McStay joined Collingwood as a free agent at the end of last year after 168 games and 138 goals for Brisbane.
The 27-year-old has slotted straight into the Magpies' forward line, providing a valued marking presence in attack and a crucial option down the line defensively while averaging a goal and 4.7 marks per game.
McStay will play a key role when Collingwood (3-0) face Brisbane (1-2) at the Gabba on Thursday night and teammate Josh Daicos was adamant the Magpies would rally if his former teammates tried to get in his head.
"Fly (coach Craig McRae) said from the start of pre-season he's our man, and he said to Dan; to make sure that he knows he's our man to control the forward 50 and be a real presence out there," Daicos said.
"As you've seen, through the early years of his career (he was) playing behind (Joe) Daniher and (Eric) Hipwood, it's awesome to see him take the main role.
"He brings amazing fight and pressure, and, obviously (he is) a great finisher.
"Like we always do, we look after our teammates, so if there's one of them, there's two of us, two of them, three of us.
"We'll support him in any way, I'm sure that we'll try and feed him the ball a little bit to get him going."
Meanwhile, Nick Daicos' rapid elevation from rising star to the AFL's upper echelon barely raised an eyebrow from his older brother.
The 20-year-old has averaged 33.3 disposals and 534 metres gained in an electrifying start to his second season.
"I've never been surprised (by him)," Daicos said.
"From a young age, he surprised me a few times, and I've learned to expect almost anything with him.
"It's like it's his fifth or sixth year sometimes, his composure and his confidence.
"It's awesome to see him, early stage of his career, playing with a lot of confidence and having a lot of fun."
The elder Daicos hasn't needed to keep his younger brother's feet on solid ground, either.
"He's really level-headed, so I don't need to have too much input," he said.
"He's really humble, and he just loves playing football, he loves playing with all of us boys.
"He puts in a lot of work and a lot of time into his game, so it's great to see the fun he's having out on the field."
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