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.
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