Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos reveals the sadness that befell his family on Christmas Day 2021 – with another tragic loss to follow a year later Nick Daicos lost his auntie to cancer on Christmas Day 2021.
In March of this year, Nick and his brother and teammate Josh lost their grandfather.
Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos has opened up on the tragedy that struck his family on Christmas Day two years ago.
Just months before he made his AFL debut, the Magpies defender and his elder brother and teammate Josh lost their auntie.
‘Going into my first year, Christmas day we lost my auntie [after] a battle with cancer, which was terrible for us,’ Daicos told former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley on Fox Sports.
‘It was a really tough time. Christmas day was spent at hospital.’
Earlier this year, the Daicos brothers grieved the loss of their grandfather, who passed away just days before Collingwood’s Round 1 clash against reigning premiers Geelong.
‘Unfortunately I lost my dedo — my grandpa — on the eve of Round 1,’ he said.
‘[It was] Pretty tough, but it sort of does make you realise that footy is just a small part of your life and there’s so much else that goes on.
You want to do well in footy, but just make sure family’s okay first.’
Daicos and his brother scattered a memento from their grandafther’s funeral on the MCG moments after beating the Cats.
The 20-year-old took off his boot, grabbed something he had stashed inside and and kissed his hand before kneeling down to touch the turf at the MCG.
Moments later, his older brother Josh followed suit.
Initially, it had appeared as though the Daicos brothers had played with their grandfather’s ashes in their socks, but Nick later revealed it was rose petals from the funeral instead.
‘Tonight’s game was in honour of him for us,’ Nick said at the time.
His elder brother added: ‘It’s been a really tough week for the family. It’s been really tough for us but tonight [the win] made it all worth it.’
The touching scenes continued in the Magpies sheds as Peter Daicos, the father of the siblings – and a club great himself – embraced the players and reflected on what has been an emotional week for the family.
‘When their mum and dad look at that, they must be absolutely proud of them – not just for the players that they are, but the young men that they’ve become,’ Buckley said after the game on Fox Footy.
In a fitting tribute to their late grandfather, the Daicos brothers both had outstanding games, with Josh racking up 27 possessions and Nick recording 35 disposals as he had a hand in nine of the Pies’ goals.
Speaking to Buckley, Daicos also thanked Collingwood for the support they provided to him and his brother during a testing time for the pair.
‘We got through that and we just came back to family and I think even the club here has created a great culture where we wrap our arms around each other and are always there for each other, encourage each other to be vulnerable and open up,’ he explained.
