Nick Daicos had the last laugh against Sydney after the Swans’ hard tag did little to stop Collingwood waltzing to a 29-point win on Sunday.
The Swans were into the second-year Magpie from the outset at the MCG, with Tom Papley engaging in an early push and shove that sparked a melee.
After the success of Crow Ben Keays last weekend in stifling Daicos, the Swans opted to send Ryan Clarke straight to the rising Magpies’ star.
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But Fox Footy’s David King believes the focus on Daicos went too far, and left players like Jack Crisp and Isaac Quaynor unattended at stoppage.
“This is the Daicos conundrum for all coaches – do you tag him, how far do you go, what do you give up in terms of how you want to play vs holding true?” he said on First Crack.
“I think it’s gone too far … I reckon it’s lost balance and become all consuming.
“Clarke comes in to do that job all day … He still finishes with 25!
“(Daicos) is calm enough, 30 games in, to be able to handle it all day.
“It’s almost at the stage where all clubs just say, ‘we just have to play’.
“Today, (the Daicos tag) blew up. You may defeat one, but you don’t defeat the 22.
“What this kid’s doing is ridiculous.”
Vision from the Magpies win showed multiple stoppages where Daicos was able to roll up as an extra midfielder and go to an opposing Swan – leaving Clarke to follow and make it a two-on-one.
Speaking post-match, Daicos said it was always the plan to embrace the heavy tag.
High-flying Magpies overcome Swans | 02:38
“We love it when I get a tag!” he said.
“We think we can manipulate the opposition, get one v none so it’s a good thing for us. I’ve always got my teammates’ support which I love.”
Fellow First Crack panellist Leigh Montagna questioned if the Swans’ early tactics to get after Daicos actually had the “opposite effect” and “galvanised” Collingwood.
“If you want to stop him from getting 40 you can, but does it actually help you win the game?” he questioned.
“Clarke had no influence on the game.”
Magpies coach Craig McRae was full of praise for the 20-year-old’s ability to remain level headed – despite the extra physical attention he received.
Collingwood Magpies Press Conference | 06:24
“It’s a natural part of any good player in the competition … you go back in time, every good player’s had to go through this, and some have to do it for longer,” he said.
“He went in the midfield and did his thing – he’s a hard player to stop.
“The last two or three games our pressure in the last quarter just goes to another level, and teams right now are struggling with that.”
Daicos attended the third-most centre bounces of any Collingwood midfielder as the Pies tried to set him free from Clarke’s grip, with McRae saying he had comprehensive plans to help the 20-year-old work over a team trying to stop him.
“I said last week, I like playing chess with my Dad and he liked playing against me until I started beating him, but he taught me about the importance of thinking ahead, two moves ahead,” McRae said.
“That’s what we like to do not only with Nick, but in the game, we want to be strategic with what it looks like, if he’s not impacting or whatever is happening … we want to be two steps ahead.”
-With NCA Newswire
