IT MIGHT be the best first 50 games of a career this century. Perhaps even in the AFL era. 

Nick Daicos will on Thursday reach the first milestone of his sparkling AFL career when he runs out in the black and white for the 50th time. 

It is not overstating it to say his time at Collingwood has already been transformative as a key player in changing the Magpies and helping lift them from second last on the ladder when he arrived at the end of 2021 to their 16th premiership last season.

The son of club champion Peter and younger brother of fellow star Josh's list of achievements ranks highly already as the 2022 Rising Star winner, a premiership player and All-Australian in 2023. He also came second in the Pies' best and fairest last year, third in the Brownlow Medal and third in the AFL coaches' player of the year. If not for a late-season injury, he would likely have scooped those three awards too and made more history. 

To mark his upcoming maiden milestone, we have ranked every one of Daicos' 49 AFL games in order of brilliance, impact, output and significance in this countdown to his No.1 game so far. 

The toughest game of Daicos' career saw the Hawks physically target the Pies matchwinner. Finn Maginness was sent to Daicos to blanket his influence and did it successfully, restricting him to just three disposals to half-time. Daicos was then moved to full-forward in the third quarter to try something different after he'd received a knock earlier in the game, but the action followed him, with Daicos in the middle of a scuffle after a Collingwood goal. He was awarded a free kick for being hit with a jumper punch and snapped truly, but had his game ended shortly after when he was crunched by Hawks defender James Blanck in a front-on collision after taking a mark. He finished with five disposals and watched the rest of the game icing his knee on the interchange bench. Scans later that night revealed a fracture to his knee that would put him out for at least six weeks, hurt his Brownlow Medal chances and leave the Pies without their gun ahead of September. Would he make it back in time? 

One of the very few games of Daicos' career when he couldn't get into the contest. He had four disposals in every quarter to finish with 16, but wasn't able to have the same impact as most of his games so far. The Pies snuck over the line by four points without their new star having a big say on the result. 

As the flu swept through Collingwood, Daicos was one of the many players under the weather for this game. He had 19 disposals – the first time in his career to that point that he had dropped below the 20 mark – and did his bit as the Pies cruised to a win over the Suns. The illness dogged Daicos for a few weeks through this period of his debut year. 

A game dominated by the Bulldogs from start to finish meant Daicos' influence was minimal. The Dogs jumped to a 32-point lead at quarter-time and ran away with a 48-point victory, with Daicos having 21 disposals in Collingwood's loss. The majority of those – 74 per cent – were in the defensive half of the ground, with the Dogs' commanding performance giving little chance for some of his usual dash. 

He was one of a trio of Pies to enter the game having missed training through the week due to illness, but Daicos was able to have a more than fair output in the defeat to the Tigers. He had 25 disposals and 530 metres gained with them, kickstarting plays out of the backline with the quick feet and quicker thinking. 

The Pies got rolled by the Lions at the Gabba on Easter Thursday, with Daicos collecting 27 disposals to continue his run of ball-getting early in his career. However, Champion Data has this as the second-lowest game for Daicos in AFL Ratings points (3.3 in player ratings), with Daicos not having the same say in scoring chains for the Pies as most of his other appearances. 

A strange day at the MCG for Daicos' second AFL game, with the fire alarms accidentally going off around the ground and instructing fans to evacuate in the second term. Things were quickly sorted after the 'false alarm', with Daicos having 22 disposals, continuing his cool start to his career off half-back. Champion Data's ranking system has this as the lowest rating Daicos game.  

High standards set up high expectations. This was viewed as a lower performance from Daicos despite him gathering 27 disposals and five clearances in the Pies' one-point win over Adelaide. The Crows were one of the first teams to put a genuine player next to Daicos to curtail his run, sending elite worker Ben Keays to stop Daicos. Keays had 12 disposals but was praised for his efforts in minimising his impact, with Daicos' famed kicking efficiency dropping to 56 per cent as he managed a calf issue through the game. 

Daicos was involved in some early fracas, with a free kick paid against him for elbowing veteran midfielder Travis Boak in the back. Boak converted his set shot for a goal before a ball was bounced, but Daicos managed to build back into the game, completing it with 21 disposals. 

