Coach Sam Mitchell declared pre-game against Collingwood that Finn Maginness would be given the challenging task of combatting star Nick Daicos.

And, didn't Maginness do it well.

Daicos was blanketed by the Hawks tagger, with Maginness restricting the Brownlow Medal favourite to a career-low five disposals – albeit a game he was unable to finish due to a knee injury – marking just the third time in his career that he has had fewer than 20 disposals in a match.

Speaking to SEN on Monday, Maginness detailed his preparation that led to his tagging triumph.

"It was a pretty normal week, I knew straight away that after the game the week before that I'd be going to Nick, so I had plenty of time to look forward to the game," Maginness said.

"It was a game that I'd had pencilled in for a while, obviously as a tagger, you want to play against the best players, Nick being in great form, so I felt prepared and was ready to go.

"I watched a lot of vision, which you'd expect, just the last couple of games. I think (Port Adelaide's) Willem Drew did a really underrated job on Nick a few weeks prior, so I watched a bit of that game and just tried to get an understanding of the way they play.

"I wrote a few notes of what I wanted to do on game day, I just try to go in with a clear mind and with a few clear focuses, and it just helps to really simplify the job.

"I think the whole football club was really keen for the game, everyone wants to play against the top side, at the 'G, Saturday arvo, it doesn't really get too much better than that."

When asked about whether he had any anxieties about such match-ups with the league's most influential stars, Maginness admitted there were some nerves. 

"I do get pretty anxious because everyone sort of knows how you've gone, you can't let any quarter slip because Collingwood could get a hold of you," Maginness explained. 

"But I think just knowing that the team just expects effort from me, that's all the coaches ask for, they just want effort and intensity, that's all I can control, so I just try to control the 'controllables'.

"I have simple goals going into the game, then if I execute them that's all I can really do, and then also having teammates that help me and just knowing that it gives them spirit and a bit of energy, that's all I really focus on."

Maginness said while his tagging attributes are clear strengths, he was also conscious of evolving his own game in addition to shutting down the league's best players.

"I definitely want to develop other areas of my game, I don't want to be having six disposals every week," Maginness added.

"Nick is such a great player that I don't want to be running off trying to find as much of the footy as I can, I need to pay him the respect that he deserves.

"But, I think the next step for me is figuring out how can I limit my opponents, but also find more of the footy and have a bit more of an offensive impact.

"That is something I'm trying to develop but I don't want to go straight into that, it's rather put on layer upon layer in trying to build my game is the way to go about it."

Maginness also provided an insight into his relationship with second-year coach Mitchell, highlighting the cohesiveness between one another.

"I've got really great communication with Sam, he just tells me what he expects of me, how tight he wants the tag, how he wants me to play it, so I'll go into the game with complete clarity, and that's one thing that 'Mitch' is really good at as a coach," Maginness said. 

"On game day, you know exactly what he wants from you, so he's makes it really clear for me what's expected of me.

"I obviously talk to David Hale as well, our midfield coach, and all my other teammates just to make sure we're all on the same page heading into the game."

Meanwhile, Mitchell post-game also was quick to praise the dedication of Maginness after he became the first player to convincingly shut Daicos out of a game.

The coach said the Hawks’ midfield dominance was a key element to executing the tag, as their 18-3 centre clearance demolition meant Daicos struggled to win the ball. 

Maginness now has two of the biggest tagging scalps of the season after he held GWS star Josh Kelly to just the six disposals in Round 17.

Mitchell said ideally he would love to allow the 22-year-old to focus on a single opponent each week.

“Finn will leave no stone unturned in getting his job done...unfortunately, quite often this year we haven’t been able to let him do his best job because of other problems in the game,” Mitchell said.

“We can’t retain the ball in our front half, we can’t put enough pressure on the opposition, we can’t win centre bounces... there’s always something else that’s causing us trouble.

“In the coaches’ box it’s a nightmare – it’s not an easy thing to do, and you compromise other parts of your game… we decided not to compromise centre bounce by putting (Maginness) in there, and that worked well. It certainly worked for us, but it’s not to say it would work again next time.”

Listen to Maginness' full chat with Kane and Bucks on SEN below.