Moore named Collingwood captain; Prized Dons pick out for 10 weeks; Harford speaks after departure

“[It will bring] naturally a bit of change. We’re different personalities, we’re different people. But that’s a great thing,” Moore said.

“This club has experienced a lot of change over the last few years. And I suppose this is just another step towards the future.

“He’s taught me a lot of things. But, you know, I’m not Scott Pendlebury. I’m Darcy Moore, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.”

The articulate Moore, a self-confessed political buff, was the favourite for the key role.

“It’s extraordinary really. I’ve been a lifelong supporter … in many ways, this is the culmination of that journey from fan to making it on the list to being named captain,” he said.

“In the context of this group … we showed the competition last year that our best is something special. So, you know, to be recognised by them as captain is, is really humbling.”

Moore said he wanted to be a leader who excelled as a trusted teammate and communicator on the field and a figure who accepted responsibility off the field.

Fellow leadership group members Taylor Adams, Jeremy Howe and Brayden Maynard will support Moore, who has the opportunity to hold the role for several years.

The Magpies said the appointment of the leadership group was a player-led process, involving demonstrated qualities on and off the field. The squad and key senior staff nominated and voted on candidates, before a final recommendation was put to the club’s board.

Moore has lifted his training loads recently, having been hospitalised in December with a bone infection because of a bout of osteomyelitis.

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He had a superb 2022 season, finishing third in the Copeland Trophy count, and reaffirming why he is one of the league’s premier key defenders.

Moore has also been actively involved off the field. He is a board member of the AFL Players Association, and was a pivotal figure in how the Magpies responded to the club’s Do Better report on racism. He has also been involved in the internal working group for Do Better.

“We congratulate Darcy on being appointed captain and also Taylor, Jeremy and Brayden on their appointments to the leadership group,” Magpies’ general manager of football Graham Wright said.

“All four players display a strong alignment to the club values as well as attributes that will nurture, mentor and inspire the team. This process has confirmed there is no shortage of upcoming leaders in our group. We are fortunate to have a number of players who will play a role in leading this team even if they don’t hold a formal leadership title.”

Pendlebury was keen to relinquish the top role while he was still playing, and will support Moore through the transition.

Meanwhile, ruckman Darcy Cameron was sent for scans over a hamstring injury on Wednesday.

Moore said given the high training loads, “little niggles like that aren’t altogether uncommon at this stage”.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine in the next few weeks,” he said.

Dons’ prized pick to miss up to 10 weeks after surgery

Andrew Wu

Boom Essendon youngster Elijah Tsatas is likely to miss the first month of the AFL season as he recovers from knee surgery.

Elijah Tsatas will miss eight to 10 weeks with his knee injury.Credit:AFL Photos

The Bombers were unsure of the recovery timeframe for Tsatas’ injury when he suffered an acute meniscus tear two weeks ago, but after he underwent surgery last week it is now expected he will be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks.

The longer end of that timeline would not have him back on the field until about round three, but he will likely need match practice before pushing for a senior debut.

Despite missing much of last season in the NAB League with a foot fracture, Tsatas was taken with pick No.5 in the draft.

Spearhead and reigning club champion Peter Wright resumed running on Tuesday after a minor calf injury and is expected to be back in full training by the end of the week, so too key forward Sam Weideman, who has been on a modified program after hurting his quadriceps.

Nik Cox will have an MRI in the coming days to assess his lower back, but the club does not believe it is serious.

Under new coach Brad Scott, the Dons have been put through a more contest-focused pre-season compared to last year when they could not recover from a horror start to finish 15th with seven wins.

The Bombers face Gold Coast at Carrara in a match simulation later this month before taking on St Kilda on March 3 in an official practice game.

Daniel Harford won’t coach Carlton in 2023.Credit:AFL Photos

Blues ‘took their eye off the ball’ on AFLW: Harford

Damien Ractliffe

Outgoing Carlton coach Daniel Harford has defended his players after an internal review found a lack of professionalism among the Blues’ AFLW program, and says the club needed to provide more support to its women.

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Harford was let go by the Blues on Tuesday with a year left on his contract after an internal review determined the team needed a full-time coach to improve on its most recent 2-2-6 win-draw-loss record.

But the part-time coach, full-time sports breakfast radio host said the Blues had prioritised their men’s program over the women’s program, and he did the best he could with what was made available to him.

“I think from a Carlton perspective, there’s clearly been a real focus on the boys’ program in the last little while,” Harford said on RSN radio on Wednesday morning.

“There was such a focus on the men’s program after the men’s review, with Michael Voss coming in and Luke Sayers coming in as president, and with a really aggressive mandate to get the place back on track really quickly, that I think there was an eye was taken off the AFLW program.

“I think they’ve admitted they took their eye off the ball a little bit and … left us to run our own race a bit without the support perhaps we needed, off the smell of an oily rag.”

The review also found the program was not reaching a high-performance benchmark, but Harford said that assessment would be relevant across the competition and not simply limited to Carlton’s AFLW program.

“I’m still not 100 per cent convinced of what high performance in a part-time program actually is,” he said.

“If you’ve got part-time people who are getting there trying to develop and initiate this high-performance program, after working their other jobs for the day, that’s a real challenge, I reckon.

“The club needs to invest, and the game needs to have people in the different silos, be it high-performance, strength and conditioning, coaching … they almost all need to be full-time employees of the footy club.”

Meanwhile, criticism of the game plan had more to do with the lack of experience in the playing group, according to Harford.

“If you watched us play last season, more than season six … there were times when you’re thinking, ‘what the hell is going on?’” he said.

“I was. But it’s a new group … there weren’t too many issues with the cohesion and game plan in 2019 and 2020 when we were playing some really sexy footy and going really well.

“Not much has changed from that perspective in the terms of the way we played, but the group changed and the understanding of what we’re doing does take some time.”

Harford said he would not coach anywhere else in 2023 and was looking forward to having his weekends back “for the first time in 30 years”.