Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe has come to the defence of star teammate Darcy Moore after he was soundly beaten by Richmond’s Tom Lynch on the weekend.
Moore was roundly criticised for his performance in the Magpies’ 27-point loss to the Tigers, a match which saw Lynch finish with six goals and 25 disposals.
Moore’s former coach Nathan Buckley was one of his critics, saying the Pies star “did not adapt quickly enough” after Lynch got off to a hot start early on in the match.
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However, Howe came to the defence of his All-Australian teammate, saying the Magpies’ entire defensive unit had to take responsibility for Lynch’s day out.
“The way that Darcy plays, he reads the ball better than most,” he told 9News Melbourne.
“I feel like sometimes the ball bounces our way and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s one of those days where unfortunately he made a couple errors by decision down there, but so did we all, so we’ll keep backing Darcy in.
“We’re obviously going to have to dish up a better performance and a more consistent performance this week to be able to compete with the Dogs.”
Howe’s comments followed a scathing assessment of Moore’s play from Port Adelaide champion Kane Cornes, who said a player on top dollar star could not afford an off-colour performance.
“When you take a six-year deal and you take $900,000 a year and you are spoken about as the next captain, you don’t get any get-outs, you don’t get any let-offs. And Darcy Moore yesterday shouldn’t be let off for the performance,” Cornes said on Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show.
“He’s got to be better… we love the attacking flair, we love your ability to intercept, we love the drive you give. But if you’re a defender, you actually have to defend. That’s your job and I think it’s a massive get-out for modern defenders that they don’t actually play on anyone.”
Moore will have his hands full once again this weekend against the Western Bulldogs, with Collingwood likely to assign him the task of defending high-flyer Aaron Naughton.