He’s 19 years old and played plenty of footy in his first year and he’ll get plenty of games this season.
But I don’t think it’s a drama if at various times he plays the odd 2’s game. He has a long career in front of him.
As it stands right now I have him somewhere in our best 25 but just outside the starting 22 in a mythical situation where everyone is available.
For instance I’d have Durham on a wing ahead of him at this moment. And the other wing a rotation between guys like Langford, McGrath and Zerrett filtering through.
Good preseason and he should be picked round 1. I mean some had him as the Rising Star half way through the 2021 season. If we do not have a spot for a potential rising star winner, our team must be really, really good.
In five years time he might be a very good CHF. In five years time he might be a very good ruckman. Over the next five years he will be a very good wingman. When best 25 are all available it will be hard to get a spot, but happy to see him develop on the wing in 2022.
In five years time, wherever he is playing, he will be better than a GOF. ‘Thank you very much umpire.’
Yeah even in a normal (non covid) year, if you’re notionally in the top 25ish players you end up playing nearly every week with the standard level of injuries and unavailability.
but yeah injuries or form for any of our small medium players we’ll likely mean another one of those 6 are selected. them plus ham and cutler is pretty much our depth for flanker/mids.
Like everyone else he has to prove over the pre-season that he deserves a place in the 22 for Round 1, but I expect he will. And he’s already put on some weight. The website has him at 200cm and 94kg now; I’m pretty sure that last year he was the same height, or very close to it, but he was only 87kg. You can tell from his build that he’s never going to develop into a power forward of the Lloyd or Jonathan Brown or Wayne Carey type, but he could well play as a mobile KPP. For now the wing looks like a great place for him.
That’s a useful extra 7kg to add.
I mean, being reported in his first game for a bump on a Hawthorn player, (legendary start), burying Sidebottom on Anzac Day (a must for any highlights package), and what should have been a chance to steal a Sydney win (farking umpires) by rag dolling Hickey in the ruck contest were all admirable efforts for a twig.
This year those same efforts should carry some more weight behind them.
Yeah not sure where Cox ends up to be honest. Ideally you would have him and Reid lock down a key position both forward and back each, I’m just not sure which and where at this stage.
Ideally he could forge a career as a tall mid but I can’t think of any player his height doing that long term once they get a bit heavier. What we don’t want is to end up with a hybrid average player like Bradley and Bolton were.
Actually I was thinking about good mids who were very tall for their era.
One that suddenly popped to mind was Michael Tuck.
At 188cm he was exceptionally taller than most ruck rovers & onballers in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s.
In a sense he started the trend for taller mids.
Now if we can just get 400 games and 7 flags out of Nik Cox ……