AFL 2025: Collingwood coach Craig McRae on the form of captain Darcy Moore

News.com.au

3 days ago

Collingwood coach Craig McRae suspects a level of selflessness is at the core of Darcy Moore's form slump and is urging the skipper to defend first against Adelaide.
Moore in form is one of the best intercept markers in the competition but has been under the spotlight in his side's four losses in five games.
The premiership captain has conceded hauls of six goals twice, against Fremantle's Patrick Voss and Brisbane's Logan Morris.
McRae said players like Moore, and veteran Scott Pendlebury, could be prioritising others over themselves at the eventual detriment of the team.
'I look at our game back on tape and say, 'Why are you making those decisions?', like use Pendles for example … he's the most experienced player in the competition and he's a little out of position at stoppage,' he said.
'Why is that happening? I think maybe he's trying to help others too much and I go, 'All right, you get yourself sorted and worry about others later'.
'Maybe Darcy is a bit the same, he's looking around making sure everyone else is in the spot – no get your job done first and lead from the front.
'Trying to find the reasons why we're making some of these decisions is challenging but there's a level of, 'Get your job done first, then worry about others'.
'I think we're really good at this at our best, so we're looking to get back to our best.'
McRae sits down with Moore weekly to assess his performance and how he can better the Magpies.
He says Collingwood's system wobble over the past five weeks stretches beyond Moore and will stop at no player to find that previous winning formula.
'You could probably make the case for a lot … I am watching footage with Darcy this week and the week before on what things he can do better,' he said.
'In particular, his marking is as good as anyone in the competition. I don't want to make it a one-person thing, but you've got to do your job in those systems to make others better.
'We have weekly catch-ups, so this is not something unusual. I am standing here wanting to get better for our fans, we want to put on a show for them.
'We're not going to stand still in our want to grow and whether that's the captain, whether it's me, whether it's someone in our environment.'