With Collingwood trailing throughout the contest, Daicos was moved around the ground and spent some time closer to goal late, kicking 1.1 in the final term. More than half of his disposals (11 of 20) were contested in the defeat to Sydney, with plenty of his ball being found in between the flanks in threatening spots.  

As Collingwood overran Essendon with a four-goal-to-one last quarter, Daicos was a catalyst to the run, gathering eight disposals in the final term to finish with 21 for the game. Collingwood had struggled to stick with the Bombers and trailed by 14 points at three-quarter time before Daicos and co. set things into motion for another win. It was another early example of Daicos being a player who senses when the moment is hot and rising with it. 

A solid game for Daicos as the Pies got away with a seven-point win over the eventual wooden-spooners. He had 21 disposals but did kick an important goal in the last quarter as the Magpies kicked five straight goals to notch the win after trailing by 26 points at the final change. The goal was early in the last quarter and brought the Pies fans to their feet in the stands, with Daicos receiving a handball from Josh near the boundary in space. His silky finish came after he steadied and struck the middle with a difficult kick. 

Finished strong with 10 disposals in the last quarter to close it with a game-high 28 touches, but the Blues had the better of most of the Collingwood outfit for the contest and ran out 17-point winners. Daicos kicked two behinds and had nine score involvements throughout the game to have an imprint on the performance without being able to will the Pies over the line. 

After having some success with Ryan Clarke tagging Daicos in the preliminary final in 2022, the Swans went with the same tactic in this match at the MCG. But it was a message spread far and wide to Clarke's teammates as well, as the Swans tried to rough up the 20-year-old. It was clear from the onset that he had a target on his back and when Clarke kicked the Swans' first goal of the game, several Sydney players ran at Daicos to get stuck into him with a fiery melee ensuing. But soon after Daicos cleverly set up a Pies goal and the Collingwood players hit back. Clarke shut out some of Daicos' usual run and gun from half-back before he swapped to the midfield after half-time, gathering 25 touches, including 10 in the final term. 

A typically busy afternoon for Daicos as one of Collingwood's best in its tight loss to the Demons. He picked up 27 disposals and six tackles and again showed his capacity to impact right through to the end, kicking the final goal of the game that helped bring the Magpies within four points of Melbourne. 

Another strong outing for Daicos as Collingwood was a class above the Blues. Daicos had 27 disposals and an equal season-high eight rebound 50s while getting some close checking from Blues veteran Ed Curnow, where his ball use was pristine and he linked up regularly with Josh. Watch the pair close enough and it isn't unusual to see them look for each other and innately know where the other will be throughout a contest. Nick had a nervous wait after the game after a gut punch to Blake Acres that was looked at by the Match Review Officer, who gave him a fine for striking, keeping alive his Brownlow hopes. 

A significant game in the coaching career of Craig McRae, who steered his team to a big upset win at Optus Stadium against a red-hot Dockers. The Pies had lost five of their previous seven games and had the jitters before they travelled to Perth to claim the win in full-on rain through the game. Daicos had 23 disposals and played his role as the Magpies' defence held the Dockers to just six goals. The win started Collingwood's magic run to the finals. 

The Power sent mature midfielder Willem Drew to Daicos from the start of the contest and Drew was able to nullify some of his impact on the game. The tight-checking attention meant Daicos had to find some other ways to get into the contest and also affected his kicking efficiency, but he still had nine clearances in his 25 disposals. He also kicked a goal in the last quarter as Collingwood came from behind to beat the Power by two points. 

Came very hard in the last quarter as the Magpies ran over the top of the Bombers. Collingwood led Essendon by a point at three-quarter time before kicking six goals to four in the last quarter to seal the win, with Daicos having nine of his 23 disposals in the final term and some classy ones at that. It was Daicos' first Anzac Day game for the Pies, with him and his brother going through on their pledge to stand next to each other through the national anthem and Last Post pre-game service. 

