The Collingwood coach had birthday wishes from his GWS counterpart Adam Kingsley ahead of their preliminary final clash.
"Happy birthday Craig. Good luck - just not so much (on Friday night)," Kingsley said of McRae's half-ton.
McRae and Kingsley have enjoyed stunning success since they left assistant roles at Richmond and went into their first senior coaching jobs.
After the Magpies finished second-last in 2021, McRae took over and they missed out on last year's grand final by just one point in the SCG preliminary final against Sydney.
They have gone up a cog this season, finishing minor premiers and winning the qualifying final over Melbourne to confirm their premiership favouritism.
Kingsley went to the Giants this season and from the outset, spruiked the Orange Tsunami culture.
At round 12, they were 15th and then went on a club-record winning streak of seven games that helped shoot them into the eight.
They are in the preliminary final courtesy of four-straight wins - the last three on the road.
Their outstanding form on the road throughout the season suggests the roar from 90,000 Collingwood fans on Friday night will not bother them.
Indeed, if there are queries, they are now on the Magpies.
While the Giants ride their wave of form, Collingwood have recalled Nick Daicos from injury for his first game in seven weeks.
He replaces midfielder Taylor Adams, who has a hamstring injury.
The Magpies must quell the influence of GWS and All Australian captain Toby Greene, who has been the most dynamic player in this finals series.
Hard-nut defender Brayden Maynard is a obvious match-up, but he is coming off last week's dramatic tribunal hearing where he was cleared of a three-game ban.
The Giants have had a short six-day break, while Collingwood have not played for 15 days.
But the longer break is not necessarily an advantage and the Pies must make a solid start to at least match the Giants' momentum, if not kill it off early.
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