Nick Daicos, the son of Collingwood legend Peter Daicos, entered the AFL with enormous expectations. Widely regarded as the top talent available, he would likely have been selected with the number one pick if not for the AFL’s Father-Son rule. Instead, he was picked fourth overall after three teams chose not to bid for him, allowing Collingwood to draft him with minimal cost. Since being drafted on November 24, 2021, Daicos has exceeded even the loftiest expectations.
Now, 519 days since his name was called out as a draft pick, the conversation isn’t just about Daicos being a rising star—people are debating whether he’s the best player in the entire AFL. This isn’t mere hyperbole; it’s a serious discussion backed by impressive statistics. Daicos, only 20 years old, is delivering a second season the likes of which the AFL has never seen.
Let’s take a closer look at his performance so far. After the first six rounds of the season, Daicos ranks first in several key areas: disposals per game, effective disposals per game, uncontested possessions per game, and total meters gained. These statistics are nothing short of remarkable for someone in just their second year of professional football. His dominance on the field has made him the favorite to win the Brownlow Medal, with bookmakers placing him at a short price of $2.75, well ahead of other top contenders like Marcus Bontempelli and Clayton Oliver.
One of the most impressive feats of Daicos’s young career is his consistency. In three of the six games played this season, he has managed to collect over thirty disposals while also kicking multiple goals—a feat no other player in the league has achieved more than once this season. Triple M’s Ethan Meldrum pointed out that Daicos, just 31 games into his career, has already recorded 40 disposals and multiple goals in a game twice, the earliest anyone has ever achieved this in AFL history.
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley captured the essence of Daicos’s impact on the game after his stellar performance on Anzac Day. Buckley highlighted how Daicos makes the game look simple, executing ordinary tasks with extraordinary precision. Buckley’s admiration is shared by many, including neutral fans who have been urging opposing coaches to put a hard tag on Daicos in an attempt to curb his influence. Yet, despite these efforts, Daicos continues to outsmart his opponents, using his exceptional football intelligence to evade tags and accumulate possessions at will.
The praise for Daicos’s talent and potential has been widespread. Even his father, Peter Daicos, has acknowledged that his son’s early career achievements far surpass his own. “For sure, they were different eras, but his (first 31 games) have been better … way better,” Peter Daicos said following Collingwood’s Anzac Day victory. Essendon coach Brad Scott also lauded the young star, noting that Daicos is doing things on the field that even seasoned players with a decade of experience struggle to accomplish. Scott emphasized that everyone knew Daicos was special from his junior days and that he’s now having a significant impact on the game. Teams have tried various strategies to contain Daicos, but he continually finds ways to overcome them. In one game, he rose from being the 18th-ranked player on the ground at three-quarter time to finishing as one of the top two players by the final siren, demonstrating his ability to step up when it matters most.
Collingwood narrowly missed out on a Grand Final appearance in 2022, losing the preliminary final to Sydney by a single point. However, with the rapid rise of Nick Daicos, they are determined to go one step further this season. The first quarter of the season has shown that Collingwood, led by their young star, is a force to be reckoned with and the team to beat.
Daicos’s impact on the AFL is undeniable. His combination of skill, intelligence, and consistency has set him apart not just from other second-year players, but from players across the league. If he continues on this trajectory, there’s little doubt that he could become one of the greatest players in AFL history.
