#35 Nick Daicos

[bally12]

Who cares about the Brownlow. It's a bs award given by umpires. Have you heard of such nonsense in any other sport?
The umpires have one job...to adjudicate the game fairly according to the rules. By anyone's measure they are a massive fail even doing their primary role.
Leigh Mathews never won a Brownlow and yet is considered by many to have been the best player ever.

Nick, you are an impressionable 20yo kid grown up in a football mad town, so can understand why the Brownlow would be important to you. Don't buy into the false sensationalism. Don't buy into the media fawning for those that get the most supercoach points. The fact that you went an inch over the goalsquare line to kick out and ensure you got credited with a kick was embarrassing. You have the opportunity to lead Collingwood to premierships. Premierships don't come easy to Collingwood. Do that and the Collingwood people will recognise your true worth and look after you more than you can imagine.

[Piesnchess]

I am bit more positive about Nicks return now. He put out a statement saying he is determined to do all he can, to get back playing for us. So, if its six weeks, that is 3 more games, then a Finals bye, then first Final, is we win that, we get another bye. Thats 6 weeks then the Prelim. so all going well, he should be back for the Prelim, hes young, and young bones heal pretty fast too. Now it up to the guys, to pull the finger out, and win at least, two of the last three games, so we get that chance, to make it happen for him.

[jonmac1954]

There is an ugly trend emerging at AFL house.

Think back to their openly predicting heavy physical attacks on Ginni (which is in fact encouragement for this to happen) now another young Collingwood player cops weekly heavy handed treatment and the reaction from the AFL and their media lapdogs . . . crickets.

I'm all for the game being physical but there are (or should be) limits.

Some young player is going to end up getting very seriously hurt because the AFL is now openly sanctioning thuggish behaviour.

[Pete 70]

Is it just me or did that muppet Sicily bump Nick as he was hobbling? That’s not though. It’s a cowardly act. And Nick’s comments yesterday about the hard tag were perfect. He will only get better. As one of the captains of one of the other Afl teams said, what he is doing at this age is unbelievable. Man I look forward to seeing off the half back line in the prelim. How that is not a 50 is still beyond me. Whatever. I think the playing group will get very galvanised.

[Pete 70]

Excuse all the typos. Hopefully I will learn to proof read soon.

[Pete 70]

Is it just me or did that muppet Sicily bump Nick as he was hobbling? That’s not though. It’s a cowardly act. And Nick’s comments yesterday about the hard tag were perfect. He will only get better. As one of the captains of one of the other Afl teams said, what he is doing at this age is unbelievable. Man I look forward to seeing off the half back line in the prelim. How that is not a 50 is still beyond me. Whatever. I think the playing group will get very galvanised.

[K]

In The Age's "Top 50 AFL influencers", Nick Daicos was ranked #6. (Only one current player was ranked higher: Paddy D.)

[piedys]

I hear a lot about this kid; he can play a bit, they say...?

[jonmac1954]

[PyreneesPie]

He did some beautiful Nick plays yesterday. Precise kicking and that lightning fast handball to JDG that resulted in a goal was simply awe inspiring.

[BEAMER09]

[Meredith1965]

The only question now is how good he might become, because it is hard to believe he will not grow further with experience. He arrived as such a finished package and such a work ethic that perhaps he is already close to his ceiling, which is ultra-elite, but it’s exciting to think he might grow to another level.

[Pies4shaw]

There were quite a few occasions in that Grand Final when he did things that everyone who watches the game in a non-biased way fully understands could not have been done by any other player to take the field for any team in the last 29 seasons.

The AFL needs to shift the Brownlow from being an award that rewards players for getting lots of disposals against rubbish teams to an NFL-style "most valuable player" award, in which the question is not who got the most kicks against crap opposition but who had the most influential season.

You'd think the AFL must have felt a twinge of embarrassment as their "Brownlow Medallist" was anonymous on the stage that matters, while Nick just kept doing what he did all year against all-comers - his sublime skills and lightning-quick thinking making it look (as it doees, week in, week out) like he is playing a different game to the one his supposed "competition" is playing.

[jonmac1954]

P4S the AFL is now a soulless corporate entity with zero embarrassment.

[Meredith1965]