An emotional Collingwood coach, Craig McRae, shared that he protected his team from the news of Adam Selwood’s unexpected passing prior to their 10-point victory over Adelaide.

The Magpies’ leader, McRae, and his team were missing their assistant coach, Scott Selwood, who is among Adam’s younger siblings and a former West Coast premiership player, at the MCG on Saturday.

It followed Adam’s tragic passing aged 41 just three months after his identical twin and fellow former AFL player Troy Selwood died.

After the win against the Crows, McRae embraced his team members, but when speaking in a live interview on Fox Footy shortly after, he was visibly moved.

‘It’s important to us, everyone plays their part,’ McRae said before breaking down.

McRae chose not to tell his players the news of Adam’s death until a few minutes after they had extended their recent dominance of Adelaide with a hard-fought 11.12 (78) to 10.8 (68) victory.

‘There’s no book written on this stuff. We got the news this morning and it was horrible,’ McRae said as he fought back tears in the press conference.

‘We didn’t really know what to do, to be honest, other than maybe give it space to see where it fits with all of us.

‘The other coaches knew because we had to work on ‘Scoot’ (Scott) getting on the plane to go back to Perth.

‘It’s horrible, there’s such sadness, so we protected the players thinking that might have been the right thing.

‘I don’t know if it was, but we told the whole club right after the game (of) the sadness. I just want to send my love to the Selwood family.’

News of Adam Selwood’s death emerged on Saturday when the AFL released a statement on behalf of his family.

‘We are heartbroken by the passing of Adam earlier today. Words cannot express the grief and sadness we feel,’ his wife Fiona Selwood said. 

‘Adam was a loving husband, and an incredible father to Lenny and Billie. We are devastated to lose such a wonderful husband, father, son and brother.

‘We will miss Adam deeply — his spirit, his kindness, and the joy he brought to every room. 

‘His determination, the lessons he shared, and his infectious personality will stay with us always.

‘Adam had a unique ability to make people feel special, and our family was lucky to experience that every day.’

Adam Selwood’s death came just months after his twin brother Troy died suddenly in February.

During Troy Selwood’s service at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium in February, Adam led the tributes for his twin, who he described as ‘full of life, full of love, full of wisdom beyond his years’.

‘Having an identical twin is a both a rare privilege and wonderfully complex,’ he said.

‘A twin is more than a sibling. They are a constant presence, a built-in mate.

‘He was my mirror, my fiercest competitor, my greatest ally and the one person who knew what I was always thinking.’

With the AFL world in shock, Collingwood posted a 10th consecutive win over Adelaide on Saturday night in a run that started in 2018, after a draw between the sides the previous year.

It sent the Magpies to the top of the AFL ladder – at least temporarily – with an 8-2 record, while the Crows (6-4) sit fifth.

Collingwood lost the clearance battle (39-29) and inside-50 count (55-47), but their defence held firm despite being without injured captain Darcy Moore.

Jeremy Howe marshalled the back-line and combined with Josh Daicos (29 disposals) for 24 intercept possessions.

Brayden Maynard and Dan Houston also impressed, and while Nick Daicos wasn’t at his brilliant best, he still finished with 28 touches and a game-high seven clearances.

Izak Rankine tried to lift Adelaide with 26 disposals and one goal, but put two crucial set shots out on the full just minutes before Collingwood took control late in the third quarter.

Rory Laird (27 disposals) and Jake Soligo (23 touches, five clearances, two goals) also fought hard for the Crows, and Darcy Fogarty kicked a game-high four goals.

Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson had 11 first-quarter touches and attracted close attention from Scott Pendlebury before finishing with 27 disposals and a goal.

Dawson converted a calm set shot in time-on of the final term as the Crows cut a 23-point deficit back to just nine, but the Magpies hung on in the desperate final few minutes.

Earlier, Dan Curtin and Rankine (twice) both missed crucial set shots during the third quarter.

It allowed three consecutive Collingwood goals in time-on, including one on the siren by Jamie Elliott, to put a break between the sides.

‘In a game that’s really (difficult) to score in because of conditions, those costly errors become even more costly,’ Crows coach Matthew Nicks said.

‘Fifty-metre penalties to give them a goal or a mark on the goal line right on the siren, they’re just small things that we’ve got to get right if we want to beat the best side in the competition.’

The 67,697-strong crowd marked the biggest home-and-away attendance in history between these two clubs and second-highest overall, behind only their 2002 preliminary final.

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