By Danny Russell and Stephen Brook
The afterglow of Collingwood’s premiership glory was barely dimming in when it dawned on Darcy Moore that he was about to be inundated with invitations and opportunities.
As the erudite skipper of a flag-winning mega-club, he knew he would be offered a torrent of invites, tickets, ambassador roles, advertising deals and opening-night red carpets.
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore brandishes the cup to the Magpie army.Credit: Getty
So the forward-thinking Moore decided to jump ahead of the curve. He sat down with his manager, James Pitcher, in October and made it clear that he did not want to overcommit.
“Darcy has probably said no to a lot of stuff,” Pitcher says.
“He is quite smart in terms of you win the flag, everyone is off, life seems easy, you haven’t got your day-to-day commitments, so you can easily agree to things and then overbook yourself.”
Moore was not the only Magpie in high demand following the premiership success.
PR departments were quick to grasp the pulling power of the well-mannered Daicos brothers, Josh and Nick, the mature qualities of Scott Pendlebury, as well as the unique backstory of the inimitable big Yank, American Mason Cox.
They were not only recognisable faces in footy-mad Melbourne, but they were significant online brands with widespread influence. On Instagram alone, Nick Daicos has 247,000 followers, Pendlebury has 231,000, Josh Daicos 139,000, Moore 134,000 and Cox 123,000.
For players and PR agents it was a two-way street: free tickets equalled free publicity. The pin-up boys would turn up, post and publicise events.
Considering the star power of Moore, Cox, Pendlebury, the Daicos boys and Jamie Elliott, could this be the most marketable collection of premiership Pies ever?
Collingwood captured the football public’s imagination across the past two years under the leadership and refreshing honesty of coach Craig “Fly” McCrae.
He dared his charges to play exciting football, and they always won the close ones, including the one that counts, a heart-stopping four-point victory over Brisbane in last year’s grand final.
“Everyone used to love to hate Collingwood, but everyone seemed to like them last year or the last two years under Fly,” Pitcher says.
It also helped that the players readily engaged with fans.
This warmth helped catapult the Collingwood stars into the celebrity stratosphere, none more so than Moore. He began to appear with his partner, Triple J presenter Dee Salmin, at red-carpet events, including the National Gallery of Victoria’s gala fundraiser in December, declaring it a “wicked time” to his Instagram followers, while crediting local designer Millie Savage for the necklaces he wore.
Darcy Moore memorably addressed the crowd on Anzac Day.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
“Darcy is not your typical footballer,” Pitcher says. “He sees the world differently, presents differently with the way he articulates and communicates.
“Then he dropped that outstanding Anzac Day speech (in which he said the game was about more than four points and thanked serving personnel and their families for their sacrifices). That just took him to the next level and then obviously being a premiership captain of Collingwood has ignited that further.”
PR expert Judy Romano, of Romano Beck, has utilised the pulling power of Collingwood stars at various events including for her clients and key Collingwood sponsor Emirates, which was in evidence at the Australian Open in January.
She has little trouble listing the standout qualities of Collingwood’s biggest names.
Josh Daicos (left) and Nick (right) have followed in the footsteps of their famous father, Peter (middle), at Collingwood. Credit: Getty Images
“Mason Cox is a very charming guest to have at events, a big personality and talks to his fans, very personable, very recognisable and the American factor helps his profile,” Romano says.
“The Daicos boys are super popular, as the Daicos name is legendary in the AFL world – their father Peter was one of the most renowned and admired players at Collingwood. Josh dates [model] Annalise Dalins, and it is always a great picture of the very polished emerging power couple.
“Darcy Moore is the son of legendary Collingwood player Peter Moore, so has a very high profile, he is a lovely man, a very focused individual and, again, talks to all of his fans.”
The Collingwood players were good for business when it came to promoting events. But were all these appearances good for football?
