Daicos captained the Oakleigh Chargers in the 2021 NAB League. He impressed across five matches, averaging 35.8 disposals and 2 goals per game.[3] Noted for his consistency and clean skills, Daicos was tipped for a high pick in the 2021 AFL draft.[4] Prior he played community football for Greythorn Falcons and Kew Rovers in the Yarra Junior Football League.[5] In 2019, he was part of a school football premiership for Carey Grammar alongside future AFL stars Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.[6]
AFL career
2022
In 2021, Daicos was drafted to the Collingwood Football Club as a father–son pick, following in the footsteps of his father, Peter Daicos, who played for the club from 1979 to 1993. He chose to wear 35 as his guernsey number, the same number worn by his father.[7] Daicos was the subject of widespread media attention prior to his drafting, due to his potential to provide a much-needed contribution to a Collingwood side that finished second-last in the ladder in the 2021 Season.[8]
Daicos made his AFL debut in Round 1 of the 2022 AFL season. In the win against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, he produced an impressive 27 disposals, 10 contested possessions, and 5 marks.[9]
Over the subsequent rounds, Daicos continued to impress as a rookie. In Round 3 against Geelong, Daicos earned a Rising Star nomination after collecting 26 disposals and kicking his first goal at the AFL level. A Round 18 win against Adelaide saw Daicos earn a season-high 40 disposals, while also kicking 3 goals.[10]
In the 2022 AFL Finals, Daicos played in his first finals series, where he continued his impressive performances with an average of 24 disposals across three games until the Magpies' season was ended by the Sydney Swans in a 94–95 defeat at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the Preliminary Final.
Throughout the 2022 season, Daicos’s performance was considered one of the most impactful and talented rookie seasons of all time, averaging 25.7 disposals per game while primarily playing in the half-back position.[11] For his outstanding performance, he was awarded the Rising Star award given to the AFL’s best young player. Daicos received an all-time record 60 votes for the award, surpassing Sam Walsh’s previous record of 54 in 2019, and finishing above Geelong’s runner-up Sam De Koning (48 votes) and fellow Magpie Jack Ginnivan (21 votes) for the 2022 season.[12]
2023
Daicos began his second professional season with 35 disposals and 7 marks in a Round 1 win against Geelong.[13]
In Round 6, during the annual Anzac Day Clash between the Collingwood and Essendon football clubs, Daicos was awarded the Anzac Medal for his best-on-ground performance where he produced 40 disposals, six marks, and two goals in the Magpies' comeback victory against the Bombers.[14]
After the bye rounds, Daicos slowly shifted to playing an on-ball role, flagging this with a best-on-ground performance against the Gold Coast Suns in round 16, with 36 disposals, 10 tackles and seven clearances.
Showing promising signs as an on-baller, he signed a lucrative 4-year extension to his contract alongside his brother Josh Daicos until the end of 2029 (and Josh until the end of 2030).[15]
In Collingwood's Round 21 clash against Hawthorn, Daicos was tagged by Hawks midfielder Finn Maginness and was kept to a career-low 5 disposals.[16] During the same game, he was subjected to a bump from Hawks defender James Blanck which caused a hairline fracture in the lateral tibial plateau of the right knee joint, ruling him out for the rest of the home-and-away season, and for Collingwood's first final.[17]
At the end of season awards, Daicos was awarded with the AFLCA's Best Young Player award for 2023[18] with 129 votes. He also achieved 3rd in the 2023 AFLCA's Champion Player of the Year award, trailing winner Zak Butters by 10 votes. He was also named as the starting Rover in the 2023 All-Australian team.[19]
In the 2023 Brownlow Medal awards night, Daicos came 3rd with 28 votes (the most of any second-year player in the AFL era), narrowly behind winner Lachie Neale, who polled 31 votes, and Marcus Bontempelli, who polled 29 votes.[20]
In the 2023 AFL Grand Final, Daicos claimed his first premiership medal in an impressive performance, polling 4 votes and finishing 3rd in the Norm Smith Medal.
2024
In Round 8 of the 2024 season, Daicos kicked the winning goal of Collingwood's match against Carlton. He finished the match with 32 disposals and 2 goals, for which he was awarded the Richard Pratt Medal.[21] In Round 12, against the Western Bulldogs, Daicos accumulated 27 contested possessions and 16 clearances, breaking the club record in both statistical categories. In the same match, he became the fastest player, by matches played, to record 30 disposals in a match against all 17 other clubs.[22] Daicos placed second in the 2024 Brownlow Medal count, polling 38 votes.[23] Both he and the Brownlow winner, Patrick Cripps, broke the record for the most votes ever received under the 3-2-1 voting system.[24]
Anzac Medals were awarded from 2000 onwards, with medals for the first five matches awarded retrospectively. No Anzac Day match was played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
