GWS recruitment manager Adrian Caruso reveals club’s stance on Nick Daicos

Nick Daicos is one of the brightest prospects in this year’s draft, and it appears GWS have made a final call on whether they will bid on the young gun.

Nick Daicos is considered one of the best prospects in the 2021 Draft. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Greater Western Sydney recruiting manager Adrian Caruso has all-but conceded the Giants won’t bid on Collingwood father-son prodigy Nick Daicos in Wednesday night’s draft.

Daicos revealed in a radio interview on Monday night he hadn’t had any contact with the GWS recruiting team, saying it was “a bit interesting and a bit upsetting”.

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The 18-year-old midfielder, considered by some talent-spotters as the best prospect in this year’s crop, could now slide to the fourth pick in an unexpected boost for the Magpies.

North Melbourne will select South Adelaide phenom Jason Horne at No.1, while Gold Coast (three) and Adelaide (four) follow the Giants in the draft order.

It’s believed Caruso has spoken to the draft’s other premium father-son prospect Sam Darcy, who is linked to the Western Bulldogs.

GWS is set to place a bid on Darcy at No.2 – which the Dogs are certain to match, to secure club great Luke Darcy’s son – before potentially selecting 191cm Sandringham Dragons midfielder Finn Callaghan.

Callaghan’s appeal is he is versatile enough to play as an on-baller but also on the wing or at half-back, heightening his chances of breaking into a Giants side jam-packed with quality midfielders.

Adrian Caruso has all but given up on his pursuit of Nick Daicos. Picture: Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images

Athletic talls Mac Andrew and Josh Gibcus and creative forward-midfielder Josh Rachele are also in the mix at that selection.

“We have to factor list fit in when we’re drafting and assessing high-end talent,” Caruso told News Corp Australia.

“We wouldn’t want to consider bringing someone up to our footy club who might struggle to get into our midfield, then leave for (more) opportunity in two years, which has happened in the past.

“We feel like the players we’ve considered – whether it’s Mac Andrew, Callaghan, Gibcus, Rachele and Darcy – all fit a specific need on our list, whereas Daicos is probably just not as much of a need in that regard.”

Caruso watched Daicos closely at the start of the year and said he was “a great player” but the club’s on-ball depth and his four-year commitment to Collingwood meant a chat would be “a bit of a waste of time”.

“Generally, our philosophy has been to bid on players only that we think we would pick if they were in the open pool,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean there’s no chance we bid, but our philosophy in the past has always been to bid where we think we would pick them, if they were in the open draft.”

No rival trade proposal had so far tempted Caruso enough for GWS to part with pick two and he doubted any would between now and the draft.

“We wanted to keep it open for as long as possible, in case a club came with a bumper offer that might’ve caused us to have that discussion, but ultimately that hasn’t come,” he said.

“Now it’s the day before the draft, and you pretty much lock in on the player you want and commit to doing that, regardless of what might present.

“There were offers to slide back a few spots and get a future second or something like that, which, to us, we just couldn’t justify giving up that quality pick.”