Nick Daicos inspires Collingwood to one-point win over Brisbane Lions to keep premiership defence alive
Nick Daicos has inspired Collingwood to a win for the ages over Brisbane Lions, keeping the club’s ailing premiership defence alive and leaving Magpies fans daring to dream.
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Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan would be excused for having nightmares about Collingwood — and that man in the black and white No. 35 jumper — after having yet another thrilling contest cruelly wrenched out of their hands at the death knell.
On footy’s biggest day last year, Nick Daicos laid the ‘handball from heaven’ to help set up the goal that put Collingwood in front late in the final term of an extraordinary grand final against Brisbane Lions.
The Magpies then desperately held for dear life that day to emerge with a 16th premiership cup.
And late in the twilight of Saturday, 322 days on from that one day in September, the never-say-die Magpies produced another ‘Lazarus-like’ fightback to keep their ever-so-faint, mathematical possibility of playing finals alive – just – heading into the final round against Melbourne.
In the process, Craig McRae’s team delivered another deep psychological wound to Fagan’s Lions, with a stunning one-point round 23 victory damaging Brisbane’s top-four hopes after back-to-back losses.
THE PIES ARE AHEAD!#AFLPiesLionspic.twitter.com/UDQnrypAJY
— AFL (@AFL) August 17, 2024
In a classic encounter, this game had so many desperate acts and highlights, including a late Isaac Quaynor rundown on Zac Bailey, two Lachie Schultz final term goals within two minutes that produced his most important moments so far in black and white, and a match-winning goal from Beau McCreery to drag the lead off the Lions with less than three minutes left.
The Lions had led at every change and kicked six goals to one in the opening term to Collingwood’s one, but too often they left the door ajar with wasteful kicking at goal.
Their Achilles heel hurt them again.
And it was a predictable firestarter who ignited the Magpies’ fuse, with Nick Daicos turning in yet another sensational performance.
Daicos had only had three disposals before the five minute-mark of the second term, but he could sense an opportunity through the middle of the ground when John Noble came charging through with the ball in his hands.
He was almost at full throttle in anticipation as Noble handballed to him and off he went … evading two Lions players with precision, having two bounces to gain ground and then celebrating the goal long before it had sailed through the posts.
It could be a goal of the year contender … and if Daicos happened to win, it would make for a rare triple treat for the family.
Dad Peter won the 1991 goal of the year; brother Josh won the same award back in 2020.
McRae made some tweaks to the team in the second term, which worked. One of them was sending his young superstar out of the middle for a period at half-forward where he forced Dayne Zorko to defend for his life.
ENTER LACHIE SCHULTZ 🤯#AFLPiesLionspic.twitter.com/VkbnRJp9BL
— AFL (@AFL) August 17, 2024
After his first bit of magic, Daicos booted a second goal out of a stoppage in attack after a superb tap from Darcy Cameron as Collingwood kicked the only three goals of the second quarter.
Then he played a big role in the first goal of the all-important last term, with his desperation and run leading to a free kick down field which resulted in a Dan McStay major.
He finished with 25 disposals and two goals, with his second quarter being off the charts.
The Lions missed so many shots they should have kicked, particularly in the third term, with costly misses from Bailey, Cam Rayner, Kai Lohmann and Will Ashcroft.
Then Joe Daniher, who kicked four goals in a strong display, missed a chance in the final term he would love to have back.
The Lions, sitting in fifth place, will now take on Essendon next Saturday night.
The Pies take on Melbourne, knowing that even if their finals chances vanish, given their modest percentage, at least they have gone out swinging.
McRae: I’ll tell my grandkids that I coached Nick Daicos
– Dane Heverin
Collingwood coach Craig McRae has declared that he will “tell my grandkids that I coached Nick Daicos” after the 21-year-old helped inspire the Magpies to another miracle comeback in their one-point win against Brisbane Lions.
Daicos brought Collingwood to life with a 12-disposal second quarter that included back-to-back goals – the first of which was a Goal of the Year contender where he streamed inside 50 from the centre of the MCG and nailed a drop punt on the run.
Daicos’ high-impact game that finished with 25 disposals, nine score involvements, four clearances and five tackles could be pivotal come Brownlow night and McRae marvelled at his young star.
“That’s going to be one of the great stories when I’m older (that he coached Daicos). What a player,” McRae said.
“It’s nice to see someone just impose themself on the game. We’re all on the bench, not laughing but just like ‘wow’. We’re all in awe.
“You should see some of the stuff Nick does at training. He did something the other day – he kicked the ball somehow to (a teammate) and I don’t know how he did it. Brayden Maynard and I were just sort of laughing, going ‘wow’.
“We’ve got front row seats to the Nick show. He’s a remarkable player.”
McRae was also full of praise for Lachie Schultz who has been much maligned throughout his first year as a Magpie.
The former Docker was the instigator of Collingwood’s barnstorming finish as he kicked consecutive goals within two minutes to narrow the margin to five minutes before Beau McCreery slotted the deciding goal.
Schultz’s form has been patchy in a year where he has also battled illness and concussion at times, and as a result he has become somewhat of a whipping boy amongst the Magpie faithful because they gave away their first round pick in the upcoming draft for him.
The 26-year-old repaid Collingwood’s faith in him however with a stunning burst to keep their finals chances alive.
“Really proud of him. He’s worked hard on his game. He does so many things that no one sees,” McRae said.
“We show it every week. When he’s holding Max Gawn out of a marking contest so that someone else can come over and take a mark. Off the ball, he’s blocking for three others so that they get a running shot at goal from a stoppage.
“He does so much for others. It’s just nice that he got some reward today. He was clutch in the last quarter. Absolutely clutch.”
Collingwood reprised its role as the hunter – which has been the trademark of McRae’s three years at the helm – against the Lions after coughing up a five-goal lead to ladder leaders Sydney last week and being saved by Mitch McGovern’s out on the full set shot after the Blues kicked the last five goals of the game in their win against Carlton the week prior.
Coming from behind has been a league-wide trend this season and McRae expressed that “you just never feel safe in front at the moment”.
Continuing to come from the clouds may just play the Magpies into the finals however.
A win against Melbourne on Friday night and other teams slipping up may put them into September action, but McRae is “not into the ladder predictor”.
“We can’t get voodoo dolls out for the other teams. We can’t do anything,” he said.
“What? Go behind the goals and put people off as they’re having set shots? There’s nothing we can do. So we just sit here and control what we can.
“We’re in this position because it’s 23 rounds of us getting to this position. All the lessons learned, all the bumps and bruises, all the players out and players in. Here or there, umpires’ decisions or not umpires’ decisions.
“It’s just really pleasing that regardless of what happens we play with that fighting spirit.”
But Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has been left scratching his head by wayward goal kicking for the second straight week as spraying golden opportunities proved to be lethal.
“Obviously tough to take,” Fagan said. “The players are very disappointed. We’re very disappointed. It was a game where when we had momentum we should have taken our shots more than we did – particularly in that third quarter and that just left the door ajar a little bit.
“Margins of three goals aren’t big margins in footy anymore. They can be cut back pretty quickly and to Collingwood’s credit they kept going and we just faulted right at the end.”
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