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<\/p>\n
The issue with Moore, who endured an injury-interrupted pre-season, is more mystifying.<\/p>\n
While the defender was able to finish the match, he looked in significant trouble late in the first term and Magpies coach Craig McRae confirmed there was a hamstring problem.<\/p>\n
But he said Collingwood\u2019s high performance team, in conjunction with Moore, felt he was capable of pushing through against the Giants and he was influential at times in his return.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hamstring awareness and for those following his rehab back to play, he had this about 10 to 12 days ago. (It is) the same thing and we just (take) no risks,\u201d McRae said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut (when) we\u2019re in the game \u2026 you go, \u2018Can he push through? Can he take some minutes? Because that is important in terms of the rotation \u2026 if he could take some minutes without risk. I\u2019m just backing in the high performance team. That\u2019s not my area. So we did that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s not right. He\u2019s not 100 per cent. So has he done a hammy? I\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t think so. It\u2019s what I\u2019ll be told. But we\u2019ll obviously do all the investigation and find out. But I\u2019d say he\u2019s unlikely (because in) six days we will travel to Brisbane. I\u2019d say he\u2019s unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 27: Scott Pendlebury of the Magpies (centre) is seen on the bench during the 2026 AFL Round 03 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the GWS Giants at Marvel Stadium on March 27, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Ned Long’s high strike on Oliver | 00:34<\/p>\n
Pendlebury, too, will miss against Brisbane, though McRae said this had already been flagged with the six-time all Australian prior to the Achilles issue flaring in the third term.<\/p>\n
The Collingwood coach said it is too early to diagnose how acute the issue is and whether the 38-year-old will spend longer on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. We will have to find all this out,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cActually, Pendles and I chatted this week and we chatted pre-season (and) he was unlikely to go to this game, and so we\u2019ll probably stick to that plan. (It is a) six day travel into Brisbane and then back to Melbourne (and on) to Gather Round. It was always our plan (for him) not to go to this game, so it probably falls in line with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh Daicos, who was typically creative in a match his younger brother Nick turned on its head with a scorching display in the third term, was fine despite a worry with his shoulder.<\/p>\n
The Collingwood coach was delighted with the debut of Oscar Steene, who has been on the Magpies list for the past three seasons but delivered with distinction on Friday night.<\/p>\n
McRae said the Magpies were aware it was a pivotal year for Steene, who played 18 games at VFL level in 2023 and 2025 but missed the year in between with a significant toe injury.<\/p>\n
But they were confident in his ability to have an impact in tandem with Copeland Trophy medallist Darcy Cameron, with his emergence a factor in the decision to delist Mason Cox.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nice to see Oscar Steene get an opportunity and show the footy world he can jump and influence the play. That was a nice result,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, list management makes decisions around finding out about Oscar and making decisions to move Mason Cox on. I had conversations with Oscar really early days: \u2018Hey, let\u2019s go mate, we\u2019ve opened a door for you\u2019. That was early in pre-season, so (we have been) pushing, prodding and encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 27: Debutant, Oscar Steene of the Magpies (obscured) celebrates his first league goal with teammates during the 2026 AFL Round 03 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the GWS Giants at Marvel Stadium on March 27, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
He said the performance of emerging Adelaide ruckman Lachlan McAndrew, who has flourished with a change of ruck rules, furthered their belief Steene could have an impact given his spring and ability as a tap ruckman. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen you get to watch the early rounds, we played Adelaide and they pick a guy who can jump at centre bounce and it makes a difference,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow how much? Hit-outs are one thing. Clearances are another. But we\u2019ve got a guy who can jump at centre bounce and get the first hands on the ball and it changes the dynamic for the midfield. Nick (Daicos) and \u2018Jordy\u2019 (De Goey) can get on a roll and they\u2019re really good players in that phase.\u201c <\/p>\n
Daicos, meanwhile, was exceptional in the third term, with a Champion Data analysis rating it the third best quarter he has produced in his career in terms of its impact.<\/p>\n
He was able to move forward and kick two critical goals, with Melbourne great Garry Lyon saying it had the potential reshape the thinking surrounding the Magpies, which were far more efficient in attack after struggling to score in the infancy of the season.<\/p>\n
The Daicos surname was in the headlines all week, with the superstar linked to the new Tasmanian team at a time his father Peter is said to be at odds with the club.<\/p>\n
But McRae described the Brownlow Medal runner-up as the consummate professional.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the reality of our world. With no disrespect, within our four walls it\u2019s a lot different to the outside world,\u201d he said <\/p>\n
\u201cWe respect that. You guys create stories and you\u2019ve got to write on it. It\u2019s your world, but our world is a little bit different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re process driven. We\u2019re high performance. We\u2019re trying to get better every day. We can\u2019t control the narrative around us. We respect that\u2019s part of the job – there\u2019s heroes and villains and wins and losses – but that\u2019s just what we live in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you come into our walls, we\u2019re just getting better. Nick is the best trainer at our club and Josh is not far behind him. They get to work and they were brilliant again. (They) work so hard at their game and they get what they get. They deserve what they get.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A concerned Collingwood is set to be without captain Darcy Moore and champion Scott Pendlebury for the Easter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[279350,638,279347,64,63,689,55,639,684,156828,651,10133,3567,10143,28452,10989,2458,10145,2105,279348,4517,49043,279349,143728,279352,24309,13126,647,7198,61822,677,65287,27704,110266,1101,668,701,52765,19083,85,279346,279351,660],"class_list":["post-567924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-achilles-soreness","tag-afl","tag-analysis-rating","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-cotton","tag-brent-harvey","tag-brisbane","tag-collingwood-magpies","tag-courtney-walsh","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-darcy-cameron","tag-darcy-moore","tag-data","tag-garry-lyon","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-giant-clayton-oliver","tag-hamstring-injury","tag-hamstring-problem","tag-injured-stars","tag-injury-updates","tag-lachlan-mcandrew","tag-list-management","tag-mason-cox","tag-melbourne","tag-michael-willson","tag-nick-daicos","tag-oceania","tag-opened-door","tag-oscar-steene","tag-performance-team","tag-peter","tag-press-conference","tag-queensland","tag-reigning-premiers","tag-scott-pendlebury","tag-sports","tag-tap-ruckman","tag-toe-injury","tag-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}