Why Moore and the Magpies started hitting winners

The statement Collingwood forward Darcy Moore made on Sunday against Fremantle has been coming since round nine.

The 21-year-old has taken 10 contested marks in the past three rounds after taking just 13 in the first eight.

Only Richmond's Jack Riewoldt (11 contested marks in past three rounds) and Port Adelaide's Charlie Dixon (10) have matched Moore's effort in that time.  

In that same three weeks, he has kicked seven goals after kicking just six in the first eight rounds.

Most importantly, the Magpies have won all three games after just two wins in the first eight weeks.

Moore's turnaround has coincided with the Magpies' more direct ball movement, providing him with the space to run and jump at the ball that didn't exist in the first eight rounds.

The shift since round five when Collingwood went down to Essendon has been remarkable, doubling its use of the corridor from defensive 50 from 12.5 per cent to 25 per cent to move from last in the competition in the first five rounds to second over the next six games.

They have slashed their disposals per goal since round nine, attacking through the corridor and backing their kicking skills.

They have also moved in the past six weeks to the top three ranked teams in goals from clearance (27 per cent), intercept (24.3 per cent) and kick-ins (14.5 per cent).

Moore has both benefited from and contributed to that shift.

It has also coincided with him spending more time in the ruck as the Magpies decided to remove Mason Cox and Jesse White from the equation after the loss to Carlton in round seven.

That change in personnel occurred when Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley decided to play Moore in the ruck against Greater Western Sydney, and he instantly became involved, attending 19 centre bounces in the past month after not being sighted at one in the first eight rounds.

Moore had been working hard inside 50, but his athleticism is being seen around the ground more often after the change in tack, taking pressure off him to be the man in the forward 50 and instead making him a key cog in the system.

The versatility could make him one of the most valuable players in the game at season's end.

Darcy dives in. Picture: AFL Photos

Buckley said on Sunday that Moore's turnaround had occurred from round six onwards, when he took nine marks against Geelong, but most observers noticed the shift after quarter-time against Hawthorn in round eight.

That's when Collingwood and Buckley's season was, in tennis terms, two sets down and facing a break in the third set against a former title holder in Hawthorn.

The Magpies have been hitting winners ever since.

Now they head to the MCG for a huge Queen's Birthday game against the Demons, who are without a genuine ruckman, to see what they can serve up.

Five weeks to remember from Collingwood's No.5 

No-one at Collingwood has kicked at least three goals in five successive weeks, as Magpie forward Jamie Elliott has done from rounds 7-11, since Saverio Rocca kicked bags of three, four, 10, five and six from rounds 11-15, 1995.

Chris Tarrant went close in 2004, but his run of five three-goal games came in seven weeks from rounds eight to 14 as he missed rounds 12 and 13. The mercurial Peter Daicos did it twice in the premiership year of 1990.  

Building the pressure at Richmond

Soon after arriving at the Tigers, new assistant coach Blake Caracella told AFL.com.au tackling was on Richmond's agenda.

The Tigers had been ranked last in tackle differentials in 2016, recording 11 fewer on average than their opposition, and last for the number of tackles inside 50.

How that has turned around, with the Tigers ranked number one for tackles inside the forward 50, and Daniel Rioli, Jason Castagna, Dan Butler and Shai Bolton terrifying opposition defenders.

In 2017, the Tigers are making 3.5 more tackles a game than their opposition and spending 7.22 minutes a game more with the ball in their forward half than their opposition.

Tiger Sam Lloyd hauls down Luke McDonald on Saturday night. Picture: AFL Photos

With a forward line that acts more like a magnet than a trampoline, the Tigers are kicking the ball forward 88.5 per cent of the time too, sitting fourth in the competition, whereas they were 15th on that statistic in 2016.

It sees them sitting fourth on the ladder, their highest spot after round 11 since 2000, and are the second-best performed team when it comes to points conceded.

We all jumped on Richmond coach Damien Hardwick when he said the Tigers needed to take one step back to take two steps forward, but he appears to be having the last laugh. 

The Tigers' formline is as good as any, and there is no reason they can't secure an all-important top four spot.

Halfway Hawks

It's hard to believe four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson has experienced a first half as fruitless on the scoreboard as Thursday night's 0.3 against Port Adelaide. However Hawthorn went nearly as badly in round 14, 2009 when it kicked 0.4 against the Western Bulldogs. No wonder Clarkson referenced that season in the post-match media conference.

In any event, their half-time tally against Port Adelaide was the Hawks' lowest ever score at the main break.

Only four worse first halves have been recorded since the introduction of the final eight:

Operation: get Matthew Broadbent a free kick

This stats column is officially on a mission. After 10 games this season, Port Adelaide's Matthew Broadbent has not won a single free kick and conceded 11.

He conceded another against the Hawks on Thursday with zero, zip, nada in return.

Given Port Adelaide has won 196 free kicks, to sit fifth overall for average frees awarded, we reckon he is very stiff to not have got one by now.

You may want to get used to this sight

The Giants sit on top of the ladder for the first time after 123 weeks in the competition following their defeat of Essendon on Saturday.

In doing so they have become the first team since St Kilda in 1997 to rise from the bottom of the ladder to the top in one season. They were bottom after being thrashed by the Crows in round one.

They are the fourth fastest of the expansion teams to top the ladder:

 *Gold Coast has never been on top of the ladder

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