NICK Daicos will be a Magpie, with the potential No.1 draft pick committing to nominate as a father-son selection to Collingwood.
The son of 1990 premiership star and club great Peter and brother of current Magpies midfielder Josh is tipped to attract a bid inside the first three selections at November's NAB AFL Draft and has officially nominated to join the Pies.
Daicos is a chance to be Collingwood's first No.1 pick since Josh Fraser in 1999.
The club has signed Daicos for a four-year deal, which includes two for his standard first contract, which is not unusual for players who commit to clubs as draftees, with father-sons Joe Daniher (Essendon) and Nick Blakey (Sydney) others who have agreed to longer deals when nominating.
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The nomination is an important part of the father-son process as it locks in the Magpies' ability to match a bid for Daicos.
Daicos has produced a mega campaign in his NAB AFL Draft season at all levels he has played, including averaging 36 disposals and two goals in the NAB League for the Oakleigh Chargers and a dominant 41-disposal and two-goal game for Vic Metro against Vic Country. He also had an exciting VFL practice game for Collingwood in March.
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The 18-year-old's consistency, ball-winning ability, vision, skills and goalkicking craft make him one of the most well-rounded midfield prospects to come through the draft in recent seasons. He has spent time training with Collingwood through its father-son program.
The Magpies have draft picks 33, 39, 41 and 45 on the indicative order (currently worth a total of 1768 draft points) after trading out their first pick (which has ended at No.2 overall) to Greater Western Sydney last year. It means Collingwood can either make trades to gather more points to match a bid or go into a points deficit to bring Daicos into the club, but either way he will be a Magpie.
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Rivals expect a bid for Daicos to come at either No.1, 2 or at the latest 3 in the draft, with South Adelaide teenager Jason Horne-Francis and fellow father-son Sam Darcy, son of Western Bulldogs ruckman Luke, the other contenders for the top choice.
His arrival will continue a terrific family legacy with the club. Peter Daicos played 250 games for the Magpies in an illustrious career that saw him boot 549 goals. Josh Daicos joined Collingwood under the father-son rule in 2016 when he was selected with pick No.57.
He has played 52 games for the club with his breakout season coming in 2020 when he also won the AFL's goal of the year.
