Collingwood youngster Darcy Moore says he’s not missing Travis Cloke in the forward line
THERE’S no looking in the rear vision mirror for Collingwood forward Darcy Moore. Not when it comes to his slow start to the season. And not when it comes to Travis Cloke.
THERE’S no looking in the rear vision mirror for Collingwood forward Darcy Moore.
Not when it comes to the Magpies’ kicking yips.
Not when it comes to his own slow start to the season.
And not even when it comes to premiership player Travis Cloke — a seasoned forward that Collingwood could arguably benefit from right now.
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“Trav was really valuable to me in my first few years, and I’m really happy for him to have played a couple of good games (before) getting a bit injured,” Moore told Fox Footy’s AFL Tonight.
“I wouldn’t say I miss him. But I’d definitely say we’ve got a young group who I am still learning to play with and it’s really exciting.
“We’re still working out our best footy and looking forward.”
Cloke was phased out of Collingwood’s best 22 last year, in part because of his own foibles in front of goal.
But after five rounds of footy in 2017, a Cloke-less Collingwood had the unfavourable tag of being the most inaccurate side in the competition. Alex Fasolo, with four goals and 11 behinds, was the biggest culprit.
While the Magpies’ inaccuracy was somewhat corrected last weekend in their win over Geelong, Moore said the club’s inconsistency had been “pretty frustrating”.
Despite this, the 21-year-old remained optimistic the club would soon find its rhythm.
“We’ve got a lot of time to get a few wins together and play the way we can,” Moore said.
“We’ve learned from the first few rounds and take step forwards to improve. We can’t dwell on it now.”
Moore’s own dry patch has come under the microscope, with the synergy between Collingwood’s midfielders and forwards at times non-existent.
The emerging star has only kicked five goals in six games, but says he hasn’t taken notice of the outside criticism.
“To be honest, I don’t really pay any attention to the external expectations,” Moore said.
“The coaches and senior player are pretty clear in what they expect of me. I listen to the senior players and the coaches. They’re the ones who are most important.”
Moore, however, acknowledged his form was mirrored by that of the team. Ostensibly, he said it had to get better.
“As a forward, I’m nothing without my teammates,” Moore said.
“We’ve got to try and be better and be more efficient. It’s a steep learning curve.
“We’re still a young group who are trying to execute week in week out. It’s such a tough competition now (because) it’s so even and competitive.
“Internally, we’re just grinding away. It was good to get reward for effort on the weekend.”
Originally published as Collingwood youngster Darcy Moore says he’s not missing Travis Cloke in the forward line