Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos is not leaving a single stone unturned as the 21-year-old looks to lift his struggling side out of a four-game losing streak.
The Pies’ premiership defence is in tatters after yet another monumental defeat last weekend, a 66-point loss to Hawthorn.
The reigning premiers sit 13th on the AFL ladder, six points outside the top eight, and look a shadow of the team that charged to last year’s flag. But despite last weekend’s flogging, Daicos continues to stand out in a losing side with a goal and 24 disposals display against the Hawks.
The Magpies play cellar dwellers Richmond this weekend before facing second-placed Carlton, leaders Sydney away, third-placed Brisbane and fellow finals aspirants Melbourne and will need wins in each match to keep their finals hopes alive. And after the loss to Hawthorn, Daicos took the hunt for answers into his own hands, seeking out Hawks veteran Luke Breust after the game for advice.
Breust was a key member of Hawthorn’s triple premiership side between 2013 and 2015, and similar to Daicos was a young star during their brilliant three-peat. And Breust revealed the Pies youngster was keen to seek out his insight and experience after the game.
“I had a really good chat with Nick Daicos there at the end of the game and he just couldn’t believe how we did it consistently in ‘13, ‘14, ‘15,” Breust told the ABC. “He’s like, ‘Boy, you’re the hunted’. And that’s the difference.
“Being the hunted is hard — we found it difficult at times (in) a couple of our (premiership) years where you start 4-4 and you really start to second-guess yourself and the brand of footy you’re playing, opposition start to work you out. So, you’ve got to continually evolve and try to stay ahead of the competition.”
It was another example of Daicos showing experience well beyond his years and veteran commentator Tim Watson says it is promising to see. “Obviously, that is front-of-mind (their form struggles, like, there’s Nick Daicos walking off the ground after defeat, and he still has the presence of mind to talk to somebody like Luke Breust and ask him those questions,” Watson said on Talking Footy. “So, it’s something that he is actually thinking about.”
Joel Selwood – who won four premierships with Geelong during two separate eras of dominance – was equally impressed with Daicos’s eagerness to improve and get any edge possible. “There are not too many wired that way (who would do that) after playing for so long,” he said. “It’s amazing to hear a young player go and do that.”
Collingwood’s youth ranks called into question
With their 2024 premiership hopes hanging by a thread, St Kilda great Leigh Montagna has urged Collingwood to start looking at the bigger picture to ensure they don’t put themselves in a hole they can’t get out of in the coming years. “The chat now is about the bigger picture and if age is starting to catch up to them,” Montagna said on Fox Footy’s The First Crack.
“It was lauded as one of the oldest premiership teams of all time last year … it’s starting to become alarming, so there’s got to be some big decisions at the football club. How many of those 11 players can they go on with? How many do they have to start moving past? Whether it’s not keeping them on the list or not playing them in the senior team? And try and get some more youth in.
“This has been a year where yes, they’ve had a lot go wrong, but they’ve got the bigger picture in mind. They have gone on record to say they are going to continue to trade in and bring in players for the now – they’re not necessarily wanting to rebuild.”
Montagna believes not only are the Pies an ageing squad but they also lack young talent away from Daicos. The Pies have an incredibly inexperienced group aged 25 or younger at the club with only Isaac Quaynor, Hill (both 25), Beau McCreery, Charlie Dean (both 24) Reef McInnes, Fin Macrae (both 23), Daicos, Ned Long (22), Harvey Harrison (all 22) exposed at the top level.
“This is all they’ve really got that we’ve seen, so there’s not a lot there … we’re really clutching, there’s a handful of players 25 and under,” Montagna added. “So they’re really relying on these guys between 26 and the over 30s. The question is how far can they take them? Do they have to continue to top up and try and squeeze out another one or two premierships? They’ve won their flag, so they can be happy.
“(But) I think with that little talent under the age of 25, they have to start getting some drafting in at some stage. They can try and squeeze out and win one more premiership, but they’re going to be in a hole for a long time.”
