AFL Player #13: Nik Cox 🦄 - Skipper called him 'the Unicorn' in an interview (confirmed!)

[Beerfish]

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

 

[Milanista28]

Nic Nat has a less pronounced version of the Joe Danihers - in that he was extremely good for a very short period of time; and has been average to good for the rest.

I’d be close to labelling him overrated.

Disagree, Nic Nat is a beast, he's impossible to stop when fit, some of his ruck work is mesmerizing.

Grundy, Gawn, Goldstein great players who win the ball and have plenty of hitouts but none of them are close to NN in terms of actual ruck craft.

 

[owen87]

Disagree, Nic Nat is a beast, he's impossible to stop when fit, some of his ruck work is mesmerizing.

Grundy, Gawn, Goldstein great players who win the ball and have plenty of hitouts but none of them are close to NN in terms of actual ruck craft.

5 minutes to go in a GF, you can pick one (current day) ruckman fully fit and ready to go. You pick Natanui every-time.

 

[11kgm]

5 minutes to go in a GF, you can pick one (current day) ruckman fully fit and ready to go. You pick Natanui every-time.

I mean you saw Collingwood v WCE, Bucks through Cameron into the ruck over Grundy says all it needs to

 

[owen87]

I mean you saw Collingwood v WCE, Bucks through Cameron into the ruck over Grundy says all it needs to

For a full (normal length) game, Grundy / Goldy / Gawn who are capable of playing 85 - 90% in the Ruck mean you don't need to carry a second ruckman, whereas WCE have no choice with Natanui since he can't play those kind of minutes which means you have to really average out the impact of Natanui + Back-up Ruckman. But as an individual player, I'm not sure there's a better one (in any position) for impact than Natanui. 2020 should have been the best ever season for maximising NN's impact because he could play the same minutes but run a much higher TOG% due to the shorter games, but the rest of the side didn't get there.

He was a ruckman who was averaging 3rd for Hitouts per game, but also sat 4th for Clearances per Game and 2nd for Center Clearances per Game. In their EF he not only took Grundy apart in the hitouts, he was also the leading clearance winner on the ground, second in i50's, West Coast's equal higher contested possession winner, and had more metres gained than guys like Kelly & Shuey (absolutely destroying Grundy on that stat, 48mG for Grundy versus 273mG for Natanui).

We've lost some of his best years to injury, and in a normal length game, he comes back to the pack because he can't play the high minutes some of the others can, but in terms of raw impact when he's on the ground, he's outstanding.

 

[11kgm]

For a full (normal length) game, Grundy / Goldy / Gawn who are capable of playing 85 - 90% in the Ruck mean you don't need to carry a second ruckman, whereas WCE have no choice with Natanui since he can't play those kind of minutes which means you have to really average out the impact of Natanui + Back-up Ruckman. But as an individual player, I'm not sure there's a better one (in any position) for impact than Natanui. 2020 should have been the best ever season for maximising NN's impact because he could play the same minutes but run a much higher TOG% due to the shorter games, but the rest of the side didn't get there.

He was a ruckman who was averaging 3rd for Hitouts per game, but also sat 4th for Clearances per Game and 2nd for Center Clearances per Game. In their EF he not only took Grundy apart in the hitouts, he was also the leading clearance winner on the ground, second in i50's, West Coast's equal higher contested possession winner, and had more metres gained than guys like Kelly & Shuey (absolutely destroying Grundy on that stat, 48mG for Grundy versus 273mG for Natanui).

We've lost some of his best years to injury, and in a normal length game, he comes back to the pack because he can't play the high minutes some of the others can, but in terms of raw impact when he's on the ground, he's outstanding.

Ironically a second final that Grundy has done sweet * all, Mumford broke even against him in the GWS final year. He may have got a lot of the ball but did * all with it

 

[EnolaGay]

Ironically a second final that Grundy has done sweet fu** all, Mumford broke even against him in the GWS final year. He may have got a lot of the ball but did fu** all with it

Grundy is Andrew Phillip's bunny

 

[JT_the_Man]

We’ve got a player on our hands.

