Kane Cornes has handed Collingwood captain Darcy Moore a reality check, calling on the defender to stop being “too easy” to play against.
The Pies went down to Gold Coast by 11 points on Saturday afternoon, keeping the Suns undefeated in 2024 at home.
But it was Moore, who had just 11 touches and one intercept mark, who caught Cornes’ eye for all the wrong reasons.
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“I reckon he plays one good game in every six,” Cornes said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“I know that sounds harsh, but as a leader of this footy club … I just see it far too often.
Darcy Moore of the Magpies looks dejected after a loss during the 2024 AFL Round 12 match. AFL Photos via Getty Images
“Darcy Moore disappoints me. I’ve got to be honest about Darcy Moore, the premiership skipper.”
Cornes labelled the 2023 premiership captain as an undemanding opponent.
“Too easy to play against. He just gets his timing wrong,” he said.
“He just can’t afford to have genuinely awful games like he did yesterday as the skipper of that club.”
Darcy Moore had one intercept mark against the Suns. Getty
Matthew Lloyd noted that Moore’s role has naturally become more difficult, due to the shock retirement of 24-year-old Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy on the eve of the 2024 season.
Murphy was forced to hang up the boots due to excessive head trauma and concussions suffered during his short career, that finished on a high with a premiership last season.
“It’s where Nathan Murphy is a huge loss, because Murphy was that player that allowed for Darcy Moore to play the way he wants to play, because he was such a tight defender,” Lloyd said.
But Cornes isn’t convinced Moore has been able to move with the times to cover Murphy’s loss.
It means young key forward Billy Frampton has to be thrown back as an extra body in defence.
“I just think they’re one key defender short.
“Just the one intercept mark last night (for Moore). He wasn’t there to be able to help Billy Frampton, who was so vulnerable one on one.
“Why don’t they put the magnet of the best defender, the captain, on the opposition’s best forward?
Collingwood slumped to an 11-point loss to the Suns. AFL Photos via Getty Images
“But they want him to be this interceptor, which he is not.”
The Pies still sit in sixth on the ladder with an 8-5-1 record.
They’ll face off against foes Essendon in round 17 at the MCG.