While there are three or four senior players capable of leading the Magpies, Darcy Moore is the player best placed to replace the formidable Scott Pendlebury as captain of the game’s most visible team.
Moore, Taylor Adams and Jeremy Howe are the obvious candidates for the captaincy and Jack Crisp has been mentioned internally as a dark horse. But Moore, who is probably Collingwood’s most influential and valuable player, is the one who ought to get the nod when his teammates and coaches cast their votes on the leadership group early next year.
Unlike the AFL Commission, which has had three years to think about Gillon McLachlan’s successor yet has dithered and delayed on deciding, Collingwood won’t need to expend too much time in locating their next skipper.
Darcy Moore.Credit:Getty Images
Pendlebury isn’t easily replaced, having led the Pies for an astonishing 206 games. He could have retained the captaincy had he wished, but he had expressed to this column a wish that he would do a handover before his playing career ended, affording himself the opportunity to just play without the burden of formal leadership.
Had Pendlebury given up the captaincy a few years ago, Howe would likely have succeeded him. Howe has the right mix of attributes – empathy, a capacity to direct play on the field, respect from all teammates and a willingness to have those uncomfortable conversations.
But Howe is 32 and will not be running around for too many more years. The defender would only hold the baton for a short stint, so there seems little point in handing him the reins.
Adams, a midfielder who is as honest in his communication as in his forthright style of play, is 29 and has had a rough run with injuries lately, having suffered a significant groin injury in the qualifying final against Geelong.
At 26, Moore is both younger than Adams and – despite his history of soft-tissue issues earlier in his career and a recent bone infection – represents less of an injury risk now.
Moore, while the son of a former captain and club great Peter Moore, would represent something of a departure from past Collingwood captains. He isn’t the prototypical player at any club, much less the fanatically followed Pies.
He’s more apt to be seen reading a contemporary novel than the form guide (not that Pendlebury was a form guide man either). Moore might be the only current AFL player familiar with the writings of Zadie Smith or to have completed a university thesis on the media landscape in Australia.
That Moore is a cosmopolitan footballer with wide-ranging interests might once have been held against him in a game that can be narrowly and narrow-mindedly focused on itself.
Times, though, have changed. The clubs have evolved in to more complex organisations and the better captains understand those complexities and the need to tend to the different personalities and stakeholders. Joel Selwood’s grand final victory speech – replete with recognition of the whole club – is a measure of how a captain operates these days.
Moore was one of the leaders of Collingwood’s players – men and women – in shaping a response to the Do Better report on racism. He remains on a player working group for Do Better and is passionate about the remaking of the Magpies on that front.
Moore plays the game with unflinching courage and also exemplifies Craig McRae’s game style of daring to attack from defence. Collingwood’s style, indeed, is well-suited to a defender as captain (Nick Maxwell also excelled at directing play from behind the ball) given the enormous store they place in counter-attacks and the transition game.
Moore is at ease in dealing with media and will be untroubled in handling sponsors and outside commitments. He is well-liked within the playing group, too, and has an excellent relationship with McRae.
The challenge for all captains lies in how they strike a balance between having their teammates’ backs and also holding to account teammates who let the side down. Some players, such as Luke Hodge, have a natural capacity to navigate those conflicts.
If appointed, via election of his peers, Darcy Moore would be the rare player to follow his father in captaining the same club. That heritage shouldn’t influence the vote, but his champion father’s experiences in the tumultuous Tom Hafey-era cannot harm his son’s prospects either.
