Peter Moore was a lot of things across a storied career.
A two-time Brownlow medallist he was. A Copeland Trophy winner too. A seminal figure in the ruck another thing, and the Club’s captain in ’81 and ’82.
But unfortunately, a premiership player he was not.
It’s a harsh reality, but one he can’t, and doesn’t, shy away from.
He played in five Grand Finals; drawing his first in ’77 and losing the next four, but he kept coming back each year.
You have to be prepared for the lows, if you want the highs, as Moore says, and while pained by the outcomes, he’s at ease with how his career panned out.
“That’s part of the deal,” he said of his Grand Final record.
“I remember the disappointment; they’re devastating when you don’t win and there will be one group of guys on the weekend that will feel that.
“We were just in the finals every year often with teams that could’ve been better in terms of personnel, but we just had a great team work ethic and worked well together.
“Individuals can’t win Grand Finals, it’s got to be the whole team and everybody has got to do their role.”
Now it’s son Darcy with his chance in the biggest game of all.
He’ll enter Saturday’s game as the Club’s captain – just as Peter did in the 1981 decider – and will play his 150th game on the day too.
He doesn’t even have the 2018 Grand Final to look back on after he missed with a hamstring injury, meaning 2023 will be his first chance at securing that elusive premiership.
While that day in 2018 was a tough time for both him and his family, Peter said it was key that Darcy to moved on quickly.
“That was difficult for everybody involved with a player who doesn’t get to play,” he said.
“It was just a really tough situation; there’s always a really tragic hard luck story.
“The way it went with the big forwards it would be made a big difference had Darc been able to play.
“I’m not sure if they would’ve won but it certainly would’ve made a difference.
“He had a rough go there and I could empathise with the devastation that he felt. You learn to move on pretty quick though, you just move on week by week.”
Since then, Darcy’s status has grown year by year.
Appointed captain at the beginning of the season, he’s now a two-time All-Australian and one of the most revered players in the game.
And while he was drafted back in 2014, Darcy has been around Collingwood all his life.
Destined from a young age to pull on the black and white, he rubbed shoulders with the Grand Final teams of the early 2000s as a child when Peter was the Club’s ruck coach.
“He used to come to training with me and knew all the players’ names and kicked the footy with them,” Peter said.
“He was brainwashed with the Collingwood ethos at that point, and he was always going to play for Collingwood if he got drafted and was good enough and fortunately, he was.”
Peter says he doesn’t need to give Darcy too much advice given the way modern football Club’s work.
Armed with coaches and resources in abundance, Peter likes to sit back and observe as his son forges his own path in September.
“It’s a tough caper, but he’s ready,” he said.
“The modern teams totally get that and we got it too, but there’s more role playing now and players understand what they have to do and are less tempted to try win it off their own boot.
“You’ve got to be composed and do your job and if you do that then you’re probably going to have much more chance of success and that’s his strength.”
So, after being involved for so long, it’s Darcy’s time to etch his name into the Club’s history.
Not many deserved a premiership more than Peter, but it’s over Darcy to realise a dream that could be even sweeter.
