One down, one up as McRae lauds Daicos double-act
Collingwood star Nick Daicos had his usual sharp impact blunted by a tight tag from rebadged Melbourne wingman Ed Langdon in the King's Birthday thriller.
But older brother Josh stepped up in a best-afield display, tallying a game-high 34 disposals from half-back in the Magpies' 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory at the MCG.
"It's a nice duo, isn't it?" Collingwood coach Craig McRae said of his super siblings.
"Josh has had an enormous year. He starts on the bench and he just looked like a different player to everyone else when he came on.
"Everyone was fumbling, but not Josh. I'm really happy for him.
"He's worked really hard on his game, he's never played backline before and he's working really hard to be the best player he can be.
"Right now everyone's seeing that."
Daicos pounces on the turnover and Long hits the scoreboard 👏#AFLDeesPies pic.twitter.com/O3Dcs4M8a5— AFL (@AFL) June 9, 2025
Langdon wore Nick Daicos like a glove from the outset and frustrated the Pies' Brownlow Medal fancy, who had just seven touches in the first half.
Daicos had another seven in the third quarter and almost had a major say in the last, when he kicked one goal from a 50 metre penalty and missed another set shot when Langdon conceded a free kick.
Langdon had just four disposals himself and raised eyebrows with some of his close-checking tactics, but McRae conceded the hard-running Demon played his role well.
"I thought Nick was well handled today," McRae said.
"They did a great job on him and Nick fought through it, but Langdon would've had the honours."
The physical battle between Langdon and Daicos sparked a series of spotfires between players from both sides in the first half.
McRae felt it was a "nil-all draw" in the way his players looked after Daicos in slippery conditions that made for a hard-fought contest.
"There were times when we could've done a few things different, but it's a different game right now," McRae said.
Not to be outdone by his sons, Collingwood legend Peter Daicos stood out dressed as Heath Ledger's iconic Joker in the pre-match Big Freeze fundraiser.
The Magpies' fifth straight win gave them an 11-2 record on top of the ladder at their mid-season bye.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Webb takes positives despite Saints defeat
Fremantle AFLW coach Lisa Webb says her team must learn to adapt to conditions faster after they were held to just one goal in their pre-season loss to St Kilda. In their final pre-season hit out, both sides battled through squally conditions with the Saints' holding on for a 2.10 (22) to 1.9 (15) win at Victor George Kailis Oval on Saturday. While both sides missed their scoring chances, Webb said the Saints were cleaner when it mattered, as her side failed to control the tempo early. 'It was a tough, contested game, which we expected St Kilda are really strong in that area,' Webb said. 'They got on top early, especially in the uncontested marks, and we didn't get around to snap that quickly enough. 'They certainly played the conditions better than us, they were cleaner around the footy and their contested inside mids were really strong, which is something we have to work on. 'At times they were able to swing the momentum with their stoppage work and that's something we want to learn from.' PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 02: Mim Strom of the Dockers contests the ball during the AFLW Practice Match between Fremantle Dockers and St Kilda Saints at Victor George Kailis Oval on August 02, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos/via Getty Images) Credit: Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos / via Getty Images Despite the defeat, Webb said there were still plenty of positives to take out of the game, especially in the performance of their backline and draftee Indi Strom. 'Our backline is always strong, they're really well led down there, and Indi did really well out there playing on [Jesse] Wardlaw for a while and held up her end of the bargain,' she said. 'There's so much talent there with our new players, and we just need to keep building, not the result we wanted today but it's a good learning curve and something to focus on ahead of round one.' Attention will now turn toward the season proper with Fremantle opening the season with a trip to Adelaide to face Port on August 17.
Herald Sun
4 hours ago
- Herald Sun
AFL 2025: Jack Ginnivan pulls finger at Adelaide fans, video, fine, after Hawthorn's loss to Adelaide, latest news
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Hawthorn young gun Jack Ginnivan is the latest AFL player set to be sanctioned for giving the bird to Adelaide supporters. Ginnivan was caught on camera pulling his finger to Crows fans while walking off Adelaide Oval after the Hawks' 14-point loss on Friday night. The 22-year old, who's set to cop a $1000 fine for the incident, took to Instagram to respond to a video of the act with the comment: 'Best coin spent.' FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Ginnivan would join the likes of Geelong's Bailey Smith and West Coast's Harley Reid in getting fined for the middle-finger salute in 2025. 'There was definitely a one-fingered salute from Jack Ginnivan,' Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy. 'I think we call that the Bailey Smith ... the going rate is $1000, we saw Bailey Smith double-finger salute and also Harley Reid earlier in the year. 'That's what (Ginnivan) does, that's Hok-ball for you.' Ginnivan was among Hawthorn's best players on Friday night, finishing with 20 disposals and two goals. The youngster's post-game bird weren't his only cheeky antics on the night, with Ginnivan turning to the crowd after kicking an epic goal on his left foot late in the third quarter and pointing to his ear.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Revealed: The huge cash windfall NRL is set to reap from Bulldogs top-two finish
The NRL has 4 million reasons to hope the Bulldogs secure a top-two finish and host a qualifying final and potential semi-final or preliminary final in September. That is the staggering amount of money the game's governing body could miss out on if Canberra and Melbourne remain first and second on the ladder. When it comes to the finals, the NRL – not the clubs – collects the gate takings and money earned from hospitality. Clubs receive a small percentage from finals fixtures, but the main advantage is merchandise sales and the chance to play a big game in front of their own fans. Canberra's GIO Stadium holds a maximum 26,000 fans, while Melbourne's AAMI Park can accommodate 29,500. The Bulldogs, however, are averaging more than 35,000 for home games this season and would likely attract 60,000 to 70,000 supporters should they finish in the top two and host a qualifying final at Accor Stadium. The Bulldogs broke the regular-season record when 65,305 fans watched the 32-0 Good Friday win over South Sydney, before 59,878 took in their King's Birthday weekend win over Parramatta. Based on the $50 average cost of a finals ticket, the difference of 40,000 fans is worth $2 million to the NRL for one final match, and $4 million for two. Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton was certainly prepared to dream big.
