St Kilda coach Ross Lyon admits it might have been a mistake not tagging Collingwood young gun Nick Daicos in his side’s six-point loss on Sunday.
Daicos racked up 42 disposals, had almost 860m gained, eight inside 50s and six intercepts in a display that earnt him the full 10 coaches votes.
Football commentators have been left stunned by the lack of physical pressure applied to one of the game’s rising stars.
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“We debated Daicos,” Lyon said post-match on Sunday.
“We wanted to see our system stacked up. In review as coaches, we’re probably aware he had (42 disposals) but gee whiz it was six points at three quarter time.
“Could we have done that better? Probably.
“A lot to learn. A lot of improvement in us.”
Speaking on SEN on Monday, Kane Cornes said the decision not to tag Daicos was “frustrating the life out” of him.
Lyon amused by Ginnivan snub | 00:45
“I’m not necessarily even talking about hard tag… I’m talking about make life difficult for him,” he said.
“Brisbane, whilst he still had 30 something (disposals) and kicked a goal or two, gave away an undisciplined free kick. There was a moment where he didn’t attack the footy as hard as he would. He was a bit rattled on that.
“He wakes up this morning, I don’t reckon he’s got a grass stain on his knee – not one St Kilda player touched him.
“He’s not sore – they don’t challenge him physically.
“That’s what I want to see. Just put a bit of time into him.
“We have this discussion every week; it’s frustrating the life out of me.”
Even Collingwood coach Craig McRae admitted he’d implement a tag on Daicos, should he have to face him as opposing coach.
“If I’m the opposition I would tag Nick. Yeah, I would. He is a weapon,” McRae said.
“You’ve got to take something away from the opposition. I would be looking to tag him.”
Collingwood Magpies Press Conference | 09:17
Fellow SEN host Nathan Buckley said Daicos was becoming “Gary Ablett Junior-like” in his ability to find space regardless of the opposition tactics.
“Good teams and great players ask questions of people consistently and Nick Daicos is a great player,” he said.
“Collingwood are proving to be a handful for anyone that they come up against, despite personnel.
“It’s an age-old question – if there was a Kane Cornes (tagger) on the list, you’d throw a Kane Cornes onto him.
“(But) if he’s receiving 3 or 4-metre handballs from a Pendlebury or a Crisp or a De Goey… he has the ability to find space.
“He’s very similar to Gary Ablett Junior.
“The best sides, you tag one and another two pop up.”
Daicos is currently leading the AFL Coaches Association’s Champion Player Award by nine votes ahead of Geelong’s Jeremy Cameron.
