Collingwood forward Darcy Moore is nowhere near content with his progress at AFL level
AFTER six weeks touring different parts of the world, Darcy Moore is back in training for a highly anticipated new season. But don’t call him the saviour.
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DARCY Moore has always had the travel bug.
For all but a few days of his off-season break, Collingwood’s smiling spearhead went bussing around Europe, camping in New Zealand and then joined coach Nathan Buckley on a tour of elite sporting clubs in the United States.
In his spare time, Moore prepared for a business exam.
Rather than switch-off on a tropical beach, the young Magpies star used his six-week break to open his mind to as many new experiences as possible, because other than slotting goals for Collingwood, Moore loves travelling, and learning.
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“I met up with Tom Langdon and we went driving through Montenegro and Bosnia for a week-and-a-half before ending up in Italy, and it was unreal, just so interesting,” Moore said.
“And then I got back and Bucks straight away gave me a call and said, ‘do you want to go on this trip to the US, to see some clubs over there’, and I said, ‘Why not? Sounds good’.
“And then there was the exam when I got back. So it’s been busy. As you can imagine, I have barely thought about footy.
“But even though I have just got back from travelling around the world, I can safely say I love coming back and touching down in Melbourne and thinking about training again makes me as excited as anything.”
The outside interests, he believes, are hugely beneficial, helping put the pressures of football into a broader and more worldly context.
And next year is already looking like a doozy for Collingwood, with Buckley saying he was “on the hook” if he failed to lift the team into finals.
Despite that, Moore is relaxed and confident about what lies ahead, after an encouraging finish to last season, toppling finalists Geelong, Greater Western Sydney and West Coast.
“We know we are capable of anything,” Moore said.
“What I think we did a lot better in the second half of the year was improve the connection between the midfield and the forwards, which is important, and not just the delivery.
“The way the game is played now a lot of the midfielders have to come forward and I don’t think in the first half of the year, as a forward line group, we didn’t really demand enough of them (midfielders) when they were down there (in attack).
“But what happened in the past is in the past, we have well and truly drawn a line on that. We have got to take care of right now.
“To be honest, it feels like we are almost starting fresh, which is really exciting.
“And getting (2015 leading goal kicker) Jamie Elliott back into training last week, in particular, was great for me because I have only played a handful of games with him.”
At the tender age of 20, Moore might be the most valuable player in Collingwood’s list build, as the Magpies prepare to launch into a critically important year with a reshaped, and most likely, more mobile forward line.
Unlike most key forwards his age, who are given more time to build their frames, the spring-heeled 200cm spearhead was thrust straight into the big league midway through his first year, and has battled stronger and more experienced defenders on a weekly basis.
Yet, the man who jokingly said he was handled cautiously like a “baby giraffe” last year to help ward off the threat of injury, has still managed to kick more goals (33) than games played (26) in his first two seasons.
And now without premiership forward Travis Cloke, who has joined the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood’s other father-son gem becomes the main man in attack, if he wasn’t already last season.
AFL champion Wayne Carey believes Moore is the best young key forward in the game, shading Joe Daniher, Jesse Hogan and Jeremy Cameron.
“He’s got genuine speed, he’s got good endurance, he’s got a massive leap, he marks the ball really well and he kicks it well,” Carey said.
“The thing that he does better than all of the other young forwards, I think, is his goal kicking. He’s technically nearly perfect.”
You will remember his 24th career game against West Coast, when Moore showcased his enormous potential taking a couple of hangers over the Eagles’ defence and kicking three goals before hurting his hamstring.
That athleticism is largely what makes Moore such a special talent.
The Pies have only added 2kg to his frame each preseason to help preserve the running and jumping power that gives him a unique edge.
Against West Coast, Moore earned the Rising Star nomination from only 34 per cent game time, or roughly a quarter and a half’s work.
But the Oakleigh product is nowhere near content with his progress at AFL level.
“Not really to be honest, I feel like I’ve got a long way to go,” he said.
“At the start of my third pre-season I’m not really getting carried away with 20 minutes of good footy because I know that it takes a lot of work to get there consistently.”
Mostly, the key forward is an immensely popular and bubbly teammate. His laughter could frequently be heard cackling above the team’s chatter on a preseason camp at Falls Creek last week.
Even when he almost ran out of petrol during a gruelling run up the side of a mountain, Moore was joking about it afterwards. His fun-loving personality is infectious among the young group.
But he is also ferociously determined to deliver for his teammates, playing perhaps the most demanding position on the ground.
The long-reaching forward said he is happy swimming in football’s deep end, or wherever Buckley needs him, to add to his 10 wins from his first 26 senior games.
“Everyone just widely accepts that, yeah, it (centre half-forward) is a really challenging position and I played a little bit as a key defender when I first got to the club in terms of training and made the move forward, and it’s not always the easiest existence, being a forward,” he said.
“The opportunities aren’t always there, but I feel like that’s the life of a forward. Some days it looks easy and some days it’s bloody hard.
“So, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind (in 2015-16). There’s been plenty of ups and downs but I’m still enjoying rocking up to training and I love what I do, I love my job. I love kicking the ball around.”
Carey says Moore has “more upside” than any other young big man in the game.
Just don’t call the No. 9 pick and son of dual Brownlow Medal winner Peter a “saviour” for Collingwood. He wants things to be more balanced this season.
“When you are in such a strong team environment and at such a strong club, I don’t feel like — you used the word spotlight — I don’t feel like I’m under a spotlight or under any more pressure than anyone, it’s more about everyone,” he said.
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“It’s not about individuals stepping up and it’s more about working together and getting that chemistry and playing games together and that’s our main focus.
“It’s not about pointing guys out and saying ‘you need to step up’, and ‘you need to step up’. It’s more a collective thing, which in the long run I think will serve us better as a team because the best teams can rely on anyone.
“It’s not just one or two people.
“The best forward lines have a number of threats and that is the challenge when one person is getting well held — someone else has to bob up and you get that from working together and having chemistry, which is really important for us.”
Originally published as Collingwood forward Darcy Moore is nowhere near content with his progress at AFL level
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