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Is Nick Daicos Still the AFL’s Most Dominant Player in 2026?

Jesse Mclure

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Last updated: Fri 13 Mar 2026 07:52

Jesse Mclure 13 Mar 2026

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Nick Daicos or Marcus Bontempelli?
Nick Daicos consistently delivers standout performances in the AFL.
Marcus Bontempelli remains a key competitor with a different impact style.
The debate about Daicos as the top player is expected to continue.

Is Nick Daicos the best in the business? (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Is Nick Daicos Still the AFL’s Most Dominant Player in 2026?

Nick Daicos continues to produce the kind of performances that keep the AFL world talking.

Is Nick Daicos Still the AFL’s Most Dominant Player in 2026?
Nick Daicos Is Still Producing Superstar Numbers
Marcus Bontempelli Still Sets the Benchmark
The Media Spotlight Around Daicos
The Nick Daicos Debate Isn’t Going Anywhere

Forty-plus disposals. Massive metres gained. Complete control of games from the middle of the ground. Those stat lines force the conversation every single week.

But the real question isn’t whether Daicos is elite. That part is already settled. The debate now sits around something bigger.

Is Nick Daicos actually the most dominant player in the AFL right now?

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Nick Daicos Is Still Producing Superstar Numbers

The 2026 opening round performance against St Kilda was another reminder of Daicos’ influence.

Forty-one disposals and more than 800 metres gained is the type of game that completely shapes a result. Daicos constantly found space, drove Collingwood’s ball movement and helped the Magpies turn pressure moments into scoring chains.

That style of dominance is unique.

Few players control the tempo of a match the way Daicos can when he is finding the ball freely across half-back and through the midfield. Once he gets rolling, opposition teams struggle to stop the flow.

That ability to dictate the pace of the game is why the Daicos conversation never fades.

Marcus Bontempelli Still Sets the Benchmark

Even with Daicos producing huge numbers, the competition’s most complete player may still be Marcus Bontempelli.

Bontempelli’s influence stretches across every part of the ground. He wins contested ball, drives stoppages, pushes forward and hits the scoreboard. His presence alone changes the way opposition midfields approach a game.

That broader impact is why he continues to sit at the top of many player rankings heading into 2026.

Daicos dominates with ball movement and creativity. Bontempelli dominates through physical control of the contest.

Both styles are elite, but they shape games in different ways.

The Media Spotlight Around Daicos

Part of the fascination around Daicos is how central he has become to the AFL conversation.

Debates around the league’s best player often circle back to him. Comparisons with rising stars and discussions about the Daicos brothers as one of the game’s great sibling pairings have only added to the spotlight.

That level of attention sometimes makes it feel as though every Daicos performance is being measured against history rather than just the rest of the competition.

The spotlight follows the numbers.

And the numbers keep arriving.

The Nick Daicos Debate Isn’t Going Anywhere

What makes the Daicos discussion so interesting is how quickly the conversation resets every week.

A 40-disposal game pushes him back into “best player in the league” territory. A quieter match opens the door for players like Bontempelli or other elite midfielders to reclaim the title.

That cycle is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

Daicos has the talent, the role and the ball-winning ability to dominate games for the next decade. Performances like the Opening Round display only strengthen that case.

The AFL’s best-player debate has always evolved year to year.

But right now, Nick Daicos is firmly at the centre of it.