Luke Hodge calls out Nick Daicos detail in message to Magpies fans amid form slump

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19 hours ago

Hawthorn legend Luke Hodge has moved to calm the storm brewing amongst Collingwood fans having claimed the Magpies' form slump could be down to a number of younger stars missing from the side. Collingwood have now lost four of their last five games and have slipped to third on the AFL ladder.
While a top two position seemed close to a certainty a few weeks ago, the Magpies are now only four points ahead of GWS in eighth place. And to make matters worse, Hawthorn handed Collingwood a 65-point thrashing last Thursday. Fans were stunned to see Nick Daicos start on the bench, which followed suggestions coach Craig McRae needed to rest the star who had only missed a couple of games this season.
Despite not starting, Daicos still played 76 per cent of the game. McRae admitted the side put in another poor performance, having lost to Brisbane the previous week, and was sure the team could turn it around. And AFL great Hodge feels the concern around Collingwood's dip in form could be down to some older legs in the team needing a rest ahead of finals footy.
Collingwood entered the season as the oldest team on average in the competition and have proven many of the critics wrong with their early season form. However, there is no doubt the tempo the team has played with in recent weeks has dropped.
Scott Pendlebury, 37, has been one of the stars of the show alongside Steele Sidebottom in the midfield. The veterans have been winged by Daicos, Bobby Hill and Beau McCreery who have contributed energy and speed into the midfield.
Although with some of the younger stars missing in recent games, and Daicos starting on the bench against the Hawthorn, Hodge feels the intensity drop can be expected. He pointed to McRae's decision to start Daicos on the bench as an example of the coach managing his stars with fresh legs expected back soon.
'The football they've put out there over the last month, five weeks, it's not up to the standard we've expected,' Hodge said on SEN Radio. 'They do have an older list, we understand that, but it's amazing when you get to the end of the season. You have one week off, you come back with energy, mentally freshen up, physically freshen up.
'But also, what we've seen out there of late – Bobby Hill hasn't been there, Beau McCreery hasn't been there, Nick Daicos started on the bench. So, if you talk about, 'they looked slow on the weekend', if you swap over Hill, McCreery and Daicos, and you've only got one of (Ned) Long, (Tom) Mitchell, Steele (Sidebottom) and (Scott) Pendlebury in there, that speed, that chase pressure, that energy can turn around pretty quickly."
Luke Hodge isn't concerned over Magpies dip
Hodge said Collingwood were already called out earlier this season after they lost the opening game, before bouncing back to win six straight games. And he expects a similar turnaround soon. 'If I was a Collingwood supporter, I'd be getting through to the end of the home and away season, freshening up, getting these blokes back in," Hodge added.
'What we did see after the opening round when they looked slow, they looked old and we all cancelled them out, they found a way to freshen up and they found a way to play their best football, which is all based around energy. They do need to improve in a few areas, but I think a few inclusions will definitely help them.'
McCreery is set to return from a hamstring injury in the coming weeks, while Jeremy Howe will miss the pivotal clash against the Crows this weekend due to concussion. Howe was left unconscious after a sickening head clash with Hawks star Jai Newcombe in the opening minutes of the defeat.
McRae apologised to the fans after the defeat with the team needing to get back to winning ways to avoid dropping further down the ladder. 'I apologise to our Magpie Army...that's a disappointing performance, you can't sugar-coat that,' McRae said.
'We owe Steele Sidebottom more than that too; he's a legend of the footy club. We're hurting,' McRae began (It was) just a lack of system, and then a lack of fight — sometimes at the same time, which leaves us really vulnerable. Anyone that's watched us over the last few years would say: 'They're basically glued together by system...but not tonight."