Darcy Moore overcomes concerning ear issue as Collingwood prepares to celebrate Jack Crisp’s games record

Early concern for Collingwood captain Darcy Moore has eased as the Magpies look to celebrate a new record that might never be eclipsed.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae conceded to having a “a level of concern” around the inner ear injury to captain Darcy Moore who makes a timely return for Saturday’s blockbuster clash with Geelong and the “chaos” the Cats can create.

Moore missed the Anzac Day win over Essendon due to an inner-ear issue, which arose out of a clash with a teammate the previous week against the Brisbane Lions.

While there was no concussion involved, McRae said early on they didn’t have “answers” for the issue before it was resolved through specialist treatment, allowing the key defender to make a swift return.

“It was a level of concern because we didn’t have answers to what it was and just chatting to him on Monday, we had lunch together, there’s a lot that he didn’t know what was going on,’ McRae said on Thursday.

Darcy Moore has had an ear issue. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“So that provides uncertainty, as we had no answers ourselves. It’s good to have him back and healthy and then able to provide what he’s been doing for us.

“He went and saw a specialist and got treated for that, and antibiotics … (there was) a hope that they could do something, but in the end, it was more the specialist that created a clearer space for Darcy.”

Moore returns in time to take on Geelong who McRae said would “bounce” after last week’s poor showing against Carlton, suggesting there would be “games” played by former Brisbane teammate and now long-serving Geelong coach Chris Scott, who has been questioned about making regular late changes to the line-up.

“Chris plays a lot of games. I’m not saying there’ll be a late withdrawal, but he plays a lot of games,” McRae said.

“So there’ll be a lot of chaos caused through different ways. We go to school on that. I went to watch them play versus the Hawks a couple of weeks ago and there’s a lot of moving parts.

“If you get caught up in there you tie yourself in knots, so we’re going to rely heavily on this system to play against a really good team.”

Jack Crisp will play his 245th straight game. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Mason Cox will come in for forward Dan McStay, who injured his knee, a fate that hasn’t befallen midfielder Jack Crisp for the past 244 games.

His 245th consecutive game takes him past Jim Stynes’ all-time AFL record, which McRae said was both “astonishing” and worth celebrating.

“We are going to get Sam (Stynes) in and we’re going to get celebrate Jim, the longevity of his career, but also what he did for so many of us in the game, and then show some footage of Jim in his heyday and then get Sam to take us into a little bit of his world,” he said.

“And then we’ll celebrate Jack because these are things on our journey of trying to reach the highest of the mountain where we want to appreciate the journey we’re on. “