Boost for Magpies as star pair cleared to return in VFL
Accustomed to playing at the MCG, the gun duo will line up with AFL premiership teammate Billy Frampton in the Magpies' VFL side against the Dolphins at Kinetic Stadium on Saturday night.
De Goey has exited concussion protocols after previously battling Achilles inflammation, which had sidelined him since the start of May.
The explosive midfielder has played just five games this season, but is set to take a significant step towards featuring in the ladder leaders' premiership push.
"We're excited for what that looks like," McRae said on Friday when confirming De Goey's VFL comeback.
"He'll get some game time. He's been out for I don't even know how many weeks, but we're excited to have Jordy back, fit and available.
"There's always an element of risk with all things but, based on the last three or four weeks of training, he looks really fit and strong."
Hill's return is another positive sign for Collingwood after the Norm Smith medallist sat out the last four weeks due to personal reasons and illness.
"There's still work to be done," McRae said.
"You can't say that with what he's been going through it's just going to be flick a switch and things change.
"But the reality is, it's good to see him back training. He's been back at work for the last week and a half, and training hard."
Dan Houston (abdominal strain) and Tim Membrey (managed) will return at AFL level as Collingwood seek to arrest a two-match losing skid against Richmond at the MCG on Sunday.
Meanwhile, McRae will be "heavily involved" in discussions around potential off-season recruits, with Collingwood strongly linked to a play for Carlton's Jack Silvagni.
"Unrestricted free agents are something that we want to continue to explore," McRae said.
"Whether it's Jack or someone else, we'll step into that because we don't want to stand still.
"We want to be better than what we are now next year and we'll look to avenues to bring players in."
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell ruffled feathers when he met with West Coast captain Oscar Allen earlier this year, but McRae would have no qualms sitting down with Silvagni.
The link between Silvagni - from a famous Carlton family - and the Blues' arch-rivals Collingwood has caused outrage in sections of the clubs' supporter bases.
"I would meet with Jack, yeah, if that was something that was important to us," McRae said.
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News.com.au
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- News.com.au
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Loading 'I spent so many years thinking about what I needed to do, the next step, the next step, and the footy club, and I've just tried to be a bit more present this year, and what I'm actually doing with my family in particular. 'And at the moment, I'm loving what I'm doing, and I'm staying present in that now. If that changes, well, I need to have a think about it at some point, maybe. But at the moment, it hasn't changed.'
