Collingwood star Nick Daicos has left footy fans spellbound with a kind act he performed for the son of his rival Taylor Walker just before Collingwood’s qualifying final against the Adelaide Crows on Thursday night.
Walker marked his 300th AFL match in the Crows’ finals match against the Magpies at the Adelaide Oval, but his side was unable to salute in the 79-55 loss.
The Crows veteran became just the third player in club history to reach the milestone, joining Ben Hart and Andrew McLeod.
Walker, who debuted in 2009, was celebrated by teammates and fans alike as he led Adelaide’s forward line in the fiercely contested clash.
Behind the scenes, though, his son was going wild for the opposition’s biggest star.
Daicos was filmed in the bowels of Adelaide Oval making a special presentation to Walker’s four-year-old son Louis ahead of the match.
Taylor Walker of the Crows is seen with children Hugo, Louis and Harriet (Hattie) before his 300th match in the AFL finals against Collingwood
Hugo is also a Collingwood fan, with Nick Daicos making good on his promise to get him a Magpies jersey
The pair shared an embrace as Walker’s son became emotional over the touching interaction
Back in April, Taylor Walker revealed that his young son Louis had a soft spot for Collingwood and idolised Nick Daicos.
When Adelaide hosted the Magpies in round 23, Louis – sporting a Crows guernsey but sneaking in a Collingwood hat and Daicos badge – was thrilled to meet his hero.
Daicos told the youngster he would organise a Collingwood jumper, a promise he made good on during Thursday night’s milestone final.
Louis even surprised Daicos with a hand-drawn picture of the two together, signed off with the words ‘Thank you Nick, Love Louis.’
The night ended with Louis joining his dad’s post-game celebrations, proudly wearing his new black-and-white guernsey as Walker was chaired from the ground.
Adelaide will weigh up Josh Rachele’s availability for a knockout semi-final as they attempt to reignite their AFL premiership push after a devastating loss to Collingwood.
The Crows’ first final in eight years was ripped away from them by the Magpies, who kicked five goals to none in a scintillating 15-minute burst during the third quarter.
Thursday night’s result at Adelaide Oval left Matthew Nicks’ minor premiers facing a cut-throat home clash with GWS or Hawthorn next week.
Hugo made this poster of himself with Nick Daicos to give to his other hero (besides his famous Dad, of course)
It wasn’t to be for Walker and Adelaide, who congratulated Collingwood coach Craig McRae
‘You don’t often lose a final and get another crack at it, but we do,’ Nicks said after the 11.13 (79) to 8.7 (55) defeat to Collingwood.
‘Three quarters won’t get it done in finals footy, we knew that coming in … we were beaten tonight by a side that played better than we did, no doubt about that.’
Adelaide have lost consecutive games just once this season – against Gold Coast and Geelong back in April – and Nicks backed his players to move on quickly from the latest setback.
‘We’ve been able to regroup reasonably quickly all year, get straight back to process and what does the week look like,’ Nicks said.
‘We’ve all got finals experience under our belt, albeit a small amount, it’s going to help us.’
Nicks also backed Jordan Dawson to bounce back after a relatively quiet 19-disposal game from the Crows’ skipper against Collingwood.
‘I’m super confident he will,’ Nicks said.
‘He’s a competitor, he’s our captain, so he’ll be right.
‘He’ll want the shortest week possible – see if they can play us on Wednesday next week.’
Nicks dismissed concerns over a minor ankle injury that appeared to hamper Dawson during the Magpies clash.
