Fresh details have been revealed over Collingwood’s controversial Best and Fairest count last off-season, which saw red-hot favourite Nick Daicos finish runner-up for the prestigious E.W. Copeland Trophy.
After surprisingly falling short of a maiden Brownlow Medal less than a fortnight earlier to Gold Coast star Matt Rowell, the Magpies father-son prodigy was considered a shoo-in to win his club’s award for its most valuable player in 2025.
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However, as history tells us, ruck Darcy Cameron pipped Daicos for the yearly crown by 13 votes after a stellar season as the club’s number one tall — despite an early joke from head coach Craig McRae that a “few quieter, 16-disposal games” may have helped him secure Brownlow honours, and perhaps, in turn, the Best and Fairest.
It was reported in the days following the vote count that Peter Daicos, father of Nick and club legend, abruptly left the event during the vote count. On Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle on Tuesday night, reporter Jon Ralph revealed the full story behind why.
“There are aftershocks that remain six months on from that Copeland Trophy night,” Ralph began.
“Craig McRae started the night with his discussion about those ‘16 possessions games’ of Matt Rowell that won him the Brownlow Medal.
“The message was really clear: ‘We got our boys back, you won’t be missing out here tonight Nick’. But, at some point during the count, McRae approached a senior member of the Daicos family, and made clear that Nick is not going to win; he’s not going to defend his title.
“That member was a bit shell-shocked. ‘How do I take this news? The eyes of the club’s going to be looking at me.’ Darcy Cameron eventually wins that award. Their decision was then: ‘It’s best that we leave’.
“They didn’t storm out. They did make their way out of the facility there. They spoke to seven or eight people (before leaving), including Nick Daicos. They said: ‘Be humble and be gracious, even if you don’t win. Of course, you need to absolutely uphold what we have instilled in you as a son’.
Collingwood’s voting system for the Copeland Trophy has since been altered as a result of the drama; a possibility McRae flagged just days after the event.
Daicos was the defending champion of the award after his maiden win in 2024, and earned a third consecutive All-Australian blazer last year to compliment his third straight finish on the Brownlow Medal’s podium.
“For Nick to know through that event halfway through that he wasn’t going to win was largely unprecedented, but of course, he took it in his stride as he did,” Ralph continued.
“The glass-half-full interpretation is that McRae was backing his boy in. ‘You won me a flag a couple of years ago, you’ll win me many more flags. I need to protect my best player and my most highly-paid player.’
“Having made that joke, it did absolutely diminish the night for Darcy Cameron and people who felt he was an ‘undeserving’ winner.
“As a result, the Copeland Trophy has changed in regards to the voting criteria. It was zero to four votes with five members of the coaching panel. Now, the extreme games will be rewarded — you’d imagine there’s another one or two votes those coaches can put onto that.
“As a result of that night, Nick is certainly not in a hurry to extend a contract; which we must say has many more years to run. But, more to the point, Peter Daicos is the one who’s miffed, and has not been back in any capacity since that October night.”
Senior Herald Sun journalist Glenn McFarlane added: “He’s a Magpie Hall of Famer, but he didn’t attend the Collingwood Hall of Fame in December … the dialogue is ongoing. The club’s really keen to get Peter back; this has happened periodically over Peter’s lifetime at the Collingwood footy club.
“The door’s always open, and they’re hoping that’ll change soon. But officially, he hasn’t been back at the club.”
“What it did do, is diminish — to a degree — what Darcy Cameron was able to do. It was a remarkable season Darcy Cameron had.”
Nick is currently contracted to the club until the end of 2029, while star brother Josh inked a deal in August of 2023 that will keep him locked in at the club until the end of 2030.
2025 E.W. Copeland Trophy — Top 10
Darcy Cameron – 328 votes
Nick Daicos – 315 votes
Isaac Quaynor – 303 votes
Jamie Elliott – 298 votes
Harry Perryman – 292 votes
Josh Daicos – 288 votes
Steele Sidebottom – 265 votes
Scott Pendlebury – 253 votes
Ned Long – 238 votes
Jack Crisp – 228 votes
Originally published as ‘Aftershocks remain’: Daicos rift laid bare after award snub
