PORT Adelaide has been urged to tag Collingwood star Nick Daicos this weekend to quell the Magpies' attacking surge from their defensive half, with even Pies coach Craig McRae conceding he would put time into the young star if he was an opposition coach.
Saturday's match at the MCG will see two of the fastest moving teams from the opening round face off against each other, with both sides showing a willingness last weekend to use the corridor to launch attacking plays.
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After his stunning debut season last year, Daicos again led the way for the Magpies against Geelong on Friday night, picking up 35 disposals, nine score involvements and 579m gained.
Former Collingwood forward Andrew Krakouer says Port can't afford to let the 20-year-old off the chain on Saturday afternoon.
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"Someone's going to have to go to him," Krakouer said on Yokayi Footy this week.
"He's too dangerous to be able to run around willy nilly and dictate play and pick holes in the defence of the opposition and be able to kick it down the ground.
"He's an absolute star."
On Thursday, McRae all but conceded he was expecting Daicos to have to deal with extra attention this year.
"If I'm the opposition I would tag Nick. Yeah, I would. He is a weapon," McRae said.
"You've got to take something away from the opposition. I would be looking to tag him."
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Port Adelaide defensive coach Nathan Bassett said earlier this week putting a hard tag on Daicos was an option, but the Power had yet to determine the best way to lessen the young star's influence.
"He is interesting in the way he plays, he certainly runs hard and hunts that footy," Bassett said.
"He is a super talented player and as good for his age as anyone in the competition.
"I think we look at all the options, what is the best way to minimise his strengths and potentially expose his weaknesses.
"If we think the positives will outweigh the negatives and we think we have someone to do it, (we could do it)."
Sydney was one of the few sides to put a hard tag on Daicos last season, with Ryan Clarke helping to restrict the influence of the Pies star in both their round 22 match-up and their preliminary final.
Hawthorn followed suit in a practice game earlier this month, with Finn Maginness restricting Daicos to a relatively modest 17 touches, leading Hawks coach Sam Mitchell to remark: "He better get used to it, he’s just too good to leave running around".
But speaking ahead of the opening round, Magpies skipper Darcy Moore said Daicos is versatile enough to handle the extra attention should it come his way.
"It's pretty unique for a second-year player to get that amount of attention in a practice game, and I thought he handled it really well," Moore said.
"Nick has had another great pre-season, which is exciting. Fortunately, he is a versatile player, can play a few different roles for us, which is great.
"As a defence, if we can have forward lines worrying about us, then we are doing something right."
Yokayi Footy is broadcast weekly at 8.30pm AEDT on AFL.com.au, the AFL Live app, NITV and SBS On Demand