Like the rest of us, Craig McRae's heart rate was fairly pumping in the dying minutes of Sunday's thrilling win over the Blues.

"I must admit it did get a little bit elevated in the last minute," he said post-match.

"The game is never finished until you finish it.

"A few times this year we didn't kill the clock or finish on our terms and I felt we improved (in those areas).

"I love winning, I've always loved winning.

"I'm a very competitive person.

"Vossy is unashamedly a mate of mine and I love him to death... he owes me a meal."

Mason Cox produced his best performance in years, finishing with six marks, five score involvements, 11 hitouts and a goal.

"I've always been a believer in players, I think you should believe in them for as long as you can," Fly said.

"Today he got to show what he's capable of.

"We hadn't seen him play at this level for a while, I'm really pleased for him."

In only his second game for the season Nathan Murphy was a defensive pillar, taking seven marks and making nine intercepts.

"He really complements Darcy (Moore) and Howey in the air," Fly said.

"He's a really good system player and jeez he's tough too."

John Noble gathered 21 disposals, grabbed nine marks and made a potentially game-saving tackle in the final term.

"I just love his fight and the way he goes about it," McRae said.

"We need those (one percenters) from him.

"His last five weeks have been really strong, ever since he was the sub against Brisbane his form has been as good as anyone in our team."