Collingwood coach Craig McRae has issued a pointed reminder that Nick Daicos is well paid and is flourishing at the Magpies, as the long-term future of the star midfielder continues to attract headlines.
Daicos, 23, is contracted until the end of 2029, but is a player of significant interest for the Tasmania Devils, who will enter the AFL in 2028.
The brilliant onballer is the Magpies’ highest-paid player, earning $1.1 million a season, and will pocket up to $1.4 million in coming years, but the Devils can offer him a 10-year, $25 million deal, including a significant portion of their $5 million sign-on bonus.
A day after Daicos told Fox Footy he was “really happy” at Collingwood, McRae reminded the football world that Daicos – and his brother Josh – were well paid.
“Look, all I will say about Nick and Josh is that they are absolutely thriving in their environment, extremely well paid, so they should be,” McRae said.
“They train as well as anyone we’ve ever had, so thriving and well looked after.”
McRae said he regularly spoke to Daicos about the “outside noise”.
“I speak to Nick regularly about this sort of stuff. I think it is what it is, isn’t it? Like others are creating the story. Last time I looked, he had a four-year contract,” McRae said.
Josh Daicos, having signed a six-year contract extension, is tied to the club until the end of 2030.
The Daicos brothers and their father, Collingwood great Peter, created headlines last weekend by taking part in speaking engagements in Tasmania, where they were pictured with Devils board director Roger Curtis, a Collingwood fan. Their visit coincided with the Devils making their debut in the VFL before a bumper home crowd.
Nick Daicos said the trip was “planned a long time ago, in December” after the Magpies’ early-season bye was confirmed.
“Planned to play a bit of golf over there, had a couple of engagements and then coincidentally the VFL were playing their first game, so didn’t line up too well,” he said.
The Magpies’ co-vice captain said his manager Robbie D’Orazio, from CDG Sports Management, took care of any potential approaches.
“I don’t have too many discussions with my manager about that sort of stuff,” Daicos said.
“He can talk to people like that as much as he wants … he can talk to them if Tassie want to drive that conversation. I’m really happy at Collingwood.”
The Magpies and Daicos have yet to start discussions about a contract extension. D’Orazio was contacted for comment.
Industry sources said the Magpies were keen to begin discussions with their star, and understood he needed to remain their highest-paid player, or extremely close to the highest-paid should they pursue a marquee free agent or off-contract star, such as Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters.
But they are also cognisant of what it takes to build a list that can contend for the premiership, which often requires a more even spread of wages.
McRae said skipper Darcy Moore (hamstring) and fellow veteran Jeremy Howe (calf) would return from injury for Friday night’s clash against Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
McRae said the Magpies had worked closely on generating greater “connection” up forward in a bid to be more potent on the scoreboard. The premiership coach did not rule out Howe, typically a defender, spending time inside his team’s attacking 50 metres.
Bobby Hill had his second training session since returning from personal leave, McRae suggesting the 2023 Norm Smith medallist was fitter than the club initially expected, and he could return to the line-up ahead of schedule. But McRae said there was still no specific date for Hill’s game-day return.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
