If Nick Daicos felt the weight of expectation ahead of his AFL debut in round one, he never showed it.

As the crowd at Marvel Stadium applauded his every possession - and he gathered 27 of them - he was composed and efficient.

He produced a performance worthy of the hype, with three score involvements, seven intercepts and 419 metres gained.

"My head is spinning at the moment but I'm super proud and it was unreal to get the win," he said post-match.

"I think we just have great trust in our system - we put a lot of work into it over the off-season."

"Fly was unreal (in the lead-up), he just kept reiterating that all I needed to do was play my role which gave me great confidence."

The 19-year-old plays with confidence but off-field he remains unassuming, his humble nature reminiscent of his father before him.

"It was nice to get my hands on the footy early but to get the win was amazing and that was the main thing," he said.

"Seeing the smiles on the fans faces tops it all.

"I've grown up loving the Collingwood chants and when the crowd started doing that at about five minutes to go I had to pinch myself."