But this debate is not about form, it is about language. How do you define “good”? Also, how was the one in six statistic quantified? It is certainly not the one of Moore's 166 games at the highest level – more than a third of which were played as a striker – 138 of them have been less than “good”.
At Nine's Sunday football showCornes raised the question of Collingwood: “why don't they put the magnet of the best defender, the captain, on the opposition's best forward?”
Just three weeks ago, Nick Larkey kicked four goals at Moore in the first quarter of that eventual Magpies win. Billy Frampton moved on for Larkey after the break and the Roo didn't kick another goal. But Cornes said Frampton was “not there to play with the big key strikers”.
On the radio the next day, Cornes doubled down, saying he wanted Moore to play more like Carlton's Jacob Weitering and Greater Western Sydney's Sam Taylor.
Moore doesn't look like either of those players, they play completely different roles. One locks down with a forward key and spends time standing under the ball, the other uses his aerial athleticism and attacks contests from angles. Playing like them would require a drastic change.
If Moore plays one good game in six and is a two-time All-rounder and a top-class captain, his good games must be very, very good.
Yes, he is guilty of being out of shape, even if the shape is only temporary.
But she is a top-class captain and has been a two-time All-Australian. If he only plays one good game out of six, his good games must be very, very good.
The defense rests.
Yes, Moore has been a good player and a first class captain. But my argument has never been about that. His form in 2024 is awful and well below 5-10 percent. His timing and judgment in the air have deserted him, he concedes easy goals, makes critical mistakes on the ball and is providing little of the run and drive we expect from him.
The form of the other players in Collingwood's defense is irrelevant. Moore has received four coaches' votes (three in the seventh round and four in the eighth round) in his 15 games. For context, Moore received 45 votes in 21 games last season. That's a lot more than a 5-10% drop in form, and suggests that my assessment of Moore playing one good game out of six was kind.
Moore is ranked 119th among players by Champion Data this year.Credit: AFL photos
I don't want Moore to play like Weitering. I, however, want him to take on the responsibility of the opposition's best striker.
I see James Sicily doing it at Hawthorn, Alex Pearce at Fremantle, Taylor at GWS, the list goes on. Why can't Moore be trusted to do the same?
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Moore's team-mate Frampton was bought to the club for key position depth, not to save the day for their well-paid captain as he was forced to do against North Melbourne.
Moore is the 119th ranked player in the game right now, according to Champion Data. This suggests that it has declined in several key statistical areas.
He's missed the run and bounced in the middle and isn't influencing the game offensively. He was once an elite interception scorer, but that too is no longer a strength
He needs to step up if Collingwood are to go deep into September again this season.
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