Collingwood captain “ready” for Saints, premiership teammate “touch and go”

Collingwood captain Darcy Moore is confident that he is on track to return for Opening Round as he continues to recover from a calf strain.

Moore's battle with the ailment appeared to be an uphill battle, with suggestions his setback could hold him out of action into the home-and-away season, but the 30-year-old confirmed he feels "ready to go" for Collingwood's clash with St Kilda on March 8.

"I'm going really well. I had a minor calf niggle in January, so I have been on a bit of a modified training program building up," Moore said during Monday's Captain's Day.

"I have had a big last couple of weeks with training loads, so I'm feeling really great, and the body feels ready to go.

"There are still a couple of weeks to go and I've got to map out loads and that sort of stuff with the high-performance staff, but it's looking pretty good."

Fellow premiership defender Jeremy Howe is also in a similar position to Moore, and will be "touch and go" for the Saints clash.

It's more positive news for the Magpies, with the number of key players in injury rehab on the decline ahead of the new season, with Beau McCreery notably featuring in the club's scratch match against GWS last week.

Moore stated that he remains "bullish" on Collingwood's 2026 aspirations despite many pundits questioning their contender status, suggesting that the Magpies' combination of experience and "new faces" will keep them in premiership contention.

"We're very bullish and optimistic about our season," Moore told 3AW.

"There was so much to like about last year, and we have a core group of guys that have played together. Fans know what to expect from that group.

"There will be some new faces and new names, some younger guys who are putting their hand up, so expect to see some new faces in there who have different strengths to bring to the team. But clearly there are some familiar faces in there too."

The Magpies take on North Melbourne in their final pre-season fixture on Sunday, March 1, before playing the Saints for premiership points at the MCG the following Sunday.