Collingwood’s golden child Nick Daicos is set to benefit from a change to the club’s best and fairest voting system.
It comes on the back of the controversial Copeland Trophy count that saw the superstar midfielder finish runner-up to Darcy Cameron in 2025.
After failing to win a Brownlow Medal – despite averaging more than 30 votes a season for the past three years – many assumed Daicos would at least receive the best and fairest award from the Pies for his immense 2025 campaign.
Even Collingwood coach Craig McRae assumed as much as he congratulated Daicos on his runner-up finish behind surprise winner Matt Rowell, taking a jab at the umpires for some of the games Rowell was given three votes despite not having a huge amount of the footy.
“Maybe a few more 16 disposal games might get you there next year,” he joked.
But he was left with egg on his face when Daicos failed to win his own club’s count, finishing second behind ruckman Cameron.
And after Daicos’s incredible 41-disposal best-on-ground performance in Collingwood’s 12-point triumph over St Kilda on Sunday night, McRae revealed the club’s voting system had been restructured in the wake of last year’s blunder.
“We changed the system, we did,” McRae revealed on Sunday night.
“The system was needing to be changed to reward the extreme games. He had an extreme game tonight, didn’t he? Fourty-odd touches.
“I think Nick’s just maturing so much in front of our eyes. He trains harder than anyone else. Same with Josh (Daicos), like Josh had an amazing game.
“We want to have a game plan that brings the best out in our players, and Josh and Nick are certainly players that we just want to give the ball to.”
Originally published as Pies bring in new Nick Daicos rule, changing club’s best and fairest voting system