AFL round 5 Collingwood v Sydney Swans: All the news, fallout and analysis from the Magpies’ 31-point win

Collingwood star Nick Daicos has sent a warning to the rest of the competition after blowing past tagger James Jordon on Friday night. Plus, his thoughts on Ned Long’s breakout game.

Brilliant Collingwood midfielder Nick Daicos has warned he is reaching peak fitness in an ominous warning for taggers as Ned Long’s emergence allows him to consider adding more forward craft to his kitbag.

The Pies have set up their season beautifully ahead of a Thursday night clash against Brisbane at the Gabba after a workmanlike 31-point victory over Sydney.

Jordan De Goey will fly north for a Gold Coast training camp ahead of the Easter Thursday clash but as he battles achilles soreness is less likely to be risked.

It will be Jamie Elliott’s 200th AFL game, with Jack Crisp also having to get through that game unscathed to have the chance to match Jimmy Stynes’ 244 consecutive AFL games on Anzac Day.

Nick Daicos was superb against Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

Daicos blew past Sydney’s elite tagger James Jordon with 34 possessions and added nine tackles in a contest where Ned Long matched the little master’s nine clearances.

Daicos blew himself up in round 1 trying to run Toby Bedford off his feet despite a pre-season limited by a plantar fascia concern but is building by the week.

The Lions could consider tagging him with Jarrod Berry but if he continues beating taggers his opponents might ponder trying to shut down other more taggable Pies.

“I think my running has increased each week, and I’m feeling really good. My body feels awesome, which is obviously the main thing. And I think there’s so many ways you can get around a tag. You can learn new roles and you can play forward a bit more at times which gives the opposition a new look. And it’s coming back to the team (values), keeping the pressuring high and as long as we are winning I am happy,” he said.

“We have gone into games expecting it. But there are so many players in our midfield that can step up and play a really important role for us. By taking out one of us, whether they tag me, Pendles (Scott Pendlebury), Sidey (Scott Sidebottom), here are so many of us that can step up and get on top of their midfield, so they might take one of us away but ultimately we can win the battle.“

Daicos visited the Adelaide Zoo with Beau McCreery and Long on Saturday morning to meet the city’s new pandas Yi Lan and Xing Qiu.

Long didn’t capture the adoring stares of the fans like Daicos but if he continues his career progression he too will soon be a household name.

“He’s so good in the contest with that first-possession stuff and his tackling and pressure. With his two-way running, I know it’s early days but I think he can be one of the best two-way runners in the comp soon enough. I think he’s going to be a great player for us.

“I am massively impressed by Longy. He’s been amazing all pre-season and he’s really earned his opportunity. He could have played four quarters in every single game this year but he’s stuck at it and been super persistent. He never dropped his head when things didn’t go his way at selection.”

PERFECT 10: PIES PROVE GIANT SHOCKER WAS OUTLIER, NOT THE NORM

‘We’re the Pies of South Australia’

Collingwood’s pre-game banner said it all as Craig McRae’s Magpies kept alive the best current winning streak at Adelaide Oval by disposing of an undermanned but brave Sydney.

In so many ways, this has been a near-perfect start to Gather Round 3.0 – complete with perfect weather, packed crowds with a heaving hill at the scoreboard end being almost the best vantage point – and now a perfect 10 consecutive victories for the Magpies at the venue.

It’s a fair bet to suggest the Pies won’t be worried if the AFL looks to extend a Gather Round deal with Peter Malinauskas.

They haven’t lost at Adelaide Oval since round 21, 2017, which is almost an eternity in modern footy, especially for a team travelling to a different state.

But this wasn’t about the venue as much as it was a further validation of what Collingwood has been able to achieve since that Opening Round shocker against the Giants that had the doomsayers predicting the Magpies’ sat nav was heading towards a cliff.

That has proven a hasty judgment, with four wins following on the Giant reality check, but we will learn a lot more about the Magpies’ flag credentials in the next month.

A quick turnaround Easter Thursday Gabba showdown with Brisbane Lions looms as the first challenge, before an Anzac Day clash with Essendon, a match-up against Geelong and then a trip to Perth to tackle Fremantle.

But what we can say without the need for any further clarity is that the Pies are going to take some beating this season.

Collingwood have won four straight. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

That’s come off the back of their evergreen veterans including a dominant Steele Sidebottom, a few vastly improved surprise packers with Ned Long the obvious one, a seemingly more settled defence and an imposing attack with the three big talls gaining more synergy and working well with a swarm of front and centre smalls.

Long was outstanding in crafting a career-best game, capping off some good recent form and being the big-bodied mid the Magpies needed with Jordan De Goey out injured.

He had 29 disposals and nine clearances, surpassed in numbers only by Nick Daicos (32), who was shadowed early on by James Jordon before he shook the tag and got going when it mattered.

Beau McCreery said during the week that he loved returning to his home state and that showed on Friday night, as he booted two goals and provided burst in attack.

The Swans simply didn’t have enough forward options, given the high rate of injuries they have suffered this year, and that wasn’t helped by the hamstring injury suffered by Joel Amartey in the second term.

In contrast, the Pies had plenty of avenues to goal, with nine individual goalkickers.

It seems like the Triple M connection – Brody Mihocek, Dan McStay and Tim Membrey – is gaining great synergy, while McCreery adds plenty in his role too as Jamie Elliott and Bobby Hill got their share of majors on a memorable night.

Isaac Heeney almost played a lone hand. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

And the Magpies’ defence – even without Dan Houston – held up strongly, with Darcy Moore in good form, and Billy Frampton played his role.

Isaac Heeney threatened to don his superman cape on several occasions but he didn’t have enough help to get the job done.

It was just left to too few for the Swans, as the injury toll has impacted their competitiveness.

Sydney coach Dean Cox turned up the heat on his senior players post-game, lamenting his side’s poor execution of the fundamentals, bad decision-making and lack of pressure.

“I think that’s the first part anyone goes to is the leaders and senior players, you can’t rely on the kids to get it done, they’ve got to lead the right way and that starts Monday when we get back training,” Cox said.

“One thing we always want to pride ourselves on is to always be in the contest and a chance to give ourselves every opportunity to win a game of footy.

“But one thing I’ve always said is that the players that represent the club, no matter what their name tag suggests, we need to play our way and play to a system that requires us to give ourselves the best chance.

“Some of the kids are learning their way through that and some of our experienced players need to help them a little bit more by performing the way that we know that they have in the

SCOREBOARD

MAGPIES 4.3 10.7 13.11 16.13 (109)

SWANS 4.1 8.2 10.4 12.6 (78)

PHELAN’S BEST MAGPIES: Long, N Daicos, Sidebottom, Pendlebury, Moore, McCreery, Cameron. SWANS: Heeney, Grundy, McLean, Co. Warner, Florent, Blakey.

GOALS MAGPIES: Mihocek 3, Elliott 3, Hill 3, McCreery 2, Sullivan, Membrey, McStay, Hoskin-Elliott, Crisp. SWANS: McLean 3, Co Warner 2, Heeney 2, Hanily 2, Hayward, Sheldrick, Campbell.

INJURIES MAGPIES: Nil. SWANS: Amartey (hamstring).

UMPIRES Mollison, Gianfagna, Rodger, Wallace

47,649 at ADELAIDE OVAL

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

JASON PHELAN’S VOTES

3 Long (Coll)

2 N Daicos (Coll)

1 Heeney (Syd)

Originally published as AFL round 5 Collingwood v Sydney Swans: All the news, fallout and analysis from the Magpies’ 31-point win