Nick Daicos runs wild as Collingwood obliterate Port Adelaide

A young Collingwood star has delivered another masterclass display that’s left football fans salivating over what’s still to come.

MELBOURNE . 25/03/2023. AFL Round 2. Collingwood vs Port Adelaide at the MCG. Nick Daicos celebrates a 2nd qtr goal . Pic: Michael Klein

Nick Daicos is proving the second year blues are purely a myth with two barnstorming games to open the season.

The supremely talented youngster who took the AFL world by storm during his rookie season has continued on his dominant ways.

Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

After playing across half back throughout 2022, the 20-year-old moved into a midfield role to kick off his second year.

Despite Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley threatening to put a hard tag on the young star, the Power went away from the plan early on Saturday.

Lachie Jones went to Daicos in the early going before the Power let him roam free in a baffling decision.

It resulted in the son of an AFL great blazing a trail around the MCG as he amassed a game-high 32 disposals, gained 661 metres and capped it all off with two goals.

He and brother Josh torched their rivals who had come off a monstrous opening week win as the Pies stormed away to win by 71 points.

As good as Josh was with 26 disposals and two goals, it was his younger brother who once again left the footy community salivating.

Taken 20+ years but we’ve finally found someone who can match Chris Judd for impact in their first couple of seasons in the game in Nick Daicos. Freak. #AFLPiesPort

— Daniel Garb (@DanielGarb) March 25, 2023

To think Nick Daicos is already in the “best player in the competition” conversation is astonishing. He’s 20. And he’s already THAT good. What a joy to watch. #AFL#AFLPiesPort

— Russell Bennett (@rgbennett) March 25, 2023

Collingwood quashed any remaining doubt it is a serious premiership contender and issued Port Adelaide a harsh reality check with its scintillating display.

The Magpies attacked ruthlessly to kick the Power out of the game inside the first half with a chain of nine unanswered goals, while their forward-half pressure was intense and left their Adelaide rivals looking listless as they searched for a way up the field.

It was the exact kind of “chaos game” Port coach Ken Hinkley said during the week his players were preparing for, but the Power had no answers for the Magpies’ firepower as they stormed to a 49-point halftime lead off the back of 10 individual goalkickers.

Nick Daicos is the real deal. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Daicos brothers again had the MCG crowd heaving with a flurry of classy finishes, as Scott Pendlebury put the younger Daicos on a path to a goal via a vintage no-look overhead handball.

Like the ageless Pendlebury, fellow veteran Steele Sidebottom was in everything as Collingwood comprehensively won the midfield battle, with Jason Horne-Francis heavily targeted in the contest and Ollie Wines and Connor Rozee well short of their usual impact.

The loss was a 125-point turnaround on Port Adelaide’s round 1 win over Brisbane, leaving serious question marks over the side’s ability to consistently match the best teams in the competition – Collingwood now knows for certain it is one of those teams.

– with Ed Bourke, NCA Newswire