Nick Davis among candidates for vacant Collingwood AFLW coaching role

More than two decades after leaving the Pies, a Swans great could be set to return to Collingwood in their hunt for a new AFLW coach, reports DANIEL CHERNY.

Nick Davis during the Sydney Swans AFLW team training ahead of the Sydney Derby, Round 1 of the AFLW season for 2023. Photo by Phil Hillyard (Image Supplied for Editorial Use only – **NO ON SALES** – ©Phil Hillyard )

More than two decades after leaving the club for Sydney, Nick Davis is eyeing a homecoming to Collingwood with the Swans premiership hero among the candidates for the vacant Magpies AFLW coaching position.

The Pies are hunting a new coaching for their women’s side after the club parted ways by mutual agreement with South Australian Steve Symonds in November.

Symonds was at the helm for five seasons, taking the club from the bottom of the ladder to four consecutive finals series before missing out this year.

“After careful consideration and discussions with Steve, we came to a mutual agreement not to renew his contract. This decision aligns with the club’s strategic direction and our commitment to developing our elite women’s football programs,” said Collingwood head of football Graham Wright in November.

Davis has experience in both the AFL and AFLW coaching systems. Photo by Phil Hillyard

Davis, 43, is currently Sydney’s AFLW senior assistant, sitting beneath Scott Gowans, who coincidentally held that role under Symonds at the Pies.

Having also held a range of different positions within the club’s men’s and academy programs over the past decade, Davis is understood to be keen to advance his career by taking a senior position and has entered Collingwood’s coaching process.

Should he secure the position, Davis’ career would have gone full circle given his involvement in the professional ranks started a quarter of a century ago when he was drafted by the Pies under the father-son rule, his dad Craig having played for the club in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.

Davis played 71 matches for the Pies, including the 2002 grand final, before requesting a trade to the Swans. He played 97 games for Sydney, most famously kicking four late goals to steal the semi-final against Geelong en route to the 2005 premiership.

Former North Melbourne utility Sam Wright – now an assistant coach with the Roos’ AFLW side – is another being linked by insiders to the Pies’ vacancy.

Collingwood was one of four clubs on the hunt for a new AFLW coach this off-season. West Coast has already replaced Michael Prior with Daisy Pearce, while the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn are looking to fill the spots left by Nathan Burke and Bec Goddard respectively.