So the forward-thinking Moore decided to jump ahead of the curve. He sat down with his manager, James Pitcher, in October and made it clear that he did not want to overcommit.

“Darcy has probably said no to a lot of stuff,” Pitcher says.

Moore was not the only Magpie in high demand following the premiership success.

PR departments were quick to grasp the pulling power of the well-mannered Daicos brothers, Josh and Nick, the mature qualities of Scott Pendlebury, as well as the unique backstory of the inimitable big Yank, American Mason Cox.

They were not only recognisable faces in footy-mad Melbourne, but they were significant online brands with widespread influence. On Instagram alone, Nick Daicos has 247,000 followers, Pendlebury has 231,000, Josh Daicos 139,000, Moore 134,000 and Cox 123,000.

For players and PR agents it was a two-way street: free tickets equalled free publicity. The pin-up boys would turn up, post and publicise events.

Considering the star power of Moore, Cox, Pendlebury, the Daicos boys and Jamie Elliott, could this be the most marketable collection of premiership Pies ever?

Collingwood captured the football public’s imagination across the past two years under the leadership and refreshing honesty of coach Craig “Fly” McCrae.

He dared his charges to play exciting football, and they always won the close ones, including the one that counts, a heart-stopping four-point victory over Brisbane in last year’s grand final.

It also helped that the players readily engaged with fans.

This warmth helped catapult the Collingwood stars into the celebrity stratosphere, none more so than Moore. He began to appear with his partner, Triple J presenter Dee Salmin, at red-carpet events, including the National Gallery of Victoria’s gala fundraiser in December, declaring it a “wicked time” to his Instagram followers, while crediting local designer Millie Savage for the necklaces he wore.

“Darcy is not your typical footballer,” Pitcher says. “He sees the world differently, presents differently with the way he articulates and communicates.

“Then he dropped that outstanding Anzac Day speech (in which he said the game was about more than four points and thanked serving personnel and their families for their sacrifices). That just took him to the next level and then obviously being a premiership captain of Collingwood has ignited that further.”

PR expert Judy Romano, of Romano Beck, has utilised the pulling power of Collingwood stars at various events including for her clients and key Collingwood sponsor Emirates, which was in evidence at the Australian Open in January.

She has little trouble listing the standout qualities of Collingwood’s biggest names.

“Mason Cox is a very charming guest to have at events, a big personality and talks to his fans, very personable, very recognisable and the American factor helps his profile,” Romano says.

“The Daicos boys are super popular, as the Daicos name is legendary in the AFL world – their father Peter was one of the most renowned and admired players at Collingwood. Josh dates [model] Annalise Dalins, and it is always a great picture of the very polished emerging power couple.

“Darcy Moore is the son of legendary Collingwood player Peter Moore, so has a very high profile, he is a lovely man, a very focused individual and, again, talks to all of his fans.”

The Collingwood players were good for business when it came to promoting events. But were all these appearances good for football?