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That’s a tough gig for anyone, let alone a 29-year-old professional footballer who is paid to perform on the field.
Particularly when as, AFLPA president, he is also obliged to be conscious of a player’s well-being and entitlement to a fair process when they overstep the mark as Rankine did.
The stage is set for another showdown between the Crows and Magpies.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“It’s bigger than one issue. It’s bigger than the two players [who] are involved in that incident. It really is a league-wide topic so it is one I have addressed with my AFLPA president hat on,” Moore said.
“I feel a profound sense of responsibility to be in this position, to navigate these conversations and to stand up for what is right and what’s wrong. As an industry, we have an enormous place in Australian cultural life and so part of that is about the impact that we have on the community.”
The week after the Rankine incident, Moore made a short public statement on the Players’ Association’s social media channels applauding former West Coast player Mitch Brown for his “courage and candour” in coming out at as bisexual. Again, Moore struck the right tone.
“Stories like his have so much to teach us an industry if we are willing to learn,” he said.
On Thursday night he takes the AFLPA hat off and puts on a headband to assume another huge responsibility. Moore will lead a shaky Collingwood back to the scene of Rankine’s outburst as they attempt to overcome a hostile crowd, a quality set of Crows’ forwards, Taylor Walker’s 300th game, and an average, at best, form line to reach the preliminary final.
The three-point defeat to the Crows in round 23 was one of five losses Collingwood endured in their final seven matches of the home-and-away season. They clung to fourth spot when they beat Melbourne by a goal and Port Adelaide upset the Suns in Power’s final match for the season.
Rather than letting the wonky form deplete their confidence, Moore says the lessons learned in the previous two months has given his team renewed optimism about their chances in September.
“We’ve been really galvanised as a leadership group. We’re an experienced team so we know the answers, and we know that we’re capable,” Moore said. “It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of how for us.”
Moore was Collingwood’s best finals player in 2022Credit: AAPIMAGE
That question is more challenging to answer without Jeremy Howe and Bobby Hill. Tougher than the 14-peaks challenge they met after 16 matches when they won their 14th match of the season against Carlton in round 17, and reset their goals.
Since then, Moore’s form has been questioned. So has Collingwood’s ability to score. And whether the Magpies’ ageing list will last the distance.
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Moore hits back at any criticism with a verbal spoil that spikes the question about their defence over the fence and three rows back.
“We’re the number one team for scores against in the league. That is really the ultimate test of the defence. For me as a leader and a key part of our defence, that’s a massive one,” Moore said.
Of course numbers can tell all sorts of stories with the Magpies conceding 70.73 points per game over 23 rounds, 77.42 points per game in the final seven matches and 67.50 points per game in the final two rounds.
The question about Moore’s own form is met with the sort of defensive qualities likely to be on display when he joins his teammates in tackling the triple towers of Taylor Walker, Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty.
“We’re at our best when we’re defending as a team and it has a system, so it’s not on one person. That’s certainly been the key for me in my game is to find that balance between when to impact and when to play system defence,” Moore said.
Back we go: The Magpies will head to Adelaide for week one of the finals.Credit: Getty Images
So the Magpies are capable defensively. Their biggest issue is converting inside 50s into goals, something they have worked on in the past month, having only broken 80 points twice in their past seven matches.
Moore is switched on to what lies ahead. He is part of a club that has travelled to Adelaide as underdogs for three finals and won each time. He knows he has experienced players all around him who have proved their capacity to perform when it matters. And if the wary intensity he provides to conversation translates on the field, the Crows are in for a fight.
“We’ve got incredible experience [and] we’ve got great trust in what we’ve been able to do as a core group that have played together for a long time,” Moore said.
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“There’s a lot of lived experience, which is really valuable on the field but that’s not going to get it done. We still have to make it happen now. It’s about finding that balance between trusting where we’re at and trusting what we bring to this final series but also meeting it, meeting the challenge and meeting the moment in front of us right now.
“They know what to do. It’s about setting the environment and getting our focus where it needs to be and then ultimately just executing.”
The captain’s hat is on. A rousing speech lies just below the surface.
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