Mason Cox had a quiet night in Collingwood’s opening round loss to GWS in Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
When the Magpies slipped to a 0-3 start to this season, and looked distracted and underprepared for their title defence, the critics were quick to question their hunger.
Hall of Fame Legend Leigh Matthews was one who suggested that the playing group needed to “leave behind” their grand final success after several players and the coach attended the premiere of Take the Steps, a documentary on the 2023 premiership.
But Collingwood dismissed suggestions that its stuttering start was the result of players being distracted by social engagements, before a victory over Brisbane last week.
The Collingwood media department says the players’ internal commitments – media appearances and commercial appearances – remain the same as every other year.
But the club does not have control over the players’ private lives. Last year, fan favourite Jack Ginnivan was spotted at Moonee Valley races the night before the grand final – prompting McCrae to say the young forward needed to “read the room”.
Ginnivan, among the most marketable of Magpies, left the club during the post-season trade period for Hawthorn.
Pitcher, whose Bravo Management looks after Moore and Cox, says “everyone comes for you” when you are at a big club and experience success.
“We try to get our guys invited to as many places as they want. It is up to them whether they want to go or not,” Pitcher says.
“Say if it were Chicago (musical) a night before a game, we would say, ‘We’ve got these tickets that have come through, but they are the night before the game’. So, obviously, in a way we steer them away from that sort of stuff.”
As it happens, Moore was invited to attend the opening night of Chicago on March 26, two days before Collingwood’s crucial match against Brisbane and at the height of negative commentary. But he was not seen on the red carpet, slipping in at the last minute, according to two photographers present.
As a courtesy, Collingwood players give the club a heads-up when they appear at an event that has a media element – such as being an ambassador or walking a red carpet.
But Pitcher says the club does not stand in the way of the likes of Moore and Cox “because they know they conduct themselves well”.
Collingwood’s Mason Cox has capitalised on his unique background story to expand his network.Credit: Getty
“Our philosophy is, whatever the opportunity is, we will bring it to the player,” Pitcher says.
“We might bring it to them and go: ‘We don’t think this is a good one’. Or whatever it may be. Ultimately, it is their decision to make, but we will help guide them.“
Pitcher says Cox, 33, has recently inked an on-air deal with NOVA, while Bravo has looked to link 28-year-old Moore with long-term brands such as AAMI and Toyota.
Josh Daicos, 25, and partner Dalins were hired by the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix to be official ambassadors this year. He had to juggle football commitments, leaving the event’s black tie Glamour on the Grid party early on March 20, the day before Collingwood’s loss to St Kilda.
Collingwood’s Josh and Nick Daicos flank their dad – club great, Peter – during grand final week.Credit: Luis Ascui
But on race day, March 24, Collingwood players were out in force, with Daicos, Moore and Cox all spotted in the exclusive corporate Paddock Club.
It’s a familiar story to the club’s 2010 flag hero Heath Shaw.
“The guys these days are bigger than ever because you get more access to them,” Shaw says.
“It is not necessarily whether you win a premiership or not. Every AFL player is known these days because of social media.”
Collingwood 2010 premiership players such as Dane Swan are still in high demand on the speakers’ circuit.Credit: Luis Ascui
But Shaw maintains that members of the 2010 flag-winning side, including Dane Swan and Dale Thomas, would always be in strong demand. Eddie McGuire agrees.
“The 2010 guys are still the most popular guys on the circuit, by a mile,” McGuire says.
The former long-serving president says Collingwood has always been able to rebuild its future and create ongoing success off the back of its premiership heroes.
“If you go back to Lou Richards in 1953; he wins the premiership as Collingwood captain and then becomes ‘Lou Richards’, known for everything – newspaper, radio and television.
“Going back to 1990, Peter Daicos is still pretty marketable (he is currently appearing on reality TV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here). Tony Shaw is still on 3AW and doing all sorts of things off the basis of being the Collingwood premiership captain who was then crowned King of Moomba.”
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