AFL round four 2026, scores, results, odds, stats and start time from the MCG in Melbourne

AFL coach Leigh Matthews has taken aim at his former club Collingwood, accusing the Magpies of poor injury management when it comes to dealing with superstar midfielder Nick Daicos.

The Magpies defended their decision to fly Daicos to Brisbane to face the Lions on Thursday night but Daicos withdrew with a right calf injury just 15 minutes before kick-off.

Daicos was not subjected to a fitness test despite being involved with Corkie all week. He didn’t look comfortable when he went out for warm-ups with a compression bandage on his calf, or when he left the field and returned later without one.

His absence was keenly felt in the Magpies’ 54-point loss and exposed his team’s lack of A-grade midfield.

Matthews, the 1990 Magpies first-place coach and now a Lions board director, said he could not believe how Daicos was treated.

“He had a fungus in his calf, he wasn’t quite right at the beginning of the week. When it came to the pre-match warm-up they assumed he would be fine,” Matthews, the three-time Lions premiership coach, said on 3AW on Saturday.

“Why didn’t you walk him around during the day just to make sure he was okay? When it happened at the last minute, I don’t think it was a ruse, a tactical ploy. “I think it was just one of those things that took Collingwood by surprise.

“But for the life of me I can’t think of how this kind of injury wasn’t tested earlier in the day to see if it was OK because the last minute change throws Collingwood completely off balance.”

Matthews was on the pitch as part of Fox Footy’s pre-match preparations and was interviewed by Magpies coach Craig McRae while cameras turned to the struggling Daicos.

“If it were a horse, you wouldn’t back it, would you?” McRae joked at the time that he still wasn’t sure if Daicos would play.

Matthews, who coached Nick’s famous father Peter on the Magpies’ premiership team in 1990, was stunned by what he saw.

“We understand that happens occasionally to players if they get sick or injure themselves in the warm-up. But this is just an injury that’s been going on all week,” Matthews said.

“You have to make sure he’s okay before you get down to sentencing. Because the last minute part of it is really devastating to me for the Collingwood case. I can’t for the life of me understand how this could have been allowed to happen.”

When contacted on Saturday, the Magpies pointed to McRae’s post-match response on Thursday night.

“He had a fungus in his calf. He just wanted to move at practice on Tuesday, that was his intention. He didn’t train and was limping around,” McRae said Thursday.

“Nick is an extremely positive guy, he’s one of the best professionals in the game, let alone our club, and we’ve given him every chance to develop. Then he comes here.” [for the warm-up] and we thought it would start to improve. He just didn’t.

Asked if he was suggesting this was mismanagement, Matthews said: “Yes, yes.”

“Perfect timing, because no one seemed to be aware of it. The fact that it was a half hour before the game seemed to surprise everyone, the coaches, his teammates, Nick and maybe himself – if I’m not mistaken – when you should have known about it at least earlier in the day,” Matthews said.

“I say that because these last-minute things can be really devastating. Let’s face it, if he’s not there, they’re going to be a weakened team, but the timing of this was really bad.”

The Magpies made another bizarre call last week when they left captain Darcy Moore sidelined against Greater Western Sydney with a hamstring problem. Moore left the field to be tested in the first period and returned in the second quarter. He played the match but scans later revealed the injury was more serious than he had hoped and he would miss up to a month.

Daicos’ injury controversy emerged at a time when his salary was becoming an issue. The player, who is contracted until the end of 2029 and earns around $1.1 million this season, is coming full circle with his new Tasmania Devils club, according to industry figures who preferred to remain anonymous to speak freely.

Daicos could earn much more on the open market, and although the Magpies have made significant room in the salary cap to pay him and a potential prized free agent, he and his management have yet to initiate talks on a salary increase.

McRae hopeful veteran Scott Pendlebury (Achilles strain) also returns to face Fremantle in Adelaide on Friday.