Why the wildcard final was lost for the Pies well before Tim Membrey’s kick after the siren

August 29, 2026 — 12:11am

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Nick Daicos has had one of the greatest individual seasons in the game’s history.

He’s already won the AFLPA’s MVP award. Collingwood’s best and fairest is a formality, no matter what their voting system is. It’s not a matter of if he wins his first Brownlow Medal in three weeks, but by how far. On Friday night, he was comfortably the Magpies’ best player.

“I’m not sure he could have done much more this year,” Collingwood coach Craig McRae said after his club’s agonising three-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

But as well as Daicos has played this season, he could make his team no better than bang average. They will finish ninth, at best. Of their past 33 games, they have won less than half with 15.

Even the hardier Pies fans will not want to contemplate where they would be without Daicos. His heroics have papered over the cracks all season, but warts are exposed in finals. This game was lost for the Magpies long before Tim Membrey’s kick after the siren slewed to the right.

The Pies were comprehensively beaten at stoppage – by 10 out of the middle and 19 overall – conceding five goals from the centre. This included........

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