Brutal injury blow for Collingwood with Moore ruled out for the rest of the season

Injury-cursed Collingwood premiership skipper Darcy Moore will miss the rest of the season after injuring his hamstring at training on Tuesday.

It’s to the same leg (his right) as the previous hamstring injury he suffered this year, and will require surgery – a devastating blow to the 30-year-old.

“I’m disappointed to be missing the remainder of the season after what’s already been a challenging year for me personally, not being able to consistently get out on the field and contribute to the team,” Moore said in a statement to the Collingwood website.

“While I’m gutted that my 2026 season has come to an early end, I’ll continue working closely with our high-performance team and put everything into my rehabilitation to ensure I’m ready for the start of pre-season.

“I also want to thank the fans in the ‘Magpie Army’ for their support and well-wishes over this time. Injuries are never easy, but having the passionate support of so many of you makes the recovery and return much easier.”

Collingwood’s EGM of football, Charlie Gardiner, said Moore would continue to play a role in the meantime as a leader at the club.

“Although Darcy has had a challenging year individually and won’t play again this season, he’ll continue to play an important leadership role, driving performance and supporting our players and coaches over the coming weeks,” Gardiner said.

Moore has previously spent time in Europe seeking advice on how to overcome his run of hamstring issues.
– Russell Bennett

Ex-Collingwood No.1 pick commits his future to Carlton

Andrew Wu

Carlton interim coach Josh Fraser has committed his future to the Blues, declaring he will be at the club next year irrespective of who gets the top job.

As more candidates emerge in the race to replace Michael Voss long term, Fraser said he has not been invited by the club to take part in their selection process.

Despite six wins from as many games since taking over the once stricken Blues, Fraser remains steadfast he will not be putting his hand up for the role.

In his first year on the Blues’ coaching panel, Fraser said he saw his future at Ikon Park.

“I do,” Fraser said on Thursday morning. “I see myself being involved in a way forward for the footy club.”

The Blues are casting the net far and wide in their hunt for a coach who their long-suffering fans hope can deliver the club their first premiership since 1995.

Former Blues coach David Teague’s ill-fated reign will not count against Fraser should he throw his hat into the ring. Teague claimed the job in 2019 after winning six of 11 games as the replacement for Brendon Bolton but left just two years later after disappointing campaigns.

Asked about the process the Blues are running, Fraser deflected to his current job.

“[It] makes me feel like we need to train well today,” Fraser said. “This is part of it, like my role right now, and my responsibilities to the players and the football club as an interim coach. I’ll respect the process that’s going off to the side. I haven’t taken any real notice of it, to be honest.

“I think as soon as I start to do that, it takes away from the energy and the focus I need on our playing group.”

Fraser has taken the Blues from the bottom four to the cusp of the wildcard positions. A win over Richmond would likely take them into the top 10 depending on other results.

The Tigers have been a thorn in the Blues’ side the past 18 months. The Voss reign never recovered after the Blues gave up a big lead in round one last year, and they narrowly escaped a similar fate this season only to lose the next seven in a row.

Under Fraser, the second-half fadeouts have disappeared. “We’ve focused a lot around our connection on field and being able to manage different moments in games and momentum shifts,” Fraser said. “I wouldn’t say we’re fixed by any stretch, and I think each week we’ll present something different. But really it’s come back to our training and our habits.”

The Blues remain unsure when star defender Jacob Weitering will return after he re-injured his calf at training last week.

“I think with Weiters, it’ll be a really considered approach as to how we rehab him from here and get him back and give him every chance to be a part of the season,” Fraser said. “It’s a re-injury, and one that will again be considered and explore every option to make sure he’s right to return.

“I think it’s still relatively early in terms of mapping out a plan for him, but we’d be hopeful.”

‘I’ll get the tap on the shoulder soon’: Solomon to meet with Bombers bosses

Andrew Wu
Essendon interim coach Dean Solomon is expecting to meet with club bosses in the next fortnight about the top job but will wait until after he has further discussions with his family before deciding if he will apply for the role full-time.

Club great James Hird met with Bombers president Andrew Welsh last Friday about the position and was told he was in the race.

Solomon moved away from his family, who are based in northern NSW, after accepting an offer in October to be an assistant coach. He stepped down from the Bombers board to take the role.

The 2000 premiership player stepped into the senior position after Brad Scott was ousted six weeks ago. The change in coach has not stopped the rot for the Bombers, who have lost all four games under Solomon.

Solomon said club chief Tim Roberts had told him to concentrate on coaching “and at some stage, we will give you a nudge and have a conversation”.

“I’m imagining it will be in the next couple of weeks,” Solomon said. “There’s a process in place now. They’ve got to get moving. I don’t think they’re in a rush.

“They want to be really clear on what they want to focus on, attract and get into the club. I am sure I will get the tap on the shoulder soon.”

Like Carlton interim coach Josh Fraser, Solomon has not indicated if he intends to put his hand up for the vacant role at his club.

“My family for a start still live in northern NSW so there’s a conversation that needs to star there with my wife and kids,” Solomon said.

“I got asked and offered the job, jumped in a car and come down.

“There’s multiple layers from a personal side of things. That’s something I need to go through myself in the next couple of weeks and whenever that conversation happens, I will either have a yes or no.”

