Footy great says Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos should be suspended for Academy Award performance in shock Hawks loss: ‘He missed his face by feet’
- Controversy rages whether it was a staging or strike on Daicos
- Hawthorn exposes Pie’s weakness when a star was tagged out of the match
- Two wins in a row concern experts
Ex-Brisbane Lions star Tom Rockliff has criticized the actions of rising superstar Nick Daicos, accusing him of a dive worthy of suspension during The Pies’ upset loss to Hawthorn on Saturday.
Rockliff let Daicos have it after the young star appeared on stage for a free kick when Hawthorn’s Seamus Mitchell grabbed the front of his jersey with both hands and hit him in the chest.
The injured Pies star – who was later revealed to have broken a bone in his knee during the match – dramatically flipped his head back, threw his arm up and slumped to the ground.
“Referees are sucking in again,” Rockliff wrote on Twitter after the incident.
“Imagine taking a dive like Nick Daicos just did and getting a free kick for it.
“I wonder if the MRO (Match Review Officer) will look at that to dive or flip?
‘It must be one.
“And he missed his face by 3 feet, so I know what to do.”
Tempers in the game began to flare at halftime as the minus began to creep in, as the Hawks showed no sign of pulling back after racing to a shocking early lead by kicking the game’s opening five goals.
The shock loss to the ladder-leading Pies – their second in a row – was compounded by Daicos’ injury, which will see him sidelined for at least six weeks.
And Collingwood defenseman Nathan Murphy also suffered an ankle syndesmosis injury in the shock 16.9 (105) to 11.7 (73) loss.
Rockliff was slammed by many of his 300,000 followers after tweeting about Daicos’ Academy Award performance.
One footy fan said: ‘Tom you played in two winning seasons out of your 12 in your career, in terms of knowing what it takes to win/lose, you’re not that guy.
Magpies star Nick Daicos is cracked by the Hawks’ James Blanck during the tense and physical loss
Rockliff’s tweet woke up footy fans and left them divided over whether Daicos staged a gig or delivered a heartfelt response to the scuffle with Seamus Mitchell
“Feel privileged to talk about N. Daicos, don’t try to be the shock jock, because like winning football games, it’s not your thing.”
Another wrote: ‘Nick Daicos has a better career in two seasons than you have in your entire career Tom!!.’
“His falls may have something to do with the forearm to the chin. Crawl back into your hole,” said another commenter.
While the former Lions and Power star didn’t respond to all of the comments, one got under his skin and he fired back: “Yeah, okay – Nick is a much better player than me.
However, I never claimed that. I deal with the facts – there must be an MRO from said incident either Striking or Staging – beyond the evidence I am in the Staging camp. Where are you?’
Comments then began to focus on whether the Daicos crash to the ground was stage play or fair play.
‘Missed his face 1 meter? Obviously Tom has a horse in this race. He’s got it by the sweater. Clearly less than 1m. It’s a clear jumper punch that should be approved by the MRO,” one fan wrote.
‘Staging 100% he’s a good player but he gave an absolute bath. Surely the teams tied for the finals are watching,” replied another, with a separate fan saying that Dacios will “hopefully get four weeks.”
These target mouth exchanges were a bit more physical than your standard run-of-the-mill melees and Daicos (next to No. 6) landed on deck
The conspiracy theorists were also in effect.
If they don’t kill Nathan Murphy, they won’t kill their golden boy Nick Daicos. There’s too much money at stake and potential embarrassment on Brownlow night,” one tweet read.
It’s not the first time Rockliff has been given a chance as a referee.
After a 2013 loss to Port Adelaide in which his Brisbane side lost the free-kick 22-11, Rockliff said players may have to look to free play to win.