Collingwood to unleash son-of-a-gun Nick Daicos in round 1 against St Kilda

Collingwood fans say he’s the player they’ve been waiting for and he will play in round 1.

Nick Daicos will play for Collingwood in round 1. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

Nick Daicos could be the first of “three or four” players to debut for Collingwood in the early rounds of the AFL season as new coach Craig McRae declared the son-of-a-gun already made the Magpies better just for his professional presence at the club.

McRae will be without new assistant coaches Brendan Bolton and Josh Fraser, as well as utility Will Hoskin-Elliott for Friday’s Round 1 clash with St Kilda after all were put in to Covid protocols this week.

But that disruption was off-set by the confirmation Daicos, son of club great Peter, would debut in black and white along with former Western Bulldog Patrick Lipinski.

Taken at pick four in last year’s AFL draft to join his brother, Josh, who has played 52 games for Collingwood, McRae downplayed expectations on the youngest Daicos but couldn’t hide his excitement at him getting the chance to show what he could do.

“The expectations is external. We know what he can bring to the table. He’s had a great pre-season, he’s still yet to play an AFL game and that’s a whole different level but we’re excited about what he can bring,” he said.

“He’s an elite decision maker. He has an ability to see the game maybe others don’t see. And his skill execution is really high. They are good attributes.”

It’s official.

Round 1 debut for Nick Daicos.

— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) March 15, 2022

Lipinski and Daicos loading.

They will pull on the black and white for the first time on Friday. pic.twitter.com/zfxwWkVSQN

— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) March 15, 2022

Daicos, 18, had 31-disposals in Collingwood’s pre-season clash with GWS to cement his spot, and McRae, in his first season in charge, said there were more young players at the club pushing for early selection in a season of “change”.

“There’s going to be more to come., Last year we saw a lot of change in this environment and we’re going to do the same. There are a couple more ready to play,” he said.

“Our reality is our best players are really going to match it with most teams and it’s a matter of trying to keep as many of those on the field as possible and also then fast-tracking these kids to get an opportunity.”

McRae dismissed any issues over Jordan de Goey’s readiness for Round 1 despite an interrupted pre-season which included him training away from the club as he dealt with a court case arising from an incident in New York.

“We’re pretty comfortable where he’s at, he’s done a power of work,” he said.

“Jordy has done just as much work, slightly more than he did last year so he doesn’t have to make up ground. Maybe the impact and the contact stuff he hasn’t quite done a much as the others. But in terms of legs-ready, he’s ready to go.”

But McRae said de Goey wasn’t yet ready to become a full-time midfielder and would spend the majority of his time up forward.

Nick Daicos with his dad Peter and mum Colleen at the MCG. Picture: Michael Klein

Suspended defender Brayden Maynard will however get the chance to push his claims for more midfield time during his two-week ban, which came after a clumsy spoiling attempt against the Giants.

“We want to get Brayden involved in the midfield more than what we had planned. We did our numbers and he hadn’t had much exposure to that,” McRae said.

“So I said hey, here’s two weeks, he can play in the VFL, a chance to play in the midfield. I’m looking more at what we can do than what we’ve lost.”

Jordan De Goey is ready for Round 1 (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Originally published as Collingwood to unleash son-of-a-gun Nick Daicos in round 1 against St Kilda