The Bombers face St Kilda on Sunday desperate to lift their pressure after being poor in that area in the loss to North Melbourne. Nine players failed to lay a tackle, while a further three had just one.

“The easy thing for me to do is say ‘let’s play shootout footy and play with flair’,” Solomon said.

“I truly believe the best way for the young group is to learn from contest out, how to shape the contest and team defence in behind it. Our offence will take a hit at times, and has so far. We have reduced the opposition from 109 to 82 [average points against].

“There’s little shifts we’re chasing. It didn’t look or feel the way we wanted it to against North Melbourne. I feel it’s the right way to coach this group for the longer term.”

Dinner and a contract offer? Lyon’s catch-up with Lachie

AAP
Ross Lyon will go through due diligence in his upcoming dinner with Lachie Neale, saying it would be remiss of St Kilda not to ask about the Brisbane Lions star’s future.

The rampant speculation about where Neale plays next season took another twist this week when it emerged that he would catch up over the weekend with Lyon.

Lyon coached Neale at Fremantle and they have semi-regular dinners, with the two-time Lions premiership ace in Geelong for Thursday night’s big game against the Cats.

“It’s been blown out of all proportion – I regularly catch up with Lachie in town, with a close [mutual] friend,” Lyon said on Thursday morning.

“It’s the normal dinner, with both people window shopping. There’s certainly no strong agenda from either side.”

Lyon is disappointed news of the dinner might be a distraction before the Lions’ game against the Cats.

“Our dinners tend to remain confidential. I know Lachie and I didn’t talk about it, so that talks to other people with less integrity,” Lyon said.

But the Saints coach admitted to suggesting that his star midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera would also be at the dinner, to help woo Neale.

“That was a red herring I threw out to excite you all – and it did. It’s not true,” Lyon said. “Both sides of the fence don’t run with facts a lot of the time.”

Lyon said a mountain was being made from a molehill over the dinner.

“There’s due diligence, to try to get better and that’s all it is here,” he said.

“It could be on the club [credit] card if we talk footy, but they run a pretty tight ship here. It could be McDonald’s.”

Lyon doubts that Neale will move from the Lions when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The messy end of Neale’s marriage has further complicated his playing future, with their children now living in Perth.

“I wouldn’t have thought he’s leaving Brisbane and I still don’t think that’s guaranteed,” Lyon said.

“But if Collingwood and Essendon and everyone are talking to Lachie, I think I can slip in between entree and main, ‘What are you thinking about doing with your life in footy?’

“Clearly it’s been a tumultuous time. It’s a friendship dinner that’s somehow has turned into this circus.”

Circus or not, even Lyon let his mind wander when he was talking later about the young talent in the Saints’ midfield. “Throw Lachie Neale in, it would look all right … icing on the cake,” he said.

Lyon also confirmed that co-captain Jack Sinclair will not play again this season because of a severe calf injury, while Tom De Koning is about three to four weeks away with his fractured ribs.

Rowan Marshall (shoulder) is likely to play on Sunday against Essendon and Matteas Phillipou should return.

Key forward Max King is back in full training, having not played since 2024 because of injury.

“We love Max and he’s getting closer to a return, doing full sessions. He looks a million bucks – the Gold Coast was a real circuit breaker,” Lyon said of King’s trip north.

“He’s in as good a place as he’s been for a long time and we are too. We’ll drive forward with that and keep our fingers crossed.”

Swans make changes for Bulldogs clash

Jonathan Drennan
Sydney coach Dean Cox has confirmed that Hayden McLean will replace the injured Joel Amartey against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night at the SCG.

Amartey has kicked 29 goals this season in 15 games but faces 10 weeks out after injuring his Achilles in the Swans’ 43-point loss to the Brisbane Lions last Thursday.

McLean has been battling with Amartey for a place in the Swans’ forward line-up all season. To this point, he has played just four games, but impressed with nine goals.

The tall forward has consistently excelled for the Swans’ reserves and kicked six goals against Sandringham last Saturday in the VFL.

Cox said that he was confident that McLean would slot in,after he kicked three goals against North Melbourne in round nine and four goals against Richmond in round 12.

“When he came in and played North Melbourne, Hayden did a really good job; similarly against Richmond he did it and played his role,” Cox said.

“I think that that’s the most important part about what he’s done is he goes back and does what he has to do at VFL level. We’ve got extreme confidence and trust that when he comes back into the AFL system, he’ll do his role really well.”

The Swans have a growing injury list, with defender Sam Wicks also ruled for at least a month after aggravating his hamstring in the heavy loss to the Lions.

Cox is set to recall veteran defender and former captain Dane Rampe after his recovery from a calf strain to help plug holes in a defence that was exploited ruthlessly by the Lions.

“It’ll be good to have him back in the team and obviously provide some experience … the way he can communicate behind the ball and set up what we need to do,” Cox said.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 21-point win against St Kilda last Sunday. The last time the Swans faced the Western Bulldogs in April they won by 66 points, but Cox said that his players are ready for a different team on Friday night.

“We presume their squad is going to be a little bit different than the one we played at the start of the year,” Cox said.

“We’ve watched them really closely over the last month. They’re 3-1, they’ve beaten some really good teams in Hawthorn, St Kilda [and Collingwood] … ”

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