Appointed Collingwood's youngest captain in 57 years as a replacement for the injured Darcy Moore, the 22-year-old Daicos and older brother Josh both turned it on in front of 92,044 fans at the MCG.
Nick (32 disposals, 11 clearances) set the tone by kicking the first goal of the match with a long-range bomb, while Josh (36 possessions) collected ball with ease off half-back in the Magpies' 16.11 (107) to 10.6 (66) win.
Collingwood had numerous contenders for the Anzac Day Medal, with the Daicos brothers' performances backed magnificently by star veterans Steele Sidebottom (36 possessions) and Scott Pendlebury (31).
Sidebottom had 13 clearances by three-quarter-time, and finished with 15 to win his second Anzac Day Medal, having been awarded it in 2016.
"I get a first class seat watching him (Nick Daicos) every week, and he leads in his own right already; the way he prepares, the way he goes out there and plays," said Sidebottom, 12 years the younger Daicos's senior.
"It's inspiring at times.
"Guys want to jump on the back of him because he's such a good player, and he lifts our team when we need it.
"I'm sure one day he probably will be captain of the footy club so it was nice to see him step up and lead the group."
After falling behind early in the third quarter, Collingwood kicked 10 of the next 12 goals to ensure they would again finish the round on top of the ladder following their sixth-straight win.
It was Collingwood's fourth-straight Anzac Day win, but the result could come at a cost after key forward Daniel McStay was subbed off with a left knee issue.
McStay appeared to suffer a heavy knock in a marking contest in the third quarter to the same knee he had reconstructed at the end of 2023.
Collingwood are hoping the injury is on the "minor side" and believe he could have hurt his MCL, which would rule McStay out for up to six weeks.
After causing Essendon nightmares for years, Jamie Elliott had a match-high five goals.
Elliott, who kicked a famous match-winner after-the-siren to beat Essendon in 2022, snared four goals in the second-half, including the sealer with 10 minutes remaining.
Collingwood stormed out of the blocks, with their 15-point lead at quarter-time belying their dominance across the ground.
The Magpies pushed their advantage to 27 points early in the second term, before Essendon slammed through six of the next seven goals to take the lead in the third quarter.
But the ladder-leaders lifted again with five of the next six goals to take a comfortable 24-point buffer into the final change.
Going into the game rank outsiders, Essendon had periods when they threatened to put themselves in position for an unlikely victory.
Sam Durham kicked two goals in a minute in the second quarter, while Zach Reid continued his breakout season with another outstanding performance down back.
"We got back in the game through some pretty simple footy, but then we we started overusing the ball," said coach Brad Scott.
"We had opportunities to go forward and score but instead we tried an extra handball and invited pressure and turned the ball over."
In an inconvenience for both teams in the second-half, power was off on the bench and communication up to the coach's box was limited.
Collingwood's Craig McRae always coaches from the bench so wasn't stressed, instead letting senior players like Pendlebury and Sidebottom run the show.
Scott paid tribute to Collingwood handling the situation better than the Bombers.
Jack Crisp made it through his 244th consecutive match unscathed, setting him up to break the late Jim Stynes' record for most VFL/AFL games in succession when Collingwood battle Geelong next Saturday night.
16°C