Star Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe believes Darcy Moore will thrive in his new role as a key defender.
Moore has been training with the defensive group during the pre-season as the Pies look to end their finals drought by moving Ben Reid up forward and Moore down back.
The 203cm talent played as a forward and a defender during his junior years, with the Pies hoping a move to defence will fast-track his development as a player.
โThe way that he (Moore) is, he always wants to learn more as much as he can,โ Howe told SEN Breakfast.
โHeโs put his best foot forward so far, heโs been training really well.
โThe way the game is played, if you can win the ball back in the back half, I think Darcy can really add that to use with his marking ability and reading the play.โ
Moore's switch to the backline has also been supported by former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon, who suggests his performance in defence against the Demons in round 23 last year illustrates his potential in the position.
โHe has every attribute to play centre half back,โ Lyon said.
โYou can just see that some blokes can go to centre half back for a year and not do what he did for a year, and he did it in 10 minutes.
โHeโs quick, he takes a mark, heโs courageous, he backs himself in the air. One of the I love most about him is his kicking, heโs a beautiful deliverer of the footy and heโs got great vision.
โHe kicks hard, low and fast.โ
Howe also said that small forward Jamie Elliot is recovering gradually from ankle surgery, showing positive signs after a frustrating yet impressive year in which he kicked 34 goals from 17 games.
โHe was running outside yesterday which is a great positive for him,โ Howe said.
โThe bloke that he is, heโs obviously going to get back as soon as he can but there is no point rushing him back.โ
Howe, who was elevated to the Pies' leadership group mid-season in 2017, said that the vibe around the club is strong, pointing to the extra assistance Nathan Buckley has received from his coaching staff this off-season.
โWith the coaches around him heโs got a real good support base,โ Howe said.
โHeโs got the ability to delegate and itโs a real growth in that area, but to his credit heโs been super.
โ(Heโs) really been focused on keeping the group up and about and fresh and the environment is good and energized at the moment.โ
Collingwood will feature in the AFLX on February 15, before facing the Giants in the JLT series on March 1.
