magicpants
Senior List
- Aug 15, 2009
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Peter Daicos – a career review and opinion piece for those interested in a player I believe to this day is still underrated as a true great of the game and a once in a generation player.
Why did I post this you ask as there has surely been other posts…well for a start I have only been posting for a little while on Big Footy, but as someone who saw Peter Daicos play many times in the flesh I am still to this day a firm believer that he is the MOST UNDERRATED superstar of our game.
Just Consider…..
In 1981 in his 2nd full season as a 19 yr old he kicked 76 goals from a flank (includes 12 goals from 4 finals)
This included Bags of 6,6,6,7 in 4 of his first 5 games
Another bag of 9 goals soon followed in rd 10!
Just imagine a 2nd year player at 19 yrs old doing anything close to this today!
In 1982, age 20 he kicked 58 as a flanker cum centreman including an incredible 7 goals in one quarter v the Roos at Arden st!
I know some have kicked 7 in a quarter before but how many from the centre and how many haven’t been from a KPF?
He was cruelled by injuries in his peak during the mid 80’s and reinvented himself in 1988/1989 where he played exclusively as a centremen and racked up 479 and 456 possies in those years. As well as averaging a goal a game.
Then in 1990 as a 28 yr old he had his greatest year kicking an incredible 97 goals as a small forward. More than just a great number, it was the quality of the goals he kicked that I will always remember as he had to manufacture the large majority by creating space, maneuvering opponents, kicking from impossible angles and outside 50 using the torpedo on several occasions and taking several one handed marks holding off his opponent using his other arm as he didn’t have the bigger body of a key forward.
To this day I believe this achievement is still grossly underrated – especially when you consider a widely considered average team won the flag that year. THE REASON – DAICOS KICKING 97 GOALS!
He then followed up 1991 with a lazy 75 goals after the well documented premiership hangover. This season punctuated by an incredible 5 week winning sequence coinciding with a late season comeback in which he kicked 8,8,13,6,5
The 13 goals 1 behind against Brisbane the absolute highlight for the year (by the way I plan to put together a video of these 13 goals which I will post one day unless someone can beat me to it!) as I have on VHS but need to get in on DVD.
1992 produced a more modest 52 goals but included his incredible goal against Richmond which earned him the GOTY he so richly deserved in 1990 against West Coast in the qual final with the greatest goal I have ever seen! Not because of the kick alone but the passage of play and the tense stage of a big final.
Finally in his last year 1993 as a 32 yr old, he only played 5 games due to injury but even then gave us something special in rd 2 with a stunning 8 goal performance at Vic park where the great Gary Ablett kicked 7 goals in an amazing duel..
Throughout the 80’s and early 90’s there were two players called GOD and they were Ablett and Daicos.
They both did things that were not only unbelievable but they did them consistently which is why their fans adored them and other fans admired them.
Now whilst I maintain Ablett is the greatest player I have seen, I also maintain that Daicos is the best in one broad category that is often debated:
The most skillful player ever, Period!
His left and right foot was so good he barely missed a target ever!
He would kick goals from everywhere, with both feet, bananas/snaps and set shot kicking was as good as anyone.
He has a style of goal literally named after him which is the miracle goals kicked from the boundary which he literally did so often it became rudimentary.
He would baulk as a rule, not blessed with pace made this look even better as he would dummy players to create space and looked majestic doing it!
He has the best collection of torpedo punts by a player in the time I have watched footy (30 years).
What player have you known that brings the crowd to a frenzy everytime he marked outside 50? The cry for Torp! Torp! was a ritual at pies game and did he deliver!!
Those that will question this are either too young to have seen Daicos, are blinded by Collingwood hatred or simply just didn’t get the chance to see enough of him due to the lack of TV coverage in those years compared to the last 20 years.
And before you say I'm biased, are Geelong fans biased when they say Ablett was the greatest...no. Again, Daicos is not the greatest player but the player with the greatest overall skills that has produced a career so unique and influential that surely must rank him higher than many of the media or so called experts have placed him.
