COLLINGWOOD coach Craig McRae gathered the wider football club in the meeting room inside the Magpies' rooms straight after the song on Saturday to explain to the players the devastating reason why Scott Selwood wasn't at the MCG.

The club made the decision late on Saturday morning to shield the players from the news of the tragic passing of West Coast premiership great Adam Selwood before the game. 

While the wider football community absorbed the shock when the AFL released a statement just after midday, Collingwood players were warming up for the game against the Crows.

McRae sat down for his press conference after the 10-point win over Kuwarna and asked reporters to leave questions about the tragedy until the end, before breaking down while expressing his heartbreak for the Selwood family.

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"We did [shield our players]. There is no book written on this stuff. We got the news this morning and it was horrible. We didn't really know what to do to be honest," McRae said.

"We had to get to work on 'Scoot' (Scott) getting on the plane to get back to Perth. 

"It's horrible; there is so much sadness. We protected the players thinking that might have been the right thing – we don't know if it was – but we told the whole club straight after the game. 

"I just want to send my love to the Selwood family."

Before McRae fronted the media, Collingwood captain Darcy Moore spoke to a group of print journalists about the traumatic events of the day.

The 29-year-old wasn't playing on Saturday due to a shoulder injury but was driving into the MCG hours before the game when he received a phone call.  

"It's been really difficult. It's days like this that don't prepare you for the role as captain," Moore said.

"(I was) literally driving to the game when I got the news. Me and 'Fly' had a moment one on one where we just had a moment to connect before the game and offer each other our support.

"Then it was about offering the guys the support to do the job. Once the ball's bounced they've just got to get the job done. It's not a situation that I'm prepared for, you just do the best you can and support each other.

"Like many people in the industry, getting phone calls this morning, there is a real sense of shock and then just heartbreak. It is just unimaginable what they are going through."

Moore said the players were in a state of disbelief after learning the news in the minutes after entering the rooms, while praising the rest of the coaching staff for handling an incredibly challenging day.

"Clearly, when you come in to prepare for a game your phone goes into a box and you're in a bubble, you don't hear about the outside world. Players who played were unaware," Moore said.

"It was a one-way conversation about what's happened and how it affects us and the importance of supporting each other. News like this affects people in different ways, so we need to support each other as best we can because it is just the most horrendous news imaginable.

"The players didn't know before the game, but the coaching staff knew, and it was an enormous job for them to take that on and not really be able to process it and then be able to perform their roles today. That was extraordinary, really. Clearly a very unusually, demanding situation."

Moore, as he has done throughout his time as captain, had the right words at the right time, expressing his love for his assistant coach, who arrived at the AIA Centre at the end of 2019 and has left an indelible mark on the entire Collingwood Football Club. 

"We've worked with him for over five years now. Anyone that works with him knows how selfless he is and how he would do anything for anyone else, so for his family to be going through this just breaks your heart," he said.

"Scott is just an essential part of how we prepare to play elite football. He is such an important part of our program and such a valued person. 

"Job number one is to be there for him and send him our compassion. He works so hard for us players to be out there living our dream, for him and his family to be going through this is just heartbreaking. For us it's about rallying around and sending him our strength as much as we can."