Darcy Moore is yet to lead the Magpies in an AFL game, but is already tackling his first public scandal as Collingwood captain, forced to deny the club has a drug problem after Jack Ginnivan was banned under the league's illicit drug policy (IDP).
The AFL found Ginnivan guilty of "conduct unbecoming" after footage emerged of him with an illicit substance while on a preseason camp in Torquay last month and banned him for the first two games of the season plus two preseason matches.
According to the AFL, Ginnivan's "conduct constitutes a notifiable adverse finding" under its illicit drugs policy.
Ginnivan fronted the media on his way in to training on Monday morning.
"Everyone knows that I'm pretty sorry and remorseful for the actions that I did, and [am] ready to get to work today and earn the trust back of the group," he said.
His captain spent more time in front of the cameras and microphones, saying Ginnivan had disappointed his teammates and it would "take a little bit of time" to earn back their trust.
However, Moore — who is taking over the captaincy for the first time this year after the retirement of Scott Pendlebury — said Ginnivan's actions should not reflect poorly on the whole club.
"Absolutely, I believe there's no issue [with drugs at the club]," he said.
"We have [more than] 90 male and female athletes at this club, the large majority of whom take their jobs really seriously and make great decisions.
"But we don't operate in a vacuum, and people make errors of judgement, and that's something that Jack's done in this instance."
Moore said he had spoken to Ginnivan since the sanction, which also included a suspended $5,000 fine, and said he was "doing OK [but] disappointed in himself".
The new captain spoke about the importance of the club rallying around the 20-year-old, who had a breakout second season in 2022.
"It's never easy when you've been handed a sanction from the AFL and a ban," Moore said.
"[Ginnivan's] obviously a talented player and we're going to miss him out there."
Moore said the league's IDP "plays an important role in minimising harm around the league", particularly in terms of using de-identified data to try to flag at-risk players and find out how prevalent drug use is around the league.
However, he said, that was at odds with the member of the public who recorded Ginnivan.
"I think the challenging part is when things become public because, around a welfare and harm minimisation model, not everything is going to be public, and when it does it can create a grey area," Moore said.
The IDP is currently under review, with the AFL Players Association wanting to maintain a medical model focused on welfare, others calling for it to be scrapped entirely, and others saying punishments should be harsher.
Moore said he was looking forward to seeing the outcome of the review.
