Collingwood senior coach Craig McRae has revealed his wife gave birth to a baby girl on the morning of Grand Final day on Saturday.
The Magpies claimed their 16th VFL/AFL premiership on Saturday afternoon, narrowly defeating the Brisbane Lions by four points at the MCG.
Collingwood was carried over the line by forward Bobby Hill, who booted four goals and set up a number of others on his way to earning the Norm Smith Medal.
It was all about McRae post-game, though, who revealed his news to the crowd.
"Today was already the best day of my life because my wife gave birth to a little girl this morning at 7:45," McRae told the Collingwood crowd post-match.
"So darling, I'm coming home tonight with the cup. I love you."
Speaking post-game, McRae described becoming a father and becoming a premiership coach were "so different", going on to say today is "a moment in time" in his life.
"They're so different, I'm going to be a dad for the rest of my life, I may be a premiership coach now, too," he said, smiling on Saturday night.
"But, this is a moment in time in my life, coaching Collingwood, and I'm so grateful for it, but my purpose in life is to be a father and be a great husband, so that's where I'm going to live in my space."
Hill, who joined McRae's press conference, felt validated in making the move from GWS to Collingwood at the end of last season.
"Very happy now, I picked the right spot, full credit to 'Fly', 'Wrighty' (Graham Wright), and the rest of the footy club to make me and my family feel welcome," Hill said on Saturday.
"It's a family club and I've never been happier and it just shows, to come out and play my best footy, I've never been happier.
"[I] only had one meeting with you guys and I knew this was the right spot ... It's something I wanted to be a part of, and I'm a part of it so I'm happy."
The Pies did it close at the MCG on Saturday, as they have done multitudinous times under McRae over the course of the last two seasons, getting over the top of Brisbane by four points.