Pre-finals, Daicos shared a text message he had sent McRae a year earlier during the 2021 finals series – before he had been officially drafted. "This sucks to watch on, let's hope next year we don't have to" he wrote to his new coach. Twelve months later to the day, he was in a semi-final whitewash of Fremantle, playing another impressive final while having some defensive attention from Docker Sam Switkowski. His foot skills again stood out in the heat of a big game. 

An evolution in Daicos' game came in this contest. After showing he could move the chess pieces of a game, dictate where the ball goes next and given the reins to set up the Magpies, Greater Western Sydney was the first team to send someone to him in a run-with role. It came from fellow youngster Tanner Bruhn, who didn't as much tag Daicos as track him from contest to contest and was helped by teammates with plenty of bumps and knocks between those stoppages. Daicos combated it well with 25 disposals. 

After starting well in the first quarter with seven disposals, Daicos felt more attention from the Blues after that. Carlton forward Matt Owies was sent to Daicos to close down his space in a negating, defensive forward role. After being quieter in the second and third terms, Daicos sprung to life as the Pies charged home in an incredible finish to the home and away season to clinch a one-point win after trailing by four goals at three-quarter time. Daicos had some smart and calm disposals in a frenetic last quarter as Collingwood secured a top-four berth and Carlton missed the finals. Daicos had 25 disposals. 

Collingwood notched its 11th win in a row as it stormed past the Demons and Daicos was a big part of the win, holding down the fort in defence with 31 disposals and seven rebound 50s – the most of any player in the game. Some of those were kick-ins, a responsibility which Collingwood was very quickly happy to give to Daicos as its best ball user. Despite the pressure of nailing the first kick to start the play, Daicos took it on seamlessly. He picked up one Brownlow vote for this game. 

At 19, Daicos played his first final and quickly attracted praise for his freakish composure in such a big game for a player of his experience and age. Was best on ground at quarter-time, having collected nine disposals and three rebound 50s, before the Cats put more time into curtailing his influence, with forward Brad Close sent to him and able to kick a goal against him in the second term. Having overcome some back soreness to be passed fit for the qualifying final, Daicos finished with 25 disposals. 

This was dubbed as something of a head-to-head in the Rising Star favourites for the year – the Collingwood prodigy facing up against Jai Newcombe, the mid-season VFL recruit who stormed his way into Hawthorn's midfield unit. Both were excellent in this contest – Newcombe had 24 disposals and Daicos lifted his game to a new level in his 12th AFL appearance, having a career-best (to that point) 36 disposals and 11 intercept possessions, once again proving his quick ascension to be one of Collingwood's prime movers. 

This one may divide opinion. Daicos was a big storyline heading into the 2022 preliminary final, with clubs quickly coming around to the idea they needed to put work in defensively on the first-year half-back to shut down his influence. Sydney sent Clarke to him in the preliminary final and he did a good job of halting Daicos' impact, but where this game stands out is for Daicos' capacity to still do good things on a hard day. McRae threw Daicos inside 50 for the last quarter of the tense preliminary final and it worked to give them a buzz, with his creativity setting up opportunities. It wasn't enough for the Pies, though, who fell short of a Grand Final by one point. Daicos closed his first season with 23 touches and an important second-half goal. 

By the middle of last year, it was just becoming the norm that Daicos would hit the 30-disposal mark. This was another one of those days, with the Magpie closing the game with 32 disposals, seven clearances and six tackles. He also kicked a goal and kept running and running past the lowly Kangaroos, who couldn't keep up with Collingwood's firepower across the ground. 

The return. Just 48 days earlier, Daicos had gone down with a fracture in his knee in early August, with the club saying he would miss at least six weeks and maybe more. But Daicos was determined to be back for the Pies' finals charge and after sitting out their qualifying final win over Melbourne, he was back to face the Giants. In the pulsating prelim, Daicos looked like he hadn't missed a beat, picking up 28 disposals and six clearances. In a tough and close contest, every Daicos touch was like gold and hit its target as the Pies won by one point. Post-season, his father Peter said if it was still the home and away campaign Daicos wouldn't have been back playing for many more weeks from his injury. Daicos faced a nervous wait after the game following a tackle on Giants forward Brent Daniels that drove his head into the ground, but he was cleared by the Match Review Officer. 

