Adelaide: Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury says the Adelaide Oval crowd’s booing of Isaac Quaynor on Thursday night says more about those fans than it does about his teammate.
Playing his 150th game, Quaynor was jeered by large sections of the 50,109-strong crowd for every one of his 20 disposals as the Magpies turned a 27-point first-half deficit into a powerful 34-point win over Adelaide.
Quaynor was also targeted by Crows supporters in last year’s qualifying final, a fortnight after he was the victim of a homophobic slur from Adelaide star Izak Rankine.
“I definitely noticed it at the start of the game,” said Pendlebury, who racked up 29 disposals, six clearances and kicked a momentum-turning goal late in the second quarter.
“It probably says more about the crowd than it does about Isaac.
“Stuff happens in footy all the time, but I think as supporters from all sides, and the league in general, we’ve just got to be better.”
Pendlebury doesn’t believe Quaynor was rattled by the hostile reception, but said he and his fellow Magpies will rally around the gun backman regardless.
“He’ll be fine,” Pendlebury said.
“Isaac probably knew it was going to come. We’re all big boys and we’ll get around Isaac, but he’ll be fine.”
Victorious Collingwood coach Craig McRae brought his daughter Charlie to the post-match press conference. He used the opportunity to speak about the values he has instilled in his family around not booing sportspeople while questioning why Quaynor was being treated as though he had done something wrong.
“I’ve got my little daughter in the room – she’s 10,” McRae said.
“I teach her [that] we don’t boo. That’s all I can control.
“It’s a fascinating narrative around why they would boo him.
“My understanding is he was the victim of a homophobic slur, and he’s getting booed for that? It’s a fascinating world we live in.”
While unhappy with the behaviour of those fans, McRae also made it clear he held no ill will towards Rankine, who he sought out after the final siren.
“I actually grabbed Izak Rankine at the end of the game and said, ‘We’ve got great respect for you, young man’,” McRae revealed.
“People are allowed to make mistakes – they are. We’re all human.
“We’ve got great respect for him – he’s a sensational player.
“I don’t know him as a person, but the way he stood up and overcame what was – [he] took it on the shoulders – there’s something to say about that.
“That’s life, isn’t it? Make a mistake, fix it and improve yourself.
“We were rapt in our Isaac’s game tonight. Jeez, he must have had the ball a lot early because he got booed a lot.
“We’ll get our arms around him [Quaynor] and show how much we love him.”
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks during the week implored Crows fans to treat Quaynor with respect. His call to arms fell on deaf ears.
“The game’s a passionate game and sometimes we lose our way in that a little,” Nicks said.
“With the backdrop and the background leading into this game, it’s not ideal the way it played out tonight.”
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