Is Nick Daicos too harshly judged?

Does Nick Daicos get harshly judged when it comes to individual AFL awards?

On the surface, it may appear a ridiculous thought given the superstar is just 23 and already has one of the best CVs in the competition, but David King thinks there’s some merit to the conversation.

Having not won a Brownlow despite arguably being the league’s best player in each of the last three seasons and even missing out on the Collingwood best and fairest in 2025, King pondered whether Daicos is judged against his own standards or those of every other player.

The topic came to the fore again this weekend after the midfielder was overlooked as Victoria’s best player in Origin, with the side’s coaches giving Lachie Ash the EJ Whitten Medal despite Daicos having clearly the best statistics of any player on the ground.

King discussed the topic with Kane Cornes on SEN Breakfast, with the co-host agreeing that there’s truth to what he’s suggesting.

King: “It's an open conversation, and I do feel there's some truth to it.

“A lot in the community feel that Nick Daicos, no matter what the award is or what the voting structure is, whether it's his own at times like the Collingwood best and fairest, the Brownlow or even on the weekend… I do feel like he has to do more than any other player to get the same recognition.”

Cornes: “It's an excellent topic, and without giving too much away, it's an issue that comes up at All-Australian time as well. Not with Nick, clearly, but with players that have set themselves such a high bar that do you start to judge them on their own high bar? Or do you judge them on everyone else's bar?

“Like, at three rungs below their top bar might be better than the next best. But are we judging them on their best, and do we hold that against them and is that fair? No, it's not.

“I reckon we spoke about Toby Greene one time. We were sort of saying, well, he hasn't had as strong a year as last year, and someone said, ‘That's because last year was really good’.

“I think there's truth in what you're saying.”

King: “38 touches, 20 kicks… he created 13 scores, only Bont had more than that. He kicked a goal himself.

“I know he coughed up a couple of goals early, he got beaten in a stoppage or two… but I just think he does get judged differently. “

Cornes: “If that was say a Norm Smith Medal panel that had given those, they would be smashed today.

“Everyone would be going through saying, ‘This person gave him one’, and so on.

“But because it's the coaches, we go, ‘Okay, it’s the coaches, they sort of know’.”

King: “It's an opinion thing, so it's very difficult to say your opinion's right or your opinion is wrong, but I'm just going to watch it and I’m just going to keep my eye out for it.”