He told The Age: “It’s hard to picture, obviously, it’s so far away – but I’m very happy at Collingwood now.”
Leading AFL reporter Callum Twomey believes the new Tasmania team will come very hard at Collingwood talisman Nick Daicos, and could be willing to pay the star midfielder as much as $20 million. Daicos is under contract with Collingwood until the end of 2029, but admitted earlier this year he’d “never rule anything out”.
Tasmania have two big weapons in their bid to recruit Daicos, with Collingwood great Nathan Buckley expected to be the club’s inaugural coach. The Devils’ recruitment boss is also Derek Hine – former list manager at Collingwood.
Tassie are a little while away, Hine has gone there which is great for him and obviously, his connection at Collingwood,” Daicos said in June. “I’m sure he’s scouting some players that he wants, but I’m fully fixated on staying at Collingwood for now and this year, more importantly.”
Speaking on Channel 9 program ‘Footy Classified’ on Wednesday night, Twomey revealed Tasmania could have a $3 million ‘signing bonus’ to use as a massive carrot to dangle at Daicos. Twomey predicted the Devils could offer an eight-year deal that would be in the vicinity of $20 million all up.
“I’ve got no doubt that Tasmania will throw a very significant offer at Nick Daicos,” Twomey said. “He’s signed until the end of 2029 so it’d have to be done as a trade. They’ll be throwing huge money at him.
“They could do eight years for $2 million-plus per season, plus a $3 million sign-on bonus. He could be earning $5m-plus in his first year. That’s a pretty tantalising offer. We’re going to see some pretty huge numbers bandied around.”
Would Nick Daicos ever leave Collingwood?
When asked if $20 million would turn James Hird’s head if he was in a similar position as a player, the Essendon great admitted it would. But Hird said he can’t imagine Daicos leaving Collingwood due to the family history there. Nick’s brother Josh plays for the Pies, as did father Peter.
But Twomey pointed out that Gary Ablett left Geelong to help the Gold Coast Suns get off the ground. Ablett has become a close mentor of Ablett, who many thought would never leave the Cats after his father became a legend there.
Daicos revealed earlier this year he’s had conversations with Ablett about his move to the Suns and what motivated him to leave Geelong after such a storied career there. “I’ve picked his brain about several things, not so much Tasmania – but he has talked to me about his move to Gold Coast and evolving as a player,” Daicos said. “He’s such a great person and someone that I have leaned on in the past for his football knowledge, he’s experienced so much.”
Collingwood keen to get Daniel Giansiracusa from Essendon
Meanwhile, Twomey also revealed that Collingwood are targetting Daniel Giansiracusa to join Craig McRae’s coaching staff. Giansiracusa has been an assistant at Essendon for the last five years, and would fill the void left by Scott Selwood, who has stepped down from his role at the Pies to have a year away from footy.
