COLLINGWOOD coach Craig McRae has proclaimed he will tell his grandkids he coached Nick Daicos after the superstar's extraordinary second quarter helped inspire Collingwood to pinch a one-point win over a wasteful Brisbane.

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The Magpies' premiership defence remains alive after they pulled off a trademark heist with the final three goals of the match to inflict more pain on the Lions, who they pipped by four points in last year's epic Grand Final.

Collingwood never looked like winning as the Lions took control from the start led all game, leading by as much as 31 points late in the first quarter.

But Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos produced one of the all-time great quarters to boot two goals and gather 13 possessions in the second term to lift the Magpies back in the contest.

"Wow, I think I'll tell my grandkids I coached Nick Daicos," McRae said.

"That's going to be one of the great stories when I'm older. What a player.

"It's just nice to see someone impose himself on the game. 

"We're all on the bench, not laughing, but just going, 'Wow!'. We're all in awe.

"We've got front-row seats to the Nick Show, and he's a remarkable player."

The Magpies can still finish in the top eight should they beat Melbourne on Friday night, and other results fall their way on Sunday and next weekend.

Meanwhile, Brisbane's hopes of securing a top-four finish took a huge hit after the loss.

Coach Chris Fagan insists he will remain optimistic in the wake of the Lions blowing a golden opportunity to secure a top-four finish.

"Our last 11 games, we've won nine of them and lost two. That's pretty good form," Fagan said.

"We lost a game by a point, didn't lose by a lot (against the Giants) last week, we had a lot more shots, so our form is pretty strong.

"We'll take confidence from that and understand the season being like it is, you can turn things around pretty quickly. 

"I'll remain optimistic. Why shouldn't I?"

Forward Eric Hipwood returned after two weeks out with a groin injury, but had minimal impact on the game, with Fagan bristling at a question surrounding Hipwood's fitness.

"He was fit to play so we played him," he said.

"We don't play injured players in games, that'd be a silly decision to make, so no, he was fit to play."

Midfielder Jarrod Berry was subbed out with hamstring tightness in the second quarter and will undergo scans.

"The players are very disappointed. We're very disappointed," Fagan said.

"It was a game where, when we had momentum, we should have taken our shots more than we did, particularly in that third quarter.

"Margins of three goals aren't big margins in footy anymore. They can be cut back pretty quickly."