KEY FORWARD Travis Cloke will replace the injured Darcy Moore in the final round against Hawthorn, despite senior selection making him ineligible for VFL finals.

The 29-year-old has spent the past fortnight with the Magpies' VFL squad after being dropped for the third time this season, and has kicked a total of nine goals in his last two VFL outings.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley confirmed Cloke had earned a reprieve after Moore went down with a right hamstring injury against Gold Coast on Saturday night.

"Cloke will play. You can't have the to and fro going through the week," Buckley told Fox Footy on Monday night.

"Darcy has been our premier forward throughout the year when he's been up and he's missed some games with injury.

"Clokey's form in the last couple of weeks since going back has been really strong at VFL level and he's next best suited to the role that Darcy's been playing, so he'll come in and have an opportunity to fulfill his role and perform in a game that we're really keen to win."

Sunday's clash against the Hawks may be Cloke's last game for the Magpies, with speculation rife that he may change clubs at the end of the season despite having one year remaining on his contract. 

Moore, meanwhile, had scans on Monday to have the hamstring injury assessed.

He said the injury was more serious than the tightness that forced him to miss round 20 as a precaution, but he ruled out damage to the tendon and expected it to be just a standard hamstring issue.

"It was a bit worse this time. A few weeks ago it was more precautionary, but this time was definitely an episode," Moore said.

"[I will] hopefully get a few weeks of good rehab in, have a good break in the off-season and come back ready to go."

Despite injury Moore, 20, has had an excellent second season, playing 17 games for 24 goals and showing enough for Buckley to declare him the main man up forward for Collingwood over the next decade.  

His injury is likely to deny him the Magpies' leading goalkicker award for the season however, with Alex Fasolo having kicked 25 goals in 12 games before his season ended early following shoulder surgery.

By contrast, Cloke, who has kicked 15 goals in 12 games this season, has struggled to adapt to the team's needs. 

Collingwood is on top of the VFL ladder with one match to play. To be eligible for VFL finals, players must play no more than 12 senior games.