Collingwood faced a major setback when their star midfielder, Nick Daicos, was forced to withdraw from the game against the Brisbane Lions just 15 minutes before the match began. The decision came after Daicos had been flown to Brisbane in an attempt to get him fit for the clash. However, he suffered a calf injury and was unable to take the field, leaving the team without one of its key players.
This incident followed a controversial move by the Magpies last week, where skipper Darcy Moore was left on the ground during a match against GWS despite showing signs of a hamstring injury. Moore later confirmed that he would be out for three to four weeks.
Coach Craig McRae explained that Daicos had made the trip to Brisbane with the intention of playing. “He had a corkie in his calf,” McRae said. “On Tuesday at training, he wanted to get moving, but he didn’t train and was hobbling around. Nick is an ultra-positive guy, one of the best professionals in the game, and we gave him every chance to improve.”
During the pre-game warm-up, Daicos struggled to run, with his right calf heavily strapped. He failed the warm-up test, which led to his withdrawal from the game. McRae joked, “If he was a horse, you wouldn’t back him, would you?”
The loss of Daicos proved costly for Collingwood, as they were defeated by the Lions in a 54-point loss. McRae admitted that the team was outplayed throughout the night. “Honestly, I felt like we got outplayed for most of the night. The stoppages really got away from us,” he said.
Despite the late change, McRae did not expect the team to be affected by the absence of Daicos. He brought in Ed Allan as a replacement, stating that such changes should not impact the first contest or the team’s structure. “You’d like to think not,” he said.
McRae expressed hope that Daicos would be available for the next week’s Gather Round clash against Fremantle. “We are hoping it improves. We do have three days off. We’re back in on Monday,” he added.
In addition to Daicos, Collingwood will also be monitoring the progress of winger Steele Sidebottom, who suffered a heavy knock to the ribs during a tackle from Brisbane’s Keidan Coleman. Sidebottom left the ground just before half-time but returned in the second half. “He’s a tough bugger,” McRae said. “It was a really good hit, and it was sort of symbolic of a bit of our night that we didn’t play with good method at times.”
For the Brisbane Lions, the game was a highlight, with Will Ashcroft stepping up as the match-winning midfielder in Daicos’ absence. Ashcroft recorded 36 disposals and kicked a stunning left-foot goal that could be a contender for goal of the year. He has now surpassed Lachie Neale as the Lions’ top onballer.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan stated that the late withdrawal of Daicos did not change their approach. “We made a decision after what happened last week to back our midfield in,” he said. “When he didn’t play, we sort of went to Jordan De Goey a little bit more to try and stop him from having a big influence.”
The Lions will also be strengthened by the return of Harris Andrews from suspension next week.
