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Nine months after arriving at Collingwood as a father-son gun and a ready-made footballer, Nick Daicos has emphatically been crowned the AFL’s Rising Star for 2022.
Daicos on Wednesday night won the top honour for the AFL’s best young player, comfortably finishing ahead of Geelong defender Sam De Koning and Hawthorn midfielder Jai Newcombe.
The 19-year-old polled the maximum five votes from all 12 Rising Star judges to finish with 60 votes — the most ever in a Rising Star count, eclipsing Sam Walsh’s 54 in 2019 — to finish 12 ahead of De Koning.
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The son of Collingwood great Peter and brother of Magpies wingman Josh, Daicos put aside the weight of expectation when he wore his dad’s famous jumper 35 in 2022 to become the fourth player in the history of the Rising Star award to poll maximum votes from the entire panel after Jared Rivers (2004), Daniel Rich (2009) and Dan Hannebery (2010).
Daicos during the second half of the year emerged as the red-hot favourite for the Rising Star crown after showing incredible consistency in a strong Collingwood side and showing maturity beyond his years across half-back.
He averaged 26 disposals per game this season, with his best game an eye-catching three-goal, 40-disposal display against Adelaide in Round 18.
Daicos played all 22 games and averaged a club-high 26 disposals and was a surprise omission from the 44-man All-Australian squad.
Many recruiters believed Daicos was the best player in last year’s draft class, but he slipped to Pick 4 as North Melbourne made Jason Horne-Francis its No. 1 priority, while the Giants launched a bid on Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs) before taking Finn Callaghan.
The full list of 2022 nominees and previous Rising Star winners can be found here.
AFL RISING STAR 2022 VOTES AND LEADERBOARD
1. Nick Daicos (Collingwood) — 60 votes
2. Sam De Koning (Geelong Cats) — 48
3. Jai Newcombe (Hawthorn) — XX
EVERY JUDGE’S VOTING
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