AFL round 10 Collingwood v Adelaide: Matthew Nicks’ call highlights the Nick Daicos dilemma

Matthew Nicks isn’t the first coach, nor will he be the last, to have Nick Daicos nightmares. Scott Gullan asks the question many Crows fans will be thinking – and what the answer means for the rest of the competition.

He’s not the first coach, nor will he be the last, who has Nick Daicos nightmares.

Matthew Nicks was faced with the question every AFL coach has wrestled with over the past two years – to tag or not to tag?

He didn’t and lost (albeit his side came ridiculously close).

But did his decision not to tag N Daicos cost Adelaide victory in a game that came down to a frantic final minute and a borderline umpiring decision against the Crows?

You can argue both ways but it was the youngest Daicos who kicked the ball to Jordan De Goey for the winning goal with less than two minutes left.

And that was his 40th disposal in a game which was decided by just four points.

Surely, having such a dominant player in the midfield in a game decided by less than a goal is not a good thing when you’re in the opposing coaches’ box.

Nick Daicos had 40 disposals against the Crows on Saturday. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Like many before him, the Crows coach put N Daicos in the too hard basket with the theory that he’s such a great player, he’s going to get the ball anyway so let’s just try to limit the damage.

The old “we back our men in” strategy is a trap too many have fallen into before and the Crows went hook, line and sinker with a committee of Jake Soligo (35 minutes), Rory Laird (32), Matt Crouch (25), Jordan Dawson (10) and Brodie Smith (4) assigned to Daicos.

At halftime, the Magpies star had collected 24 disposals, 16 contested possessions, three tackles, and three centre clearances among 10 clearances.

By full-time, it was up to 40 touches, 22 contested, six tackles, four centre clearances and a career-high 14 clearances.

And three Brownlow Medal votes.

One saving grace for Nicks is that the man himself doesn’t believe tagging necessarily works in the midfield.

“‘Pendles’ (Pendlebury) and I were talking about it before about how our game doesn’t really change (if there is a tag). We play midfield so we just go and hunt the ball, you have always got an opponent really so it doesn’t matter if it is a tag or not,” Nick Daicos said.

“It is a bit different if you are playing at half-back or up forward when you’ve got a tag, it’s a lot more isolated but in the midfield you always have got an opponent so you just go and attack the ball.”

Izak Rankine trying to stop Daicos. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

Daicos was also full of praise of the Crows who have a habit of bringing their A-grade stuff against the Pies. This was the fourth game in a row between these sides where the result has been under a goal.

“It was a really contested game today, we knew it was going to be like that with the likes of Laird, Crouch, Soligo,” Daicos said. “They’re really good contested players but they’re also great runners and great on the spread so we had our hands full but I thought our boys did a great job.”

With a decimated forward line to begin with which then lost two more players throughout the game, there were plenty of excuses available for Collingwood if they dropped this game.

Enter Scott Pendlebury.

Playing in his 393rd game the 36-year-old kicked two goals in the opening 20 minutes of the game to set the tone. It was the first time he’d kicked multiple goals in a game since round 8 2021.

As usual his timing was perfect and it meant Nicks had a lot more to think about than just Daicos. In the second half the Crows did send Ben Keays to Pendlebury but it felt a bit like the horse had already bolted.

In the end the former skipper finished with 30 disposals – his highest number for the season – three tackles, six clearances and two goals.

And two Brownlow Medal votes.

“I am going to tell him to slow down because at this point he’s going to play till he is 50,” was Daicos’ observation.