As the first month of fixtures drew to a close last Sunday evening, a belief morphed into empirical truth - 2021 is already rivalling last year in terms of unpredictability.

If you don't believe me, just take a look at the current ladder.

With the second month of the marathon season set to commence tonight, another set of questions remain ahead of both the men in the hot seat and their disciples in studded boots.

Whether flying high or having to continually dig deep for no reward, here are the latest set of quandaries facing each of the AFL's 18 teams.

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Collingwood

Does Darcy need to spend Moore time forward?

For the vast majority of this week, Collingwood's woes have been plastered across tabloid back pages, with experts claiming everything from front office ineptitude to their All-Australian star being posted at the wrong end of the ground as the catalyst.

Although it wouldn't take a Mensa member to suggest that Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson, and Tom Phillips would help rather than hinder the Pies this season, the club made their bed over the off-season, and as uncomfortable as it may be, they must continue to sleep in it.

For the past month, I, like a myriad of other viewers, have pointed to the Woodsmen's forward 50 as the root of all dismay this season, and with scores of 53, 72 and 60 across matches in their first month, the critique has been justified.

Still, swinging an All-Australian centre half-back to the forward line is unlikely to fix the misfiring Magpies' troubles.

Originally drafted as a forward, Darcy Moore has spent three of his six full seasons up front for Nathan Buckley's side, and over the course of this period, the son of a gun proved adept at splitting the big sticks.

Since debuting in Round 14 of 2015 until the completion of 2017, Moore played 47-games and took 97 shots that resulted in scores for an aggregate of 58 goals and 36 behinds. For those of you missing a calculator, these numbers saw Moore average a major 59.8% of the time he attempted a shot on goal.

Although these numbers suggest that even as a young player, Moore had a bright future, it wasn't until he was shifted behind the football that he truly begun to blossom.

With his incredible contested marking ability and his dead-eyed field kicking, many Magpies' fans believe now is the time to send Moore back to his roots to alleviate the club's scoring woes. However, who fills the hole that will then be left in their defensive 50?

A suggestion has been raised that Mark Keane could return for the first time since Round 9 2020, but if I am a coach that is facing Oscar Allen, Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy, I would want my best defender, and not a second gamer, marking one of them.

Throwing Moore back forward is a move that could theoretically pay dividends for the under-fire Buckley, but just not this week.

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