{"id":619872,"date":"2026-04-20T20:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/619872\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T20:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:14:17","slug":"collingwood-star-to-play-more-forward-after-match-winning-quarter-against-carlton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/619872\/","title":{"rendered":"Collingwood star to play more forward after match-winning quarter against Carlton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michael<\/p>\n

April 21, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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Nick Daicos\u2019s final quarter forward foray that turned the game in one of the most devastating solo performances will not be a one off with the artful midfielder forecasting more time as a forward.<\/p>\n

Daicos predicted in the preseason<\/a> he would blend his time as a forward reprising the inventive style of play of his famously dynamic father Peter, but the command performance in the final quarter against Carlton was the first moment this year he has been used to such an effect.<\/p>\n

\"NickNick Daicos at the Shrine of Remembrance on Monday.Wayne Taylor<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so,\u201d Daicos said when asked if Thursday night\u2019s game against the Blues<\/a> was a window on a trend likely to be seen this year for him to spent more time forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love playing up forward, and I think it gives us a different look as a team. Also, it allows more players to roll through the midfield for us because we have got so many really strong midfielders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think being a dynamic team having players who can switch positions works in our favour and whatever the coach thinks and my position is I am happy to play.<\/p>\n

\"InIn the spotlight: Collingwood star Nick Daicos.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

\u201cI get a lot of forward craft advice from dad and I love it any time I watch his highlights. He was an amazing forward and such good craft and any time I get footy advice in general I love listening. He is one of the smartest football people I have come across.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collingwood booted seven goals in the final quarter to come from behind to win. After kicking 3.9 for the first half they kicked 10.1 in the second half with the accuracy at goal plainly a difference in their game. The method play too though was different with Collingwood looking more like the high-speed ball movement team they had moved away from in the last 12 months.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely something we will work through today is how do you find that balance of trying to attack because we don\u2019t want to be down in last quarter and have that mindset. We want to be proactive and come out in the first quarter and kick seven goals. We will work out the mental side of things and why that is happening but also the ability to kick seven goals when the game is on the line is also a strength,\u201d he said after a function at the Shrine of Remembrance ahead of the Anzac Day game on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"NickNick Daicos was scintillating against the Blues.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

Oscar Steene\u2019s two goals for the match, both from strong marks, and the high leaping young ruck\u2019s tap work in the centre has proved a dangerous combination in rotation with Darcy Cameron.<\/p>\n

Daicos forecast Steene to take the first centre bounce in what is annually one of the biggest crowds and events of the season. Steene\u2019s leap and offer of first use to the Magpies has been one of their discoveries of the season to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig Oscar Steene<\/a> might be in the first centre bounce too so it will be awesome for him and they (Steene and fellow debutant this season Angus Anderson) have both earned the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daicos believes despite the inconsistent start to the year the club could still consolidate and make a push for the top four.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to think so (to be a four contender again) I think six rounds through we probably haven\u2019t shown enough consistency to warrant being a top four lock, but I think our best footy can match it with anyone.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Nick<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always had that inner belief as a team that no matter what the margin we can always come back and Fly [coach Craig McRae] has always been big on kicking the last goal of the game so it is something we will always cary with us. We know if it gets to that scenario where we need to score and chase a team down we can definitely do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"MichaelMichael Gleeson<\/a> is an award-winning senior sports writer specialising in AFL and athletics.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 21, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-619872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}