Come for the rivalry, stay for the Nick Daicos masterclass.
It was the best individual quarter of the year and probably the best quarter of Daicos' career.
Thirteen touches, two goal assists, one goal, three centre clearances and two tackles to get the Pies home by five points after trailing by 18 at the last change.
Somehow that statsline still undersells his majesty in the last quarter.
It was the sort of individual monopoly usually reserved for NBA games - not on an AFL field where winning demands 23 contributions.
The juxtaposition between his skill in the last quarter and the overall standard of the first three terms was the sort of thing you'd expect to see if a former AFL player is forced to play local reserves footy.
At the last change, fans were left wishing the much talked about Friday night double header was instead on Thursday to give them another footy game to tune into, so ugly was the contest.
Daicos, who won the Richard Pratt Medal in the Peter Mac Cup game, ensured everyone got something for investing their time and he had cause for celebration after 100 games glittered with accolades - and littered with some near misses too.
We've outlined 10 of his best moments from a dazzling last quarter.
1Tone-setting goal
Nick Daicos kicks the first of the last! 🔥#AFLBluesPies pic.twitter.com/v6E1jnzlQx
— 7AFL (@7AFL) April 16, 2026
It has to be goal of the year so far, doesn't it?
Daicos soccered a centre clearance, streamed forward unchecked, was 40 metres out when he found Darcy Cameron who sent it to the top of the square. Guess who was at the fall of the Jamie Elliott marking contest?
Daicos mopped up the groundball and finished from a metre out. Three touches in 22 seconds from a 100-metre run to give the Pies the first of the quarter and all the momentum.
An untagged Daicos can be a recipe for a Pies midfield dictatorship and that moment foreshadowed the potent quarter that would follow.
