AFL qualifying finals: Darcy Moore to return against Melbourne, Nick Daicos remains out

There will be a tough battle for spots in the 23 for Collingwood to take on the Dees, with one superstar confirmed to return, but will Darcy Moore be joined by the Brownlow Medal favourite?

Nick Daicos at Collingwood headquarters on Wednesday. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images.

Collingwood superstar Darcy Moore is certain the Magpies’ defensive headaches are over as he prepares to return in next Thursday night’s blockbuster qualifying final against Melbourne.

Jet midfielder Nick Daicos won’t play in the qualifying final but could come into the frame to play the following week as he makes quicker-than-expected progress from a fractured leg.

Moore, 27, says he will be 100 per cent for the final against the Demons and will “feel for” close mate Brodie Grundy in the event he isn’t picked by the Dees for the sell-out clash at the MCG.

Daicos, 20, trained well again indoors on Wednesday and will look to increase his load over the next few days in a bid to be available for a semi-final if the Pies go down to Melbourne.

Daicos will run for the first time this weekend to test his injured leg.

Daicos landed the AFL Coaches Association’s best young player award on Wednesday night and in his awards speech said he would be “watching” the qualifying final.

“I am sort of taking a day-to-day process, if it was up to me I would be playing (in the qualifying final) but the medicos are taking a longer term view,” he said.

“We are just working day to day and making little improvements, just improving each day to see.

“I am trying to get back as early as I can in finals, hopefully that is as early as can be.

“I am hoping this weekend that I will get my first run in, I am sure that will be low paced and intensity but from there we will build.”

Daicos won’t be in the team to face the Demons. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

Defender Nathan Murphy (glute) and pressure forward Beau McReery (suspension) are also expected to play Melbourne, putting pressure on key backman Billy Frampton, midfielder Finlay McRae and speedster Oleg Markov to keep their spots.

Defender Nathan Murphy (glute) and pressure forward Beau McReery (suspension) are also expected to play Melbourne, putting pressure on key backman Billy Frampton, midfielder Finlay Macrae and speedster Oleg Markov to keep their spots.

Collingwood’s defence has been the big concern late in the season without Moore.

But the skipper said he had no doubts about the team’s ability to stop Melbourne following the Magpies’ commanding win over Essendon last Friday night.

The Pies spent the week leading up to Bombers’ win going to school on the team defence, with outstanding results.

“We are constantly tuning up our game behind the scenes and team defence is obviously one of those things in the past couple of weeks,” Moore said.

“We addressed it pretty emphatically on Friday night giving up only two goals I think to three-quarter-time.

“We defended as well as we have all year, so we are confident our best footy is ahead of us and we are going to bring it.”

Moore hurt his hamstring in the Round 22 win over Geelong, and could have played if he wanted to push it against the Bombers.

Instead, the inspirational defender took the extra week off to make sure his hamstring was cherry ripe for finals.

“Absolutely feeling great,” he said.

“Had a really good training block for a couple of weeks and still have got a few more sessions to go before the game, so already feeling really good.”

Daicos was cut down by a fractured knee in the loss to Hawthorn, but has used the hyperbaric chamber to speed-up his recovery and help push the Pies for a shot at a flag.

Moore said the silken midfielder, who remains second favourite for the Brownlow Medal, wasn’t far away.

The Collingwood skipper will return for their clash against Melbourne. Photo by Michael Klein.

“(He is) Pretty close. I think he is moving well and we are excited to see how quickly he can get back,” Moore said.

Moore said the Magpies had experimented with different setups in recent weeks including sending defender Jeremy Howe forward.

But he predicted a tough week at selection as Moore, McReery and Murphy all push to take on Melbourne.

He said there would be some unlucky players left out. Forward Jack Ginnivan and midfielder Tom Mitchell played well against the Bombers, potentially safeguarding their spots.

“I’m glad it’s not my job (to pick the team). We have got a lot of guys in form and there’s one person basically on our injury list at the moment,” he said.

“It’s a great position for the team and the club to be in, but there’s going to be some stiff individuals. That is what makes a great team.

“It has been a long season, we feel like we have put together some great form at times.

“We have learned a lot about ourselves, we have tried different mixes.

“We have found different ways we can go about it, and we haven’t been afraid to change things and so I think going forward we are pretty hungry to show everyone what we can do.”

Originally published as AFL qualifying finals: Darcy Moore to return against Melbourne, Nick Daicos remains out