Daicos' ball-winning ability has never been better - but he's fallen to a stunning low with his ball use

Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne says Collingwood star Nick Daicos’ ball-winning ability has reached new heights in recent weeks – but it’s come at the cost of his generally exceptional ball use.

Daicos has played every game this year for the reigning premiers and in the past month has featured as an exclusive midfielder, attending at least 83 per cent of centre bounces in each game.

With teammates Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell missing through that period, Daicos has become his side’s man on the inside. His last three weeks have returned his highest contested possession numbers of season 2024.

But Hoyne told SEN’s Sportsday that he’s been stunned by how far Daicos’ ball use has fallen in that time.

“Whether it’s through design, through injury to a few of their midfielders, Nick Daicos is becoming a ball-winning midfielder first and foremost over what he’s doing with ball in hand,” Hoyne began.

“And over the last four weeks, across the competition, he’s the 16th highest rated player in the game, so he’s going extremely well.

“There is no one in the competition that is having more impact through their ball-winning ability than what Nick is doing at the moment.

“But the ball use aspect of Nick at the moment is 231st in the competition… and it’s floored me.

“We haven’t really seen this but we haven’t seen him do what he’s doing at clearance and contest at the moment as well, to be the no.1 ball-winning midfielder in the competition.”

The Magpies haven’t lost in the last four weeks, recording two narrow wins over Carlton and Adelaide, a domination of West Coast at Marvel Stadium, and last Friday’s thrilling draw against Fremantle.

It left Hoyne pondering the question of what is more important to Collingwood.

“In his (Daicos’) back-to-back games in the last two weeks, in terms of what he’s done through his ball use, they’ve been two of his three worst games across his career,” he continued.

“But what he’s done at contest and clearance has been amazing. So what do you value with Nick?

“At the moment, we’re looking at Nick in a different way. We’re looking at ball-winning Nick and not ball use Nick, and that’s okay. There are only four midfielders (Izak Rankine, Chad Warner, Jordan Dawson and Zak Butters) at the moment who have both aspects ticked off.”

De Goey is still listed as 3-4 weeks away with an abdomen injury, while Mitchell could be out for up to another month with his foot concern.

Collingwood hosts the Western Bulldogs on the centre stage of Friday night footy in Round 12 before taking on the Demons and Kangaroos prior to their Round 15 bye.