When eight Peter Daicos goals piloted a 10-point win over Geelong, few, if any, of the 24,147 fans at Victoria Park would have realised they were witnessing the end of an era.
It was the second round of the 1993 season. Collingwood was undefeated, after dousing a flaming Gary Ablett and his seven goals, and all was well in the world of Black and White.
But what no one knew was that we would only see the great Daicos just thrice more before the curtain fell on his storied career.
“I did my knee in the game just before half time,” Daicos recalled on Collingwood Media’s Moments In Time.
Click here to watch the full episode of Moments In Time as Daicos and Ablett go head-to-head at Victoria Park.
“I remember Micky McGuane kicked the ball to me and I landed awkwardly, banging my knee into the turf.”
“I did a cartilage and then I knocked a bit of bone off the top of my knee.
“Looking back now, I know full well that I was probably at the end of my career.”
Daicos would play against Essendon the following week, but only resurfaced twice more for the remainder of the year, in rounds 10 and 15.
The Herald Sun’s Glenn McFarlane admitted all Collingwood supporters thought it would only be a matter of time before the Macedonian Marvel would make his glorious return.
“Daics had so many injuries over his career, but we all thought he would last forever and get over those particular injuries, which he used to be able to do.
“But we did know that he was probably coming towards the end.”
Coach Leigh Matthews had the unenviable task of overseeing the end of a champion’s career.
“It’s just difficult – it’s not only the coaching point of view but it’s the human point of view,” Matthews told Moments In Time.
Peter Daicos recalls his eight goals against Geelong in 1993 on Collingwood Media's Moments In Time.
“As a coach, you probably think ‘I’m losing an asset’ because when they’re well they’re such an asset, but whether age or injury, every player eventually wears out.”
McFarlane, a Collingwood supporter since birth, captured the mixed emotions that 10-point win evokes.
“In hindsight, that game, as good as it was at the time, probably stands out even more now as a real game to savour and cherish.
“Every maestro has a final symphony and for Peter Daicos, that was his final symphony.”
Click here to watch the full episode of Moments In Time as Daicos and Ablett go head-to-head at Victoria Park.
"Every maestro has a final symphony"
When eight Peter Daicos goals piloted a 10-point win over Geelong, few, if any, of the 24,147 fans at Victoria Park would have realised they were witnessing the end of an era.
