The key-position defender is an integral part of the Magpies' defence and missed last year's finals series because of hamstring issues. Buckley said on Saturday he was "not confident at all" about Moore being available in a fortnight when the Magpies open their finals campaign either in a qualifying or elimination final. Loading "I think we really don't know where that is going to settle. When you don't complete the game it doesn't augur all that well. But at the same time, the initial reports were that it's not major," he told 3AW. "But I suppose when you put a couple of occurrences in a row, it becomes major. So there is no real clarity or definitive outcome on what we can expect from Darcy in the next month.

"I can't even be clear on what if any injury there is off the back of last night other than he couldn't complete the game." Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video If the injury means Moore is sidelined, Buckley hopes the backman is better equipped to handle this frustration than he was last year. "I know that towards the end of last year it had a profound impact on him negatively and ... the way that came across was quite internal," he said. "He actually went into his shell a little bit and he carried it all inside without really sharing a whole lot of it. I think Darcy will learn from that and he can lean on more blokes around the football club, he can lean on more people in the environment. I really value him.

Loading "As a young man, he is a very intelligent young fella, he has got high expectations about himself, not just in football but in the rest of his life. "When you are not able to do something that you are passionate about, and he is passionate about his footy and contributing to the club as much as he possibly can, it does hurt him when he can't do that." The Magpies will also monitor the fitness of injury-plagued defender Matthew Scharenberg, who was crunched by teammate Levi Greenwood in a marking contest midway through the opening term. He left the field and did not return because of concussion.

Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Hurley hurt his right shoulder during the second quarter of the game and is in doubt for the first week of the finals. "[His shoulder is] subluxed and was pretty sore, so we ruled him out. But how much damage is done? You can’t really tell right now," Essendon coach John Worsfold said after the game. "He's not ruled out of the next game … but when I say that, he's probably not ruled in either. "We're hopeful the damage and the soreness of that won't be too bad and he'll be able to get through that over the next week or so."

Teammate Martin Gleeson was hopeful that Hurley's season wasn't over, stressing the importance of the dual All-Australian. "[He] was awesome last week and he is a steady head in the back line, he doesn't lose many one on ones. Fingers crossed he can come back," Gleeson told SEN on Saturday. The protracted contract discussions between the Magpies and ruckman Brodie Grundy remain a major issue. The Magpies have remained steadfast in their belief that a three-year extension is the best result for the All-Australian but Grundy, 25, wants a long-term deal. "Every club is in different circumstances. We want Brodie to be a one-club player," Buckley said. "We think that he'll play seven years-plus with Collingwood in the entirety of his career but there are just a lot of unknowns.