The Daicoses combined for 71 disposals. And Jordan De Goey looked back to his explosive best with three goals.
But Nick Daicos says Harry Perryman was “best on ground” for Collingwood for his shut down role on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in the Magpies’ Opening Round win over St Kilda.
Perryman held Wanganeen-Milera to 19 disposals — the Saints superstar’s lowest count since 2024 — and picked up 22 touches himself to play a key role in Sunday night’s victory.
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
And Perryman’s efforts weren’t lost on Daicos, who gave huge praise to his teammate that’s well regarded for his ability to play multiple roles.
“Mate, I don’t care about the all stats and that … he was best on ground for us tonight,” Daicos told Cameron Mooney on Fox Footy post-match.
“I don’t know how many touches he had, but continuously does a role for the team.
“He’s such a good player and such a good lad to have around the team.
“It sort of got discussed during the week if anyone wants to play on Nas, ‘Pez’ was the first to put his hand up, he just loves it.
“He wanted to go with him everywhere and he did it great tonight.”
Ross weighs-in on Daicos vs Nas duel | 08:34
READ MORE
‘He had 41, but…’: Ross Lyon explains call on Daicos tag as ‘really costly’ errors play part in loss
How AFL’s biggest lie was exposed; perfect all-in deal set up by now-closed loophole: Talking Points
Collingwood coach Craig McRae revealed it was the Pies’ leaders that drove Perryman’s negating role to “go after” Wanganeen-Milera.
“I went to ‘Pez’ on Wednesday and the leadership group really pushed it, I am not taking ownership of that,” McRae said.
“The leaders really pushed it, to set a bit of a target and go after him. I went to ‘Pez’ and I won’t share exactly what he said but he was pretty excited about doing the job.”
Meanwhile, Daicos didn’t draw his usual tag from Marcus Windhager, with Hugo Garcia at times following around the Pies star.
But it wasn’t to the intense level we’ve seen from taggers in the past as Daicos was largely allowed to run free and produce game highs in disposals (41) and score involvements (11).
Pies silence critics against Saints | 02:09
The 23-year old said they didn’t plan for Windhager to go to him but were ready to “exploit” any extra attention that came his way.
“No, we didn’t think he would. They’ve tagged in the past and we feel like we’ve been able to exploit it,” Daicos added.
“We prepared as if he wasn’t going to and it didn’t come, but I had Garcia.
“That’s something we’ll continuously feel like we can exploit, if opposition want to come after one of our players.
“I think you saw that, if they’re going to be selfish tagging and not help our with their teammates, we’ll chip the ball around and take time off the clock.”
The win saw Collingwood begin its 2026 campaign on a perfect note and silence the doubters around an ageing list, at least for now, with veterans Scott Pendlebury and Jack Crisp (both 26 disposals) among their leading disposal getters.
“We know that talk is there — and we respect it and understand where it’s coming from — but we know the work we put in,” Daicos continued.
“We know the youth we have coming through and how strong that is also.
“If you just saw Scott Pendlebury, ‘Sidey’ and Crispy’s games tonight, I don’t think you’d be saying we’re going to fall off anytime soon.”
Discussion about this post