Collingwood’s emerging star, Nick Daicos, has shared insights into the injury scare that rocked the AFL world at the end of last year.
During Round 21 of the previous season, Daicos incurred a concerning injury in a marking contest against Hawthorn, leaving AFL fans on edge. Despite his notable AFL career, Daicos experienced one of his toughest matches, marked by a dejected appearance on the bench as speculation grew about the severity of his injury.
Subsequent examinations revealed a hairline fracture in his knee, sidelining him for the next six weeks, which carried significant implications for both Daicos and Collingwood. With Daicos being a frontrunner for the Brownlow Medal and Collingwood poised as strong contenders for the premiership, his absence raised questions about the team’s prospects.
In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary, Daicos discussed the knee injury that dominated headlines in September. Cleary questioned Daicos about the extent of the injury, with Daicos acknowledging that his primary focus was on recovering in time for the preliminary final against GWS.
“We all tracked your knee last year in the finals pretty closely and your old man (Peter, hinted) that it was a bit worse than what was let on … how did you … manage that heading into the grand final?” Cleary asked.
Despite the challenges, Daicos made a remarkable return, contributing significantly to his team’s one-point victory with 28 touches and four tackles. Reflecting on his mindset during the grand final, Daicos emphasized his singular focus on the game, allowing him to push aside concerns about his knee.
“After the prelim it was just how could I best recover for the grand final … and then I was so focused on the game itself, I think I didn’t let my knee bother me too much.
“And when you’re in a grand final, it’s just all systems go, so you have no real concerns about your body or your safety.
“My knee’s feeling really good at the moment,” he admitted.
“I’m really confident where my body’s at heading into this year so it’s exciting.”
But that wasn’t the case after the grand final.
“Three to four weeks after the grannie, I started to jog a bit and it swelled up a little bit, so it was just telling me it probably wasn’t ready to get going again,” he said.
“The club’s been great with the recovery process. They’ve built me up nice and slowly and now, as I said, I’m ready to attack the season.”
Following the grand final, Daicos encountered setbacks during his recovery, experiencing swelling when attempting to jog. However, with the club’s support, Daicos gradually progressed in his rehabilitation, expressing confidence in his readiness for the upcoming season.
Daicos finished third in the Brownlow Medal race, a testament to his remarkable talent and potential impact had he been available for the final matches of the season. Looking ahead, Daicos and his teammates are determined to pursue back-to-back flags for Collingwood, with Daicos highlighting the team’s depth and promising talent.
In addition to discussing the team’s prospects, Daicos revealed aspirations for future leadership roles, acknowledging the invaluable mentorship he has received from the club’s current leaders, including Scott Pendlebury. With a strong foundation and guidance from experienced leaders, Daicos remains committed to embracing leadership opportunities as they arise in the future.
“It’s been great to watch (Jordan De Goey) come back in such great shape … I think he’s in for an absolutely massive year,” Daicos said.
“… And there’s young (player) called Scott Pendlebury, I don’t know if you know him, but he’s firing.”
He said there were host of other younger names to look out for, too.
“Finlay Macrae is so ready for his opportunity. Reef McInnes, Joey Richards, Harvey Harrison, Ed Allan, I could honestly go on and on and on,” he said.
“I think everyone’s come back running or lifting PBs in the gym so it’s super exciting for us heading into the year knowing that we’ve probably grown on last year (in terms of) our list depth.”
Daicos also revealed he had leadership ambitions in the future.
“Leadership is a quality that I hold in really high regard and we’ve got a number of great leaders at the club … so I’m very fortunate (to learn) so much from so many leaders at the club.
“(And we’ve had) arguably the greatest captain (of all time in) Scott Pendlebury lead us for a long time and I’m fortunate to have played alongside him and under him and I’ve learnt so much from him.
“If the opportunity does arise in the future with any leaderships position, hopefully I’ll be ready as I’ve been held in great stead with the leaders that we’ve got at the club.”
