AFL Player #13: Nik Cox - Subbed out vs GCS

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2024
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 6, Rick Ross

 

[southern_crusher]

He's scared of his own shadow. No chance he makes it

 

[Zach Package]

He was fine given the circumstances, how anyone could infer anything based on last night is beyond me.

Defenders had absolutely no hope in hell. McKay the only one who can hold his head high because he was playing on a bloke that belongs in a wheelchair.

 

[outersanctum]

Is super soft but hear me out. A more positive take.

Is the back mix right to have him back there With Martin as well. Both really poor aerially, but i feel like we are at least trying to build into a poorman ridley role.

Was a time we let ridley get exposed 1 on 1 until he built that skill. Cox doesn't have the speed or foot skills but I can kinda see what they are trying to do. Physical and draft profile that was his go.

Think move Martin and hind out and move a durham/duursma or someone willing to come across hard and help out. Redman can do it and hide some team-mates flaws but is really down on form.

We also don't have much other options atm. Laverde also out of form. Hayes?

I highly doubt he makes it but if we are going down this path at least follow it through at least until ridley or Reid are back. I'd give him a bit more aerial support and hardness down there in the meantime.

Need more then just McKay with aerial contest and marking as a strength in the back 6.

Will need to build his appetite for the contest but still young and physically gifted.

That chance we had with 3 picks in a row in the top 10 and yet we have ended up with Reid (miss), Cox (not looking good) and Perkins (decent without starring).

I don't see what we are trying to do with Cox this year.. but it looks horrible when it goes wrong. He is not a defender, at all.

 

[nipst@r]

Confident Reid will make it. Shown his good enough just injury holding him back.

Daniher, ridley, curnow give me confidence.

Might not make it at ess but will be injury not ability of not.

 

[nipst@r]

He was fine given the circumstances, how anyone could infer anything based on last night is beyond me.

Defenders had absolutely no hope in hell. McKay the only one who can hold his head high because he was playing on a bloke that belongs in a wheelchair.

Efforts in some marking contests was anything but fine.

As a defender in ess backline you are going to have goals kicked on you and opportunities for your opponent.

But the contest you give in these says a lot. Really poor in 1 on 1 but agree we also need to protect him more to help build this skill.

Atm doesn't have the skill and I'm not confident if he'll build to a acceptable level

 

[ant555]

Not totally shocked he looked average in a game where the defenders where under the pump after quarter time . The bloke up the other end who played for us and looked okay last night was similar when he was finding his feet with us.

Cox has to build some confidence in his game and body and is still a very 50/50 call but he has been better overall this year compared to what he served up last year.

 

[Zach Package]

Efforts in some marking contests was anything but fine.

As a defender in ess backline you are going to have goals kicked on you and opportunities for your opponent.

But the contest you give in these says a lot. Really poor in 1 on 1 but agree we also need to protect him more to help build this skill.

Atm doesn't have the skill and I'm not confident if he'll build to a acceptable level

6 one on ones, lost 2, halved the rest, had a few good spoils. Ball use maybe a bit shaky.

I dunno, I just reckon if you leave that game thinking ‘man, Cox has some work to do’ then he slept with your missus or something because he’s very low down on the problem list.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

6 one on ones, lost 2, halved the rest, had a few good spoils. Ball use maybe a bit shaky.

I dunno, I just reckon if you leave that game thinking ‘man, Cox has some work to do’ then he slept with your missus or something because he’s very low down on the problem list.

i wouldn't look at that and say that's any type of positive for a ~4th year player.........

 

[Zach Package]

i wouldn't look at that and say that's any type of positive for a ~4th year player.........

Lose a third of your one on ones, bit shaky with the ball and a few spoils is going to describe the 2 all Australian key backs this year.

We’ve finally stopped ****ing him around and played him in the position he always should have been playing and it’s taken him more than a month to get it completely down pat, he’s also worked out when to use each foot, which is a bizarre problem to have but a problem he had none the less.

Needless to say I don’t get the hullabaloo.

 

[jannissary]

he's looked better in defense than on the wing so far this year but i get the feeling he'll eventually plateau with mediocre performances

 

[Nuggs Bunny]

I still would like to see him play forward of the ball, just for another mobile tall we can kick to around the wing/hf area. Would end up making our current forward line too tall though.

 

[Howard Moon]

All I see is Kepler Bradley, the original pick 6 unicorn who never made it

 

[ant555]

All I see is Kepler Bradley, the original pick 6 unicorn who never made it

Bradley would have made it but two things stopped him.
1) Sheedy the genius playing him CHF in the VFL where he was very good and hen playing him CHB at AFL level where he was not.
2) his love for mid week beer was too strong.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

It’s the lack of competitiveness for me. Thats a real problem

 

[crackers65]

i wouldn't look at that and say that's any type of positive for a ~4th year player.........

And also a top ten draft pick.

 

[Vindicater]

It’s the lack of competitiveness for me. Thats a real problem

Yep. Seems to pick and choose too much. Am hoping more game time I to him and more confidence I. His body might help fix that.

 

[Squeaky]

It’s the lack of competitiveness for me. Thats a real problem

He is not the only one there though.
We are bereft of competitors at EFC.
Any time there ball is on the ground in a genuine one of one we usually lose - I would back Merrett most times, but that's it.

 

[faible]

It’s the lack of competitiveness for me. Thats a real problem

Weirdly he seemed fairly competitive in his first year, and he has moments where he does throw his body in. Just not a consistent thing. Not sure if perhaps repeat injuries has really just destroyed his confidence and as he gets continuity and adds more weight we might see it start to come back.

 

[MattyB3150]

If he was playing for a good team he would probably look pretty good but unfortunately the ball is under pressure a lot in our backline.
Is this his best position if he is in the team?

 

[EnolaGay]

All I see is Kepler Bradley, the original pick 6 unicorn who never made it

A possible Cale Morton Mk 2, hopefully not


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[cobra land]

Get him a tape of Mac Andrews game from the GCS V GWS on Sunday and watch how he goes about it, they would roughly be around the same height and weight.

If he can't at a minimum be competitive then play someone/anyone that will be.

I hope for his sake that he can get back to his first year form otherwise it might be time to cut our losses and trade him out.

 

[calyam]

If he was playing for a good team he would probably look pretty good but unfortunately the ball is under pressure a lot in our backline.
Is this his best position if he is in the team?

If Essendon was a good team, Cox would be in the VFL.

I'm not sure we had a choice but to mold him into a defender. We have a range of established or emerging tall forwards - and Cox hadn't shown enough to really displace anyone in the pecking order - and we lacked tall defensive depth. It was never going to be viable to let him run around aimlessly through the middle, particularly given what we'd already seen from him in that role.

His disposal doesn't seem remotely good enough under pressure to be a full-time defender. Hopefully what we have seen so far is just a kid experiencing a few jitters in a new role but I think fans should condition themselves to the strong possibility that he doesn't make it.

 

[sup3rfish]

No concerns with him not making it or trying a new role. Surely that can be done and established in the VFL though.
Looks second rate at this stage of the year and his pressure when we dont have the ball is terrible.

 

[eighties_bomber]

we need to be ruthless and start removing the spuds from our list. This kid shows very little, we should offer him up at seasons end

 

[Milanista28]

Hodl!