A HAMSTRING issue appears likely to sideline Collingwood prodigy Darcy Moore, but first let's savour a brilliant cameo performance that he rated as his best at AFL level.

On a bittersweet night for the second-year key forward, Moore played just a quarter-and-a-half, but his influence was so profound in a 19-point victory over last year's runner-up West Coast that most media outlets – AFL.com.au included - still named him among the Magpies' best handful of players.

Full match coverage and stats

In that time, the 20-year-old contributed 3.2 of the Pies' 6.6, and would remain his team's highest goalscorer for the match.

With his rare speed for his 200cms, his superb pure leap, fearless attack on aerial contests and seemingly sticky hands, Moore was marking everything at the MCG.

He hauled in what would remain a game-high five contested marks. His nearest rival was West Coast champion Josh Kennedy with two. 

The Pies are licking their lips at the prospect of a fully filled-out 25-year-old Moore, but the current model is already a formidable package.

Post-match, Moore was disappointed by his injury concern on his dominant right leg, describing it as "just a bit of hamstring tightness, nothing too serious".

The 24-gamer was also naturally excited by his form, revealing he'd never felt better at the highest level.

"It's a very, very tough competition and it's equally hard as a young forward, so to have patches like that is nice," he told AFL.com.au.

"To have everyone working together, as we were in the first half, feels awesome.

"It's always a challenge for a young, developing player to put it all together, so to do it even for a short period is pretty gratifying. 

"Now I've got a new challenge to get over this injury."

Five talking points: Collingwood v West Coast

The impressive, articulate youngster said that inexperienced players such as himself need to find a balance between conscious and subconscious thinking to build confidence but also remain grounded.

"You need to have a subconscious understanding of where you're going and, yes, for other people that might be exciting, and for me that might be exciting, but I'm a professional athlete and the reality is that I've got to make a contribution to this team as a 20-year-old every day, every week," he explained.

"Little wins along the way are always good but I think you've got to have, on some level, a sense of direction, a sense of where you're going.

"But it often gets back to just worrying about the 24 hours in front of me."

Whenever the ball was kicked high in Moore's direction, he moved towards it with such purpose and confidence that it was almost as though he was saying to himself: "This is mine."

Asked to explain his actual mindset, Moore said he benefits from clarity of thought.

"In those moments, your mind is characteristically very clear as an athlete," he said.

"And that's how we try to structure our whole program, to go out there for two hours on game day and feel clear. It comes from preparation.

"It's not so much what's going on in my mind, it's more about what isn't. 

"For every one (marking contest) that goes right, there's usually six, eight or 10 that go wrong. It's the ability to forget about those that's the biggest challenge."

Not this day.

Pies coach Nathan Buckley continues to be impressed by Moore's progress.

"Darcy's one of those young blokes who wants to take ownership of our future," Buckley told reporters post-match.

"The first 45 minutes tonight was an indication of what he wants to bring to the table."

Buckley enthused that Moore still has a lot of scope for growth.

"His contest has always been really strong," he said.

"We've always thought that when they start sticking, and when he starts understanding his teammates a little bit better and where the spaces are on the field that he can get utilised, especially inside 50, he'll just get better and better.

"We're pretty bullish about where he can go."