Collingwood's Nick Daicos was rewarded with the AFL's Rising Star Award after a stellar season in just his first year of AFL football.
The son of Pies legend Peter Daicos, Nick came bursting onto the scene after being scooped up by the black-and-white with pick four in the 2021 National Draft.
Already nominated as a father-son selection, Nick's destiny was always to follow in his footsteps of his father and older brother, Josh.
Polling 60 votes on Wednesday night, the 19-year-old was crowned the league's best young player, ahead of Geelong's Sam De Koning and Hawthorn's Jai Newcombe.
Despite the arguable snubbing of an All-Australian selection, Daicos was one of the premier rebound defenders this year, averaging 26 touches, five intercept possessions, five score involvements, four marks and four rebound 50s.
Providing a lot of run and spark under new coach Craig McRae, the younger brother of Josh, has been a diamond in the rough for the rejuvenated Magpies in 2022.
Collingwood's remarkable 11-game winning streak which saw them rise from 17th position in 2021 to fourth is symbolic of the influx of new players that have come through the club.
In just his first year in the competition, Daicos was consistently hitting his stride across the half back, gathering 30 plus disposals six times.
Throughout the amazing run of games won by under two goals, the young star essentially led the Pies to victory in Scott Pendlebury's 350th game against Adelaide.
Daicos amassed a game-high 40 possessions and kicked three crucial goals, two of those coming in the final term.
He fell under 20 touches on only two occasions this year.
Daicos was quickly becoming a threat for opposition sides and would need to be considered for a tagging job, which Sydney realised was a necessity.
John Longmire's decision to send pressure directly to the 19-year-old is a testament to how he is playing, regardless of his age.
Nick, who is also expected to poll well in the Copeland Trophy (Collingwood's best-and-fairest), has gone down as one of the best first year players in recent times, potentially going past Sam Walsh (2019) and Jesse Hogan (2015).
AFL RISING STAR 2022 VOTES AND LEADERBOARD
1. Nick Daicos (Collingwood) — 60 votes
2. Sam De Koning (Geelong Cats) — 48
3. Jai Newcombe (Hawthorn) — 35
4. Jack Ginnivan (Collingwood) — 21
5. Nic Martin (Essendon) — 12
6. Jake Bowey (Melbourne) — 2
=7. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs) — 1
