Daicos family 'remarkably' in Tasmania ahead of state's VFL debut

On the weekend of Tasmania's much-anticipated VFL debut, the state has welcomed quite the royal AFL family, in what Tom Morris reports as a remarkable coincidence.

With the Devils hosting Coburg in North Hobart, the Daicos family have made their way south, with Peter, Collingwood’s Nick and Josh as well as partners all visiting over the Magpies' bye weekend.

While Morris’ sources have claimed that the visit comes separate to Tasmania’s VFL debut, it occurs as the links between Nick Daicos and Tasmania’s inaugural side continue to bubble.

“Of all the weekends, the one family to be in Tasmania this weekend is the Daicos family,” Morris reported on SEN Crunch Time.

“Peter Daicos, Nick Daicos, Josh Daicos, their partners, the family are all down there on the very weekend that Tasmania is playing against Coburg in their VFL debut.

“11,000 people expected in North Hobart, it’s a sellout. 400 of them coming from Coburg. The timing is quite remarkable.

“On Nick Daicos, I’ll just say this. He loves Collingwood, we know that, that’s very much true. But do you know what he loves more than Collingwood? He loves winning.

“I don’t think that he is as blindly wedded to the Pies for the rest of his life as what maybe you’d imagine for someone with his surname.

“Rival clubs are aware of this; he is contracted until the end of 2029. Robbie D’Orazio, I’m sure has it all sorted behind the scenes.

“The Pies would sign him long term tomorrow if they could, but the fact that he and his family are in Tassie this weekend for a couple of cashies is just quite ridiculous timing.

“Pure coincidence… I’m told.”

Collingwood president Barry Carp spoke with AFL Nation last week, stating that any thought of a Daicos departure from the Magpies is simply out of the question.

“I think it is unfathomable,” Carp stated.

“And I think from a members' and fans' perspective, it is unfathomable.”

That said, speaking on behalf of Robbie D’Orazio – Daicos’ manager and partner of CDG Sports – Paul Connors told AFL.com.au that they would be "remiss" not to open talks with Tasmania.

“I think Nick's the best player in the competition. He's a leader, he's an outstanding person, so if you were Todd Patterson (Tassie's head of list management), you'd be remiss if you didn't want to have a conversation with Robbie at some stage," he said.

Would Connors be open to discussing with Tassie?

"I think so. You'd have to be. It would be negligent not to."

The Devils hold a $5 million contract bonus, eligible to use in any manner over the course of the club's first two seasons.