In his first Big Freeze clash with Melbourne, Daicos was instrumental in the Pies' 26-point victory. He collected 33 disposals (10 contested) and five rebound 50s and also garnered some votes in the awarding of the best-on-field trophy (which went to Demons midfielder Clayton Oliver). With more than 76,000 fans in attendance, it was another game that highlighted Daicos' easiness with performing on the big stage.   

With all attention very quickly focused on Daicos as the early-season sensation, the youngster absorbed it to produce another excellent showing. He had his third-straight 30+ disposal game to start 2023 as he continued to play what quickly became a pronounced 'Daicos role': starting across half-back, floating around the ground, pushing high when needed and delving deep to kickstart his team's defensive plays. The showman within showing his flair. 

By the midway point of Daicos' second season, every week was being dominated by the same discussion: will Collingwood's upcoming opponent tag him? Some did and some didn't, with the Giants preferring to let him roam but use their midfielders to impact against him as well. This day Daicos had 41 disposals and 540 metres gained, using his deft footwork to dance around packs. He didn't get any Brownlow Medal votes for the game, which went to Mason Cox (three), Taylor Adams (two) and Tom Mitchell (one).

Any fears of second-year blues hitting the young Magpie were wiped out in one fell swoop with an outstanding start to his 2023. In a sign of things to come, it was clear Daicos had lifted his game up a notch or three from his debut year, as he racked up 35 disposals, nine score involvements, five intercepts and five inside 50s. Older brother Josh finished with 27 disposals, as post-match the pair paid an emotional tribute to their grandfather, who passed away days before the game.

This gets an early berth due to the goal, Daicos' first at AFL level. In his third game, the teenager was adamant on kicking a goal at the MCG in the Saturday night slot. He did so in the first quarter, having snuck forward and been on the end of a clever tap out from a stoppage. Daicos didn't fumble – d'uh – took two steps to steady and then kicked it home from the 50-metre line. He ran to the Collingwood crowd, pumped his fist and grabbed his jumper in a bit of goalkicking magic his father Peter would have been happy with. Daicos also claimed the round's Rising Star nomination for his game, which was the first bit of midfield time he'd had at AFL level. 

A ripping contest saw Daicos lift when his team needed him as the Crows nearly pulled off a big upset away from home. After starting on the bench and Adelaide having the early control, Daicos came onto the ground and collected 10 disposals and two clearances to help give Collingwood a quarter-time lead. But the Crows kept coming right to the end – unfortunately for them, so did Daicos. He finished with 37 disposals, with his last-quarter goal coolly converted from a down-field free kick when the pressure was on. He claimed nine coaches votes for the performance. 

The Daicos debut. The teenager entered the AFL with an unseen amount of hype, attention and media coverage, perhaps only bettered by Harley Reid last year. That led to high expectations (and high pressure) on Daicos in his first AFL game in Collingwood colours, which started with some nerves after a wayward kick in defence that saw a bunch of Saints opponents let him know about it. But under the Marvel Stadium roof, Daicos found the level quickly and picked up 27 disposals in his first game, setting a benchmark he's continued to top since. Post-game his sparkling debut was sealed with a kiss on the cheek from older brother Josh. 

Started with a bang, kicking the Pies' first goal of the game with a long bomb from outside 50 metres after he took a few quick steps and powered up. He had 11 disposals in the opening quarter and two centre clearances and had collected 21 by half-time. Daicos finished with 37 disposals, an equal game-high 15 contested possessions as well as seven clearances in an all-round quality showing that highlights his value as the prominent member of Collingwood's midfield. As the Pies started their premiership defence slowly, Daicos only further proved his place among the game's very elite. 

The Suns were fully aware of Daicos' talents as a junior – it's why they walked him through their facility before he had decided on nominating as a father-son pick and also why, when a bid hadn't come on him at pick No.4 later that year, they did the bidding. As something of a 'thank you', Daicos has been difficult to stop for the Suns so far in his career. This night, he was absolutely everywhere: 36 disposals, eight clearances, 10 tackles and a lovely running goal. His quick hands as a full-time midfielder started so many of Collingwood's plays in its dominant win. 

