Collingwood’s off-field issues in the hot seat as Cornes questions if Moore is the right captain

Sam Edmund has put Collingwood’s off-field structures in the hot seat after former football boss Graham Wright joined Carlton as their new CEO.

Wright spent the entire 2024 season on a sabbatical but left his post once he returned from holidays to Australia and now club President Jeff Browne has announced he’s set to step away from his role after three years.

The club is currently on the lookout for a new football boss and will now search for a new President and Edmund thinks that as a result, club CEO Craig Kelly finds himself under pressure.

“I think Craig Kelly's in the hot seat and has been in the hot seat for much of the year,” Edmund told AFL Trade Radio.

“Yesterday it got hotter when Graham Wright was formally announced as Carlton's new CEO on the same day that Jeff Browne stepped down.

“By the way, the President steps down when the club doesn't have a permanent head of football, but they haven't had one all year now.

“The reports are wide that his old Pies teammate Wright would have returned to Collingwood if not for the fact that their relationship had become untenable.

“The football department needs a restructure. They need a permanent head of football. They need to sort out their list management team, is Justin Leppitsch the man full-time? What is the best fit?

“It's been in a state of flux all year with Graham Wright staying, leaving, coming back and now he’s not.

“So I think Collingwood's off-field issues are in the hot seat.”

As well as the state of flux off-field, Edmund’s co-host Kane Cornes pondered if they have the right leadership on-field in regards to their captain Darcy Moore.

While Moore led the club to a premiership in 2023 and was an All-Australian that year, he endured a down 2024 along with many of his teammates to finish just 10th in the best and fairest for a team that finished 9th on the ladder.

“I think that's a really good one from you, and it's hard to deny any of that,” Cornes added.

“They're going to have a new President. They need a new head of football. They have a new list manager, but whether they're sold on Justin Leppitsch as that, and they need someone strong to be consulting with the coach about the list and how involved he is with the list.

“And I think Darcy Moore's somewhat in the hot seat. He had a poor year, Darcy Moore, as captain of the footy club.

“He was 10th in the best and fairest and very rarely influences games as captain.

“Very rarely can you look at him and say, ‘That was an inspirational captain's moment’, like you can with probably six, seven, eight or nine other captains.

“So what are they going to do with the captaincy at Collingwood? Is Darcy Moore the right person to continue in that role?

“I know he is a premiership captain, but he doesn't look like a captain to me.”

Moore initially took over as captain from Scott Pendlebury in February 2023.