Jeremy Howe secret comes to light amid dad's staggering revelation about Nick Daicos

Jeremy Howe has revealed he played out the AFL grand final with three broken ribs, while Nick Daicos' father reckons he shouldn't even have been playing in the decider due to his knee injury. Collingwood won their 16th flag and first in 13 years after beating Brisbane by four points on Saturday.

A number of staggering details have since come to light, with Howe revealing he suffered broken ribs after a hit from Charlie Cameron but played out the rest of the game. Six months after suffering a sickening arm injury, Howe had to leave the ground on Saturday after the hit from Cameron.

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But not even three broken ribs were going to stop him seeing out the game until full-time. "Three broken ribs will do that I reckon," he told AAP about being in obvious discomfort.

Howe said he was feeling "sh**house" while nursing a beer in the Collingwood rooms after the game. "They're clicking flat out," he said about the ribs. "It's not ideal."

The 33-year-old admitted he contemplated retirement after breaking his arm in the opening game of the season against Geelong. Less than two weeks after undergoing surgery, his recovery was set back by an infection and left Howe uncertain about his future.

"Just probably thinking about hanging (the boots) up, to be honest. First six weeks were really bad with my arm," he said. "Contemplated everything really, it's amazing what thoughts go through your head – predominantly negative ones."

Nick Daicos 'shouldn't have been playing'

Meanwhile, Peter Daicos has revealed son Nick "shouldn't have been playing" at all due to the extent of the knee injury he suffered in round 23. Daicos missed seven weeks of action after suffering a fracture, but Peter revealed on Saturday that it would normally be a three-month injury.

“It was a pretty extensive injury. I couldn’t be prouder of him," Peter told ABC radio. "It should’ve been three months, but such was his dedication and his will. People don’t see that. All he wanted to do was be part of it.”

The Daicos family celebrated in beautiful scenes after the game, with Nick and brother Josh posing for photos with their parents. Nick and Josh emulated their famous father, who won the premiership with Collingwood in 1990.

“I owe everything to that man, Nick and I owe everything to him,” Josh said about his dad. "If it wasn’t for dad and Nick, they were huge in making me stay positive and making me still enjoy the game that I was struggling with at the time (early on). I was never going to give up on it...I was going to fight until the very end. I was lucky with all the support.”

Nathan Murphy passed concussion test but ruled himself out

And Nathan Murphy has made the remarkable admission that he passed a concussion test but ruled himself out after sustaining a head knock in the first quarter. Murphy copped a blow to the head during a contest for the ball on the ground, and was later seen looking completely shattered after being subbed out of the game.

Many assumed he had failed a concussion test, but Murphy later revealed that wasn't the case. “I passed the test, but I ruled myself out," he told The Age. "I had a bit of blurry vision, and with my concussions, I kind of get them delayed. I know the concussion test off by heart now ... I’ve done that a couple of times now, where I’ve passed it, then we’ve ruled me out.

“I’m totally fine now, actually pretty good. I can’t remember too much of the game, but I’m remembering a lot of this [post-match celebration], so that’s all that matters.”

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