there was a warning with the Hinkley situation last year (so be it)."
Cornes said the League risked being branded hypocritical if it doesn't hand McRae at least the same sanction that Hinkley copped last year.
"Absolutely. If this was Alastair Clarkson or Mick Malthouse back in the day or a coach with a more hard-edged reputation than what Craig McRae has – he's known as a nice guy, a loveable guy and affable – but the same rules apply for coaches.
"This is very, very similar and has the risk of exploding like the Hinkley and Ginnivan situation last year.
"So I would be shocked if it's not at least a $20,000 fine and a severe warning from the AFL towards Collingwood and its coach."
In their post-match press conferences, both McRae and Kingsley said there was nothing significant in the incident.
"I don't know if it was that confrontational. We were just having a chat about the game in general," Kingsley said.
"He's a good man, 'Fly' (McRae). He's a really good man and he's a good mate of mine.
"We were just having a discussion."
McRae also downplayed the incident, saying he was just "stirring".
"I was having a bit of fun with 'Kingers', an old mate of mine," McRae said.
"I was just stirring. I just said, 'We're coming', and he just had a bit of fun.
"He's a bit fierier than me. I'm a bit more humorous.
"There was nothing to it. If you want to make it a story, it's a nothing story. We're old colleagues and I was just having a bit of fun with him.
"If it's more than that, we shake hands at the end of the game and I said, 'We'll see you next time we play you'."