Everyone gathered around to see Daicos dominate in the final game of the AFL's first roadshow in Adelaide. A career-best 42 disposals, eight inside 50s and eight rebound 50s, showing his immense hard running both ways. He also had a whopping 856 metres gained in a performance that saw him gain the full 10 coaches votes and three Brownlow Medal votes as well as being the difference between the teams in the tight Pies win. 

B.O.G at the 'G. Daicos sliced and diced the Dockers, zipping and zagging through their lines of defence and out of trouble through the midfield. He had 21 disposals and seven score involvements to half-time and finished the game with 36 disposals, seven inside 50s and seven clearances. Two highlights stood out – one was a clever kick on the outside of his boot that hit Taylor Adams on the lead. The other was Daicos' own goal, when he gathered the ground ball cleanly in wet conditions, shrugged off one tackle and then squeezed a right-foot snap through two lunging Dockers that curled through from 40 metres out.

We'll call this Daicos' first feast. The first of 10 three-vote Brownlow Medal games so far, with many more to come. The difference of this game as compared to most of his other best performances was that it came in defeat, with the Pies having a shock loss to the COVID-weakened Eagles line-up. He picked up 32 disposals – breaking into the 30-disposal territory for the first time in his career in just his fourth game – and was dashing from defence from the start to the end in a bid to will the Magpies over the line. 

Daicos begun his third AFL season viewed by some as the best player in the competition and had an excellent outing against the Giants in Opening Round. In defeat, the 21-year-old was a lone hand for the Pies in the midfield, gathering a game-high 34 disposals and game-high (and equal career-high) 16 contested disposals as well as 663 metres gained (second most in the game). Daicos was the only real danger to turning the game back Collingwood's way and some of his kicking was superb: he drilled a brilliant second-term goal off a step while angling the ball in his hand, while two weighted passes earlier in the game also set up scores. Finished the game with some cramping in the humidity. Champion Data rates this as his sixth best AFL performance, with Daicos having 22.4 Player Ratings points. For context, Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli was the top-ranked player in 2023 averaging 18.9 ratings points. 

This was standing up when the tide was against the Magpies. Daicos gathered a game-high 38 disposals, had five clearances and kicked 2.2 in Collingwood's 33-point defeat at the Gabba early in the season. Champion Data rated him the best player on the ground and he kicked at 78 per cent efficiency and had 16 disposals in the third quarter. Pundits picked out a shanked shot on goal and a fumbled ground ball but Daicos was still the Pies' shining light and they turned to him to put him around the play when they needed a spark. The umpires didn't see him among the best that night, though, leaving him voteless in the Brownlow – the only game of the first six rounds when he didn't poll two or three votes. It might well have been the costly one that didn't go his way as he fell three votes short of winner Lachie Neale. 

This game should be remembered for 'the kick'. With the Pies trailing by 12 points late in the last quarter, Daicos collected the ball on the wing. On the other side of the centre square, Daicos spotted older brother Josh running towards goal. Nick's 50-metre pass was precise to the centimetre, hitting Josh on the chest without him breaking stride. Josh then completed the play by banging home a goal from 55 metres on the run. See the replay of the Daicos pass below and celebrate the art. It was one of 37 disposals Daicos had, mainly from half-back, as he all but assured himself of being the Rising Star winner for the season and Collingwood continued being the comeback kings to nab a five-point win. 

Among the skill level, incredible nous, high consistency and bar-raising of his first two AFL seasons, something that can go under the radar is Daicos' absolutely elite running capacity (perhaps as a result of very little testing during two COVID-hit years during his draft pathway). But it shone this day, with Daicos just running the hapless Eagles ragged. He toyed with their midfield, his first goal coming at the end of a three-disposal effort that started in the centre square. He bookended it with a brilliant two-bounce goal after a one-two handball with Jordan De Goey that saw him slot the match-sealer from outside 50. Thirty disposals, three goals, two Brownlow votes. All class. 

