Collingwood admit they're trying to address Nick Daicos ‘contested mark' issue
At 22 years of age, Daicos has already achieved many things in his short career, but he is yet to take a contested mark in his 78 games so far.
While contested marks is clearly not the job of this brilliant All-Australian midfielder, he was deployed forward in Thursday night's statement win over Fremantle and would have loved to have jagged one at some point during the game.
At half-time, Collingwood defender Isaac Quaynor addressed the issue on Channel 7.
'You want Nick Daicos wherever you can get him and it's good to have him up forward,' Quaynor said told Daisy Pearce.
'He almost took his (first ever) contested mark.
'We've been trying to get him a contested mark all year so it was close.'
Daicos was down on his usual output during the game.
He appeared to be in a little discomfort, and was copping a hard tag from Fremantle's Corey Wagner.
He finished the match with just 18 disposals and a goal, well down on his 29.1 disposal average this year.
And, of course, once again he scored a duck in the contested mark category.
It is possible Daicos entered the game with a little bit of a niggle.
'Pre-game Nick Daicos had a little bit of a tight spot in the lower back and we just saw him getting some work done on the boundary,' gun Channel 7 reporter Ryan Daniels said during the game.
'He's been off for a few minutes so we'll keep a close eye on it but he might be carrying something.'
Meanwhile, a parody account on social media has fired up specifically to haunt Daicos about the contested marks.
The name of the account is simply called 'Has Daicos taken a Contested Mark?', with a picture of Nick in the avatar ... to not confuse it with his older brother, Josh.
As for Josh, he thinks it's all a bit of laugh.
In fact, after the Anzac Day game against Essendon, Josh was pretty happy to talk about it following his own electric performance that included 36 touches and, yes, two contested marks.
'We get into Nick sometimes trying to get him a contested mark,' Josh said on Fox Footy.
'When they saw me have two back-to-back (contested marks) they got around me which made me feel good.'
So how many days has it been since Nick took a contested mark?
According to the account Has Daicos taken a Contested Mark, it is (at the time of writing) 1,148.
Daicos is already a dual All-Australian and a premiership player. And last year he polled a whopping 38 Brownlow Medal votes which was a league record.
Unfortunately for Daicos, Patrick Cripps also bettered the record and won the medal with a staggering 45 votes.
Needless to say, Daicos is at short odds to win a Brownlow (or possibly two or more) at some point in his career.
And there is no doubt a contested mark or two is also around the corner.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
10 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aerial surfing is coming to Sydney, and Hughie Vaughan will be in full flight
The World Surf League's cooler, younger sibling is coming to Sydney, and all eyes will be on an 18-year-old local who pulled off the 'best aerial ever done' earlier this year. Stab High, a surf contest 'focused on flight', will take place at Sydney's Urbnsurf park in October. While traditional surf competitions, like those contested by the pros in the World Surf League, focus on perfect technique, Stab High is all about landing one 'explosive aerial manoeuvre'. Hughie Vaughan did just that at an event in Waco, Texas in June, performing a trick that drew the praise of legends of surfing – and skateboarding – alike. Hailing from the Central Coast, Vaughan comes from a family of surfers (his brother Joel competes in the WSL). The trick he performed, the 'stale fish backflip' – using one hand to hold his board in place as he backflipped through the air, landing perfectly on top of the wave – originated in skating. Vaughan's attempt may be the first time it has been pulled off on a surfboard. A video of the trick posted by surf photographer Rob Henson – captioned the 'BEST AIR ever done' – went viral, racking up more than 7000 likes. 'Wowsers' was former Australian world champion Mick Fanning's reaction. 'Had to watch it 50 times just to figure out what happened. Amazing,' Fanning commented on Instagram.
The Age
10 minutes ago
- The Age
Aerial surfing is coming to Sydney, and Hughie Vaughan will be in full flight
The World Surf League's cooler, younger sibling is coming to Sydney, and all eyes will be on an 18-year-old local who pulled off the 'best aerial ever done' earlier this year. Stab High, a surf contest 'focused on flight', will take place at Sydney's Urbnsurf park in October. While traditional surf competitions, like those contested by the pros in the World Surf League, focus on perfect technique, Stab High is all about landing one 'explosive aerial maneuver'. Hughie Vaughan did just that at an event in Waco, Texas in June, performing a trick that drew the praise of legends of surfing – and skateboarding – alike. Hailing from the Central Coast, Vaughan comes from a family of surfers (his brother Joel competes in the WSL). The trick he performed, the 'stale fish backflip' – using one hand to hold his board in place as he backflipped through the air, landing perfectly on top of the wave – originated in skating. Vaughan's attempt may be the first time it has been pulled off on a surfboard. A video of the trick posted by surf photographer Rob Henson – captioned the 'BEST AIR ever done' – went viral, racking up more than 7000 likes. 'Wowsers' was former Australian world champion Mick Fanning's reaction. 'Had to watch it 50 times just to figure out what happened. Amazing,' Fanning commented on Instagram.
West Australian
10 minutes ago
- West Australian
CA boss Greenberg's warning for future of Test cricket
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has warned some nations will go "bankrupt" if they continue to play the longest format of the game, stressing he sees a future with less Test nations. Admitting he has become a "little unpopular" since taking over from Nick Hockley in March, the former Australian Cricketers' Association boss believes "scarcity in Test cricket is our friend, not our foe". "I don't think everyone in world cricket needs to aspire to play Test cricket, and that might be OK," Greenberg said on Wednesday with 100 days to go before the Ashes. "A lot of traditionalists might not like that. "I'm not suggesting I know the number that will play, but literally we're trying to send countries bankrupt if we force them to try to play Test cricket. "We need to make sure we invest in the right spaces to play Test cricket where it means something, and has jeopardy, and that's why the Ashes will be as enormous and as profitable as it is because it means something." But there could be more Test cricket played in Australia, with Greenberg open to playing red-ball matches in Queensland and the Northern Territory during winter. Australia are currently hosting South Africa in Twenty20s and ODIs in Darwin, Cairns and Mackay. Tests were last played in Darwin and Cairns more than 20 years ago, with Australia hosting Sri Lanka in 2003, then Bangladesh the following year. "I was in Darwin on Sunday night (for the first T20)," Greenberg said. "I went there primarily because it meant a lot to the people of the Northern Territory. "They hadn't had international cricket there for the best part of 17 years. "The one thing when you go there at this time of year is you take the one biggest variable away, which is the weather. "Great facilities ... I can see that (Tests) happening." Greenberg has also been exploring privatisation of the Big Bash League, noting other T20 competitions around the world are backed by money outside the governing cricket boards. "That will upset some people, and it will set the hairs racing and potentially of people debating the merits," he said. "It would be completely naive of us sitting here in Australia to not explore it. "I'm not suggesting that we're going to do it yet. "I'm not suggesting there's been a decision made, and ultimately it won't just be my decision or Cricket Australia's decision. "It will be the whole of leadership of Australian cricket and it has to be beneficial for everyone."
