In one of the games of the season, played in front of 48,369 fans at Marvel Stadium on Friday night, Collingwood kicked three of the last four goals to win 13.11 (89) to 12.13 (85).
Daicos produced some magic to set up the winning goal, bursting through the middle to find Tim Membrey, who then kicked truly from 40m out.
North managed to charge forward in the dying seconds, a pack of Kangaroos players unsuccessfully flying for a mark 35m out, before the siren sounded.
Another close loss boosts Collingwood's wildcard hopes and dents the Kangaroos, who were playing in their first Friday night match since 2019.
On a dramatic night, Jack Crisp's VFL/AFL record for consecutive games is in danger of ending after the Collingwood veteran laid a tackle that concussed North Melbourne's Tom Blamires.
After playing 279 games in a row, starting in round 18, 2014, when he played for Brisbane, Crisp could be suspended by match review officer Michael Christian.
The 32-year-old laid a tackle on Blamires early in the second quarter that led to his Kangaroos opponent hitting his head on the ground.
Blamires was later ruled out of the match and placed in the AFL's mandatory 12-day concussion protocols.
Under the AFL's bid to protect players from head injuries, any tackle that leads to a concussion generally results in a suspension for the offending person.
North Melbourne forward Paul Curtis was only returning from his own three-week ban following a heavy tackle that left West Coast's Hamish Davis with concussion.
Crisp, who has played 291 AFL games, broke late Melbourne legend Jim Stynes' long-standing consecutive games record of 244 in round eight last year when the Magpies played Geelong.
Blamires wasn't the only player to suffer injury in the first half of North Melbourne's long-awaited return to Friday night football.
Collingwood forward Lachie Schultz, who had kicked an important goal, limped off with an ankle injury in the second quarter.
After receiving treatment in the rooms, Schultz attempted to run on the sidelines, but immediately went to the back of the bench and will play no further part in the match.
Nick Daicos (28 possessions and one goal) didn't have the best game of his career, but still had enough moments to influence the result.
His older brother Josh Daicos starred with 33 possessions, while Dan McStay kicked an equal game-high three goals for the Magpies.
North captain Nick Larkey's troubles in front of goal continued, kicking 3.4, but spraying some very gettable opportunities throughout the night.
Larkey entered the match with 2.7 over the past two weeks and looked low on confidence every time he had a shot on goal.
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