Daicos has had more prolific outings, but this one ranks very highly for impact. He was the game-changer for his team. With the Bulldogs leading by five points at half-time, Daicos took it upon himself to flick momentum. In a blistering third quarter, he kicked two goals from 11 disposals, finishing with 29 disposals and equal game-high 15 contested possessions, six tackles and a career-high 11 clearances. He got full votes in the coaches' award and Brownlow Medal and won the Bob Rose-Charlie Sutton Medal for the game, which came against Dogs' premiership midfielders Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore and Jack Macrae. Champion Data ranked this as the second-best game Daicos has played according to its AFL Player Ratings system, with Daicos tallying 28.2 player ratings points. 

In the year of Daicos mania, it could only have been Nick to bob up and kick the opening goal of the Grand Final. The Pies' No.35 won a free kick and coolly slotted the set shot from 40 metres out, having prepped for the game by watching Cyril Rioli highlights on YouTube on his iPhone pre-game on the massage table. He continued to have a big say on the game. His magic game sense was on show just before half-time when he stopped, propped, evaded one Lions opponent, baulked another and then, when about to kick, saw a teammate in the corner of his eye and kicked in-board. It set up a Jack Crisp goal. But Daicos' biggest moment – the 'Handball of God' – was still to come. After missing a tackle on Jarrod Berry, who set up a late goal to put Brisbane ahead in the dying minutes of the epic Grand Final, Daicos ran back to the centre square thinking 'How can I influence the next play?' Moments later at centre half-forward, Daicos gathered the ball and flicked a left-handed handball over his shoulder to De Goey, who slotted the biggest goal of the game in what is already an iconic Collingwood moment. Daicos finished with a game-high 29 disposals and came third in the Norm Smith Medal voting as he became a premiership player in his 47th AFL game and a central figure in the club's flag. His Grand Final performance warrants more credit. 

As a junior, Daicos was a regular goalkicker from the midfield and sometimes even resting at full-forward. In his first AFL season he kicked seven goals, but in 2023 he took that up a notch with more midfield time, finishing with 19 goals. The first of those came against Port Adelaide in round two, when he kicked two, including one brilliant set shot and another off a step while under pressure after Scott Pendlebury's over-the-shoulder handpass. As soon as that kick left his boot, Daicos saluted. Few families know the feel of the Sherrin on the foot as instinctively as the Daicos'. Port tried to tag Daicos using Lachie Jones but he was dominant with game highs in disposals (32), metres gained (661), score involvements (11) and inside 50s (six), and the Power went away from the plan in the second term.

With the eyes of the football world on the Anzac Day clash, Daicos produced a masterclass. He had been prolific up until three-quarter time against the Bombers, but Essendon took a 28-point lead into the last quarter and looked likely to end the Pies' run of comebacks. Enter Daicos. In front of nearly 100,000 fans, McRae moved the youngster into the midfield for the last term. It was an inspired choice of a coach turning to his matchwinner when he needed him. Daicos supercharged the Magpies, kicking two pivotal late goals as the Pies overran the Bombers. The last goal – an on-the-run checkside kick – sent the Collingwood faithful into raptures as Daicos ran to the crowd with a finger to his lips. He finished with 40 disposals and won the Anzac Medal as best afield. Superstar status activated.   

An extraordinary game late in his debut season stands as the most complete Daicos effort – so far. At just 19 years and 194 days, he became the youngest player in VFL/AFL history to have 40 or more disposals and kick three or more goals in a game, beating a record that had been set in 1991. This was Daicos as his dazzling best – after being unstoppable at half-back, Daicos was switched forward in the second half to give his side some class ahead of the ball in a dogged contest. He came to the fore, booting two last-quarter goals as Collingwood came from 16 points down to claim the crucial win. In teammate Pendlebury's 350th game, Daicos was determined to not let the champion lose in the milestone encounter, while simultaneously announcing himself as a champion of the future. Daicos' back and forth handballs with Pendlebury that saw him open up space and then kick a long goal from outside 50 in the driving rain was the moment that gave the Pies the lead in the last term.