Where do you rate him all time? Top 20 /30 / 50 /100
Thanks for reading!
Why did I post this you ask as there has surely been other posts…well for a start I have only been posting for a little while on Big Footy, but as someone who saw Peter Daicos play many times in the flesh I am still to this day a firm believer that he is the MOST UNDERRATED superstar of our game.
Just Consider…..
In 1981 in his 2nd full season as a 19 yr old he kicked 76 goals from a flank (includes 12 goals from 4 finals)
This included Bags of 6,6,6,7 in 4 of his first 5 games
Another bag of 9 goals soon followed in rd 10!
Just imagine a 2nd year player at 19 yrs old doing anything close to this today!
In 1982, age 20 he kicked 58 as a flanker cum centreman including an incredible 7 goals in one quarter v the Roos at Arden st!
I know some have kicked 7 in a quarter before but how many from the centre and how many haven’t been from a KPF?
He was cruelled by injuries in his peak during the mid 80’s and reinvented himself in 1988/1989 where he played exclusively as a centremen and racked up 479 and 456 possies in those years. As well as averaging a goal a game.
Then in 1990 as a 28 yr old he had his greatest year kicking an incredible 97 goals as a small forward. More than just a great number, it was the quality of the goals he kicked that I will always remember as he had to manufacture the large majority by creating space, maneuvering opponents, kicking from impossible angles and outside 50 using the torpedo on several occasions and taking several one handed marks holding off his opponent using his other arm as he didn’t have the bigger body of a key forward.
To this day I believe this achievement is still grossly underrated – especially when you consider a widely considered average team won the flag that year. THE REASON – DAICOS KICKING 97 GOALS!
He then followed up 1991 with a lazy 75 goals after the well documented premiership hangover. This season punctuated by an incredible 5 week winning sequence coinciding with a late season comeback in which he kicked 8,8,13,6,5
The 13 goals 1 behind against Brisbane the absolute highlight for the year (by the way I plan to put together a video of these 13 goals which I will post one day unless someone can beat me to it!) as I have on VHS but need to get in on DVD.
1992 produced a more modest 52 goals but included his incredible goal against Richmond which earned him the GOTY he so richly deserved in 1990 against West Coast in the qual final with the greatest goal I have ever seen! Not because of the kick alone but the passage of play and the tense stage of a big final.
Finally in his last year 1993 as a 32 yr old, he only played 5 games due to injury but even then gave us something special in rd 2 with a stunning 8 goal performance at Vic park where the great Gary Ablett kicked 7 goals in an amazing duel..
Throughout the 80’s and early 90’s there were two players called GOD and they were Ablett and Daicos.
They both did things that were not only unbelievable but they did them consistently which is why their fans adored them and other fans admired them.
Now whilst I maintain Ablett is the greatest player I have seen, I also maintain that Daicos is the best in one broad category that is often debated:
The most skillful player ever, Period!
His left and right foot was so good he barely missed a target ever!
He would kick goals from everywhere, with both feet, bananas/snaps and set shot kicking was as good as anyone.
He has a style of goal literally named after him which is the miracle goals kicked from the boundary which he literally did so often it became rudimentary.
He would baulk as a rule, not blessed with pace made this look even better as he would dummy players to create space and looked majestic doing it!
He has the best collection of torpedo punts by a player in the time I have watched footy (30 years).
What player have you known that brings the crowd to a frenzy everytime he marked outside 50? The cry for Torp! Torp! was a ritual at pies game and did he deliver!!
Those that will question this are either too young to have seen Daicos, are blinded by Collingwood hatred or simply just didn’t get the chance to see enough of him due to the lack of TV coverage in those years compared to the last 20 years.
And before you say I'm biased, are Geelong fans biased when they say Ablett was the greatest...no. Again, Daicos is not the greatest player but the player with the greatest overall skills that has produced a career so unique and influential that surely must rank him higher than many of the media or so called experts have placed him.
Where do you rate him all time? Top 20 /30 / 50 /100
Thanks for reading!
Always has and Always will love the Collingwood footy club.
