Collingwood coach Craig McRae has welcomed another tag for star Magpie Nick Daicos as the young midfield gun is anticipated to be dealt with one of the competition's best run-with players.
Marcus Windhager has become prominently used to quell opposition weapons this year, keeping the likes of Marcus Bontempelli, Kysaiah Pickett, Finn Callaghan and Connor Rozee to season-low disposal figures.
However, McRae isn't fazed by the potential stranglehold Daicos may have to face, citing Collingwood's continual winning results - and St Kilda's lack thereof - despite a heavy, physical tag on the 22-year-old star.
"Windhager tagged Bontempelli, and they lose by (72) points. What value do you put on that type of thing?" McRae said.
"So we win a game with a really hard-fought game... I thought Melbourne were brilliant (on King's Birthday). I thought they were really, really good. But watching the game back, we had so many things that we can improve on.
"Nick in itself is a challenge every week, because you want Nick to be as best as he possibly can be, and then the opposition want him to be the opposite of that.
"So we've got to get the balance right, do what's required to win the game, and then obviously Nick's a big part of that, but it's pleasing to think that we're winning games and Nick's not having an influence, that says a lot about our system. But I'm constantly looking at how we can support Nick."
McRae said he was "caught off-guard" by the intense physicality of Ed Langdon's tag in the King's Birthday clash, but said that a hard run-with player can be costly to the opposition club employing the tactic.
"Watching it back, it caught me off-guard a bit how much he was getting tackled off the ball early, but I think he got some reasonable free kicks in the end, to balance that out," McRae said.
"We want our best players to be the best players, but again, you tag someone, that comes at a cost to you.
"So we hope they tag him this week, which I'm sure they will, but you've got to find a way of getting the best of both worlds. They tag Bontempelli, they lose by 70 points. Is it winning? What do you value?"
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon hinted on Thursday that a tag would be employed, although Nick's brother Josh may be the one who cops the attention.
The Marvel Stadium battle takes place on Saturday night, with a win for Collingwood to further establish their presence atop the AFL ladder.
