Collingwood coach Craig McRae has conceded injured superstar Nick Daicos is “up against it” to feature in next Thursday night’s Qualifying Final against Melbourne, but refused to rule him out.
The Magpies claimed their first minor premiership since 2011 as they prepare for a blockbuster showdown with the Demons at the MCG, where the winner will advance to a home preliminary final.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, McRae confirmed all three of Darcy Moore, Nathan Murphy and Beau McCreery would be available to return to the side, but wasn’t as convinced by Daicos.
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The second-year Magpies coach did however reveal that Daicos was making encouraging progress in his recovery from a knee hairline fracture sustained earlier this month.
“I did text him yesterday with his squad announcement for the All-Australian and he said: ‘I’ve ticked another box today’,” McRae revealed on AFL 360.
“Every day seems to be a positive in terms of his improvement and I won’t see him until Thursday. We’ll see how that’s progressing then.”
Asked if he was planning to be without the breakout gun, Daicos said: “No, I don’t like to put ceilings on anything.
“Nick’s a remarkable kid in terms of the way he prepares himself and his professionalism. I don’t want to to put a ceiling on it, but I think there is a level of he’s going to be up against it to make it in time.
“But I don’t want to put that barrier in front of him.”
Daicos was one of five Magpies named in the 44-man All-Australian squad along with brother Josh, Moore, Jordan De Goey and Isaac Quaynor to cap off a great regular season for the club despite shaky form on the eve of finals.
McRae admitted this year’s finals series feels “somewhat” different after entering last year’s post-season as a wildcard after an unprecedented amount of close wins.
The Collingwood coach then with a laugh cheekily posed to AFL 360 co-host Jordan Lewis: “Where’d you pick us for this year, Jordy? I was going to ask you that,” with the Hawks legend over the pre-season sensationally predicting the Pies would miss finals.
To which Lewis responded: “I said missing the finals for the fact all those close games (were) hard to read. Then after Round 1 …,” as he both he and McRae burst into laughter.
Lewis added: “I thought last year (was an) unbelievable season, but just hard to read those close games. If they’re in the balance, what happens?
“But certainly after Round 1 — I don’t want to put anyone else in — but Daniel Harford and I put our hands up and (admitted) it was the Collingwood side we saw last year.”
McRae then conceded the club itself wasn’t sure how it stacked up in 2023, but was encouraged by what its recruits would bring to the table.
“The prediction industry is really difficult, that’s why we live in the moment and you’re not sure what you’re going to get,” he said.
“We’d be the same, we weren’t sure what the season presents for us. But you add layers to our list that you knew were going to make a difference — Billy Frampton, Bobby Hill, Tom Mitchell and these guys, Oleg Markov has had a great season.
“There’s chemistry required to get real growth, but I’ve always been optimistic about our best is in front of us, and again, we’re here now and I still believe that.”
