Dual premiership Kangaroo David King has raised concerns about Collingwood captain Darcy Moore’s performance and expressed worry about the reigning premiers’ backline following a winless start to the season. On Fox Footy’s AFL 360, King pointed out several instances where Moore, a two-time All-Australian defender, appeared to be below his usual standards in the match against Sydney.
In one video clip, Moore was seen leaving his direct opponent in an aggressive move but then failing to impact the contest further up the field. This resulted in an outnumbered situation in Collingwood’s defensive 50, with a Swans forward left free.
David King highlighted additional footage showing Darcy Moore being easily beaten by Sydney players in marking contests. This scrutiny comes as Collingwood’s defensive ranking has dropped from third last season to 17th currently. While King refrained from solely attributing this decline to Moore, he emphasized the concerning nature of the observed performances.
“This level of play resembles that of a rookie, not a leader of your football club,” King remarked on Fox Footy’s AFL 360. “This is uncharacteristic of Darcy Moore. I’m curious about his current situation. Is he dealing with an injury? Has his confidence waned? How does the team address this moving forward?”
The scrutiny on Moore coincides with Collingwood missing one of their key defensive players, Nathan Murphy, who is sidelined due to concussion at the start of the 2024 season.
Charlie Dean, who was brought in to replace Nathan Murphy due to a series of injuries, has been omitted from the Collingwood lineup for the upcoming match against St Kilda. Billy Frampton will take his place as one of several changes made by coach McRae.
David King sees this as an opportunity for St Kilda’s forwards to exploit Collingwood’s underperforming defense.
“I can imagine Membrey and King seeing this as a chance to put pressure on Collingwood,” King commented. “They’ve been allowing too many marks and inside 50s, and losing critical contests at center-half back, leading to easy scoring chances.”
He emphasized that players like Jack Higgins should capitalize on this opportunity by utilizing their speed to quickly score goals.
“There’s a real chance for someone to dominate against Collingwood tomorrow night,” King concluded. “I’m concerned about what I’m seeing from Collingwood, especially their backline.”
