Coach Craig McRae has moved to reassure Collingwood fans that Nick Daicos is locked in long-term at the Magpies with the superstar midfielder on the radar of new AFL entry Tasmania.
Ahead of their Friday night clash with GWS where they will welcome back big guns, skipper Darcy Moore and veteran Jeremy Howe, McRae was asked about Daicos visiting Tasmania during their bye week.
The 23-year-old, his Magpies teammate brother Josh and their father Peter, were photographed with Devils board director Roger Curtis, with their trip coinciding with the Devils making their successful debut in the VFL.
But McRae issued a reminder that the 23-year-old was "thriving" at Collingwood, where he is contracted until 2029, with the Tasmanian outfit entering the competition a year earlier.
"Look, all I will say about Nick and Josh is that they are absolutely thriving in their environment, extremely well paid, so they should be," McRae said on Wednesday.
"They train as well as anyone we've ever had, so thriving and well looked after and that's all we can control."
With a win over St Kilda, a loss to Adelaide and then the early-season bye, the Magpies have produced a "mixed bag" to open their campaign with McRae hoping to get the side humming against the Giants.
Posting less than 80 points in both matches, Collingwood have been criticised for their lack of scoring and McRae wasn't concerned by those numbers but wanted to see improvement in the forward line.
"I thought that our connection inside 50 was really poor last game," McRae said.
"We had enough entries, the game before, a long time ago now, but round zero we connected really well, but we didn't have enough entries.
"It's been a bit of a mixed bag for our forwards, and we got to work the last couple of weeks on some connection stuff."
While the bye has given them time to fix their forward-line woes it has also allowed star defenders Moore and Howe to recover from calf injuries.
The pair will likely have their game-time managed against the Giants, who have also been inconsistent with a win and two losses.
Meanwhile, McRae said Bobby Hill could be back within weeks as the 2023 Norm Smith medallist builds toward a return from personal leave.
"He's in pre-season mode now, but just to the eye, I think he's a bit fitter than we thought he would be, so we're excited to have him back," the coach said.
"He's the sort of guy that comes to hand quickly.
"Pre-season's never been his greatest time of the year, but when the balls come out and play, I think that's when Bobby shines."
