It was a unique sight on the hallowed MCG turf, as befitted an unprecedented day in Australian Rules football history.

The men of Collingwood and Hawthorn, players who had just given their all in a titanic struggle at the storied arena, put aside any grievance, frustration, elation and exhilaration they might have felt and came together in an extraordinary gesture of solidarity to mark the memory of slain Adelaide coach Phil Walsh.

The players formed a circle, one man clad in the yellow and brown of Hawthorn, side by side with another in the black and white of Collingwood, to huddle in a tight knit formation, arms around each other.

This was a palpable acknowledgement to the world that whatever differences separated footy people during the contest, on this day of all days they were all part of the football family.

The idea for the public tribute came from the respective coaches, Alastair Clarkson of Hawthorn and his Collingwood counterpart, Nathan Buckley, two men whose deeds on the pitch and in the coaching box have made them star figures in the game.

The duo, like so many in the football world, have known Walsh in one capacity or another during their careers.

And like everyone else in the game, they had been stunned, shocked, devasted and bewildered in equal measure by the news of their colleague and rival's death when it broke on Friday morning.

Clarkson said after the match that the coaches had only told their respective captains, Luke Hodge and Scott Pendlebury, of the plan as they didn't want to burden the rest of their squads with the idea during what would turn out to be a contest that was a fitting tribute to Walsh, a man who demanded the highest standards.

Post-game an emotional Clarkson admitted that despite the quality of the contest and the relief at taking another four points it was hard to feel happiness.

This, of course, had been a harrowing week for his club before the Walsh tragedy, as his star forward, Jarryd Roughead, had had surgery for a melanoma and had been forced to miss this match, and while Clarkson held it together it was clear that he was on an emotional edge.

"It's pretty hard to be really happy at the minute. We are just looking forward to taking a deep breath.. it's been a really tough week for our football club....after the events of today it all seems inconsequential really," Clarkson said as he reflected on Walsh's death.

Clarkson had worked with the deceased at Port Adelaide and it was clear that the triple premiership coach was emotionally drained by the events of the previous 16 hours.

"It's been difficult for everyone in the game. You feel for Walshy's family,  the Adelaide footy club and the wider footy community, it's unprecedented. You don't prepare for this in crisis management planning. It's really tough for the whole industry, for the AFL to make decisions on the fly, it's so raw and emotional just having to deal with what had happened...and then with what was going to happen with the competition.

"Because of his involvement in the game, everyone had a connection to him in some sort of strange way through the industry, that's whats so tough. It's just a terrible, terrible time."

He explained how he and Buckley came up with the notion of a football-based tribute to Walsh in the minutes leading up to the start of the game.

"Bucks and I got together at the start of the game with Pendles and Hodgey. We didn't really want to tell all the other players and have them thinking about it.

"We said to them at the end of the game win, lose or draw let's get together and try and show that despite the fact that we have been fierce warriors playing against each other for the previous two and a half or three hours we could come together as one and acknowledge Phil, and show the footy world that we are going to mourn together and support the family and the Adelaide footy club as best as we can.

"These next few days are going to be really tough, for the Adelaide players in particular. We really wanted to make sure it was Hawthorn, then Collingwood, then Hawthorn and Collingwood in the circle to have that cameraderie and genuine togetherness of the two clubs.

"We were the ones that were going to be the spectacle where the whole footy community could see we were going to unite as one to support the Walsh family and the Adelaide footy club in very trying circumstances."

Buckley was also emotional, saying that the football community would pull together to offer support in every way it could.

"Most of the reflecting was done before the game. The significance of the gesture was to say it doesn't matter who you follow or who you play for, we are all human in our own right and when we lose someone before their time that we need to acknowledge that.

"We try and look after each other as much as we can.....only people in footy clubs can really understand what that feels like."

Clarkson said that despite this loss, Collingwood — which had been nine points to the good inside the final quarter before succumbing to Hawthorn's final flourish — were an improving team who would cause problems for any side.

"I was really impressed with Collingwood. It was an arm wrestle all night.....they are on the march, unfortunately, the Pies... what they have done over the last couple of years is starting to pay dividends for them."

Buckley acknowledged that his side was improving, but it still had to learn how to reach the next stage.

"The next step is to go from good to great. Using Phil Walsh's terms, we have elite standards on and off the field, and it's the last point for us....it can take a week, two years or three years, or you could never get there, that transition from understanding you are good, but allowing yourself to be great. We are really in the infancy of that and how long that takes is up to us and our belief."

The Magpies boss was also delighted with the performance of his captain, Pendlebury, whom he could not recollect as having played better.

"That's as good as I've seen him play. He's played some pretty good games, but  20 contested possessions, 10 clearances, 10 tackles, 37 touches – that's fairly dominant and I thought he was everywhere."