Collingwood coach Craig McRae has addressed captain Darcy Moore's hamstring injury after he exited Friday's night victory over Geelong at the MCG, as well as praising Jack Ginnivan's buzzing return to his senior side.
Following a sluggish start in the first quarter, the Pies' devastating defensive pressure suffocated the Cats en route to an eight-point triumph.
However, the relieving win came at a cost for the Magpies, as their inspirational skipper was sidelined by a hamstring injury and ruled out of the contest by quarter-time.
Addressing the media post-game on Friday, McRae stated his 'understanding' was Moore's hamstring ailment is a 'neural-type' of injury, noting he thinks it's 'not major' pending scans.
"Well, my understanding is he's tight [and it's a] neural-type hamstring," started McRae on Friday.
"He'll have to scan it obviously, we'll have to wait and see the scan. My understanding is it's not major but we'll wait and see."
McRae didn't appear worried about the prospect of Moore missing the remainder of the home and away season, stating it 'shouldn't be a concern'.
"No, my understanding is that (missing until finals) shouldn't be a concern but again, we've got to wait until the scans show the damage is and what's there and, yeah, we'll have to wait and see," said McRae.
"He's [in good spirits], he (Moore) goes 'I think I'm fine'. Again, until you really know, you don't know. But yeah, our instruction was it's a tight hamstring and [it was] quite neural and wouldn't release, so we'll see what comes."
Collingwood's starting substitute, fan-favourite forward Ginnivan, was inserted into the hectic action to start the second term and was lively upon his injection into the contest.
"We're really pleased with Jack, I made mention of him post-game around being hungry and waiting for chances," McRae said, praising Ginnivan's performance.
"You're sitting in the slips for nine overs and you're just waiting for that nick to come and then make sure you grab it, and I thought tonight he certainly showed everyone that his best is well and truly in our [best] team, he gave us a real spark and energy and we love that from him."
Quizzed on the possibility of Ginnivan being afforded a spot in McRae's starting side for next weekend's clash against Brisbane after a prolonged VFL stint, the Pies coach said he'll 'wait and see' before coming to a selection judgement next week.
"We'll wait and see, it's Friday night [and] we don't play for another week, but based on what he produced (on Friday), it's going to be hard to say [he's] out of the team I would've thought," continued McRae.
"We're just pleased for him, he's worked really hard at this. You see outcome [but] we see [the] process, and the process for six weeks is he's our best trainer, our best trainer of 44 guys or whatever it is, he's our best trainer.
"So, [he's] a hungry kid waiting for a chance, and he's had to wait, maybe longer than others had to. I thought if we picked him before tonight we were picking him on last year's form, and I think the last few weeks in particular, he's produced levels of footy that warranted a selection tonight."
In addition to Moore's exit from the game, rebounding defender John Noble and influential midfielder Jordan De Goey each sustained minor concerns on Friday night, with McRae updating the pair's situations during his press conference.
"'Nobes' rolled his ankle slightly, then he went off and got some treatment and was able to just get through the game, so I'd assume he might be a little bit of a watch early in the week and see how he's progressing with that," McRae stated.
"[De Goey's] got a little knock as well, this time of year we're all getting plenty of knocks, including the coaches," McRae laughed.
Collingwood meets fellow premiership aspirant Brisbane next Friday night at Marvel Stadium.
