Magpies name Moore to take on high-flying Eagles

COLLINGWOOD last night rubber-stamped the return of key back Darcy Moore at the MCG tomorrow as opponent West Coast confirmed it would play three tall key forwards.

Travis Varcoe joined Moore in the side while Will HoskinElliott, who had been under a cloud with knee bruising, was named.

Moore missed almost two months of football with a hamstring injury before making his return in the VFL last Sunday.

For the Eagles, twin towers Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling are in, along with sharpshooter Mark LeCras and Jake Waterman as the Eagles seek to reclaim second spot from the Magpies.

Brendon Ah Chee, Nathan Vardy, Brayden Ainsworth and Oscar Allen were all dropped.

Collingwood omitted Ben Crocker with Flynn Appleby out with a hamstring problem.

North Melbourne made one change for its clash with Sydney, handing former Essendon-listed defender Alex Morgan his AFL debut with forward Cameron Zurhaar out with a long-term ankle injury.

The Swans confirmed Tom Papley, Isaac Heeney and Nic Newman would return to replace Dan Hannebery (calf), Kieren Jack (knee) and Jarrad McVeigh (collarbone), while Irishman Colin O’Riordan would make his debut.

Fremantle included Cam- eron Sutcliffe, Cam McCarthy, Ryan Nyhuis and Scott Jones for its encounter with Port Adelaide at Perth Stadium.

Jack Hombsch, Karl Amon and Sam Gray are in for the Power, with former Melbourne skipper Jack Trengove one of the three players to make way.

Collingwood’s Taylor Adams said the Pies would need to take their pressure game to a new level to restrict West Coast’s scoring.

The Magpies are flying on the back of seven consecutive wins and could all but sew up a return to the finals for the first time in five years.

They have held opponents to an average of 68 points during their winning streak.

“We’re a defence-focused team and that starts with the pressure around the ball, which has been really consistent for us throughout the year,” Adams said.

“Our ability to absorb pressure and find a little mark somewhere and slow the game down and play it on our terms is something that we’ve focused on.

“We defend as well as just about any team in the competition. We believe that if we do that really well, we’ll find a way to score.

“That’s something the good teams are able to do. You look at Richmond, they’re a highpressure team with a pretty stingy defence.

“It’s a model that’s been around for a long time and it’s a matter of which team can do it for the longest.”