 

[11kgm]

 

[blitzer]

That is incredible in his first hit out against real opposition in Essendon colours.

 

[carloss]

That movement reminds me of a previous number #13.

 

[ghostdog]

Agility like that from a tall. Can he snap goals too?

 

[DERO]

Gee he moves well for a bloke who is 200cm.

 

[Old man fletch]

Heppell, Myers, Lucas, Hibberd and likely several others I can't think of won't like that footage. Went to kick on his right side, side stepped a player and kicked on his left.

 

[DERO]

Heppell, Myers, Lucas, Hibberd and likely several others I can't think of won't like that footage. Went to kick on his right side, side stepped a player and kicked on his left.

I don't think Sam Walsh would be too happy either but for other reasons.

 

[ant555]

Just hope they take him along slowly. Has the potential to be anything but has had limited footy last year. Just hope they stick to their word and ease him through this year.

 

[ghostdog]

Notice he had his knee strapped. Overreacting, I know, but tall blokes with knees worry me. They should just not have any.

 

[11kgm]

Im hyped 100 percent on the kid 200cm tall fitness freak can kick on both legs

he will be a pain for opposition's defenders and forwards

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Ruckman

 

[ant555]

Ruckman

Nope. Bryan and Draper will have that covered.
Forward / wing / half back.

 

[Godzke]

Im hyped 100 percent on the kid 200cm tall fitness freak can kick on both legs

he will be a pain for opposition's defenders and forwards

Hopefully not an egg

 

[doug85]

Reminds me of a Buddy Franklin or Eric Hipwood

30

Eric Hipwood

Age

26

Ht

203cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.0

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

2.6

2star

M

3.9

4star

T

1.3

3star

G

1.5

5star

D

11.1

3star

K

8.4

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.1

2star

G

1.1

5star

D

10.6

3star

K

8.4

4star

HB

2.2

2star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.4

5star

type.

 

[BrunoV]

He's not an easy player to draw a significant comparison to. I don't really see any Blicavs in what he is currently doing. Bilcavs was always a pretty physical player and not really someone who can play as slowly as Cox does.

The starting point for me is that if you took 10cm from Cox's height he probably wouldn't be any different as a player. He can take a screamer but he's not standing and delivering in the way you'd associate with a player who is 2m tall. Then you look at his weight and his athletic profile and there is a reason he is not a stand and deliver marking player.

To date, the player who I see in him most is what the good Jacks Watts would have been if he played on a wing or even Lukosious. Players who do not rely on their height as much as they rely on running power and exquisite kicking (Jack Watts played a season or 2 as the most destructive kick inside 50 in the game) to be influential.

I also see quite a bit of Paddy Ryder in the way he bounds and think, even at this very early stage, that's the sort of physical specimen Cox will end up being. More KPP than Watts or even Westhoff ever really were but always someone who is going to rely on movement to be at his most effective.

 

[DapperJong]

He's not an easy player to draw a significant comparison to. I don't really see any Blicavs in what he is currently doing. Bilcavs was almost a pretty physical player and not really someone who can play as slowly as Cox does.

The starting point for me is that if you took 10cm from Cox's height he probably wouldn't be any different as a player. He can take a screamer but he's not standing and delivering in the way you'd associate with a player who is 2m tall. Then you look at his weight and his athletic profile and there is a reason he is not a stand and deliver marking player.

To date, the player who I see in him most is what the good Jacks Watts would have been if he played on a wing or even Lukosious. Players who do not rely on their height as much as they rely on running power and exquisite kicking (Jack Watts played a season or 2 as the most destructive kick inside 50 in the game) to be influential.

I also see quite a bit of Paddy Ryder in the way he bounds and think, even at this very early stage, that's the sort of physical specimen Cox will end up being. More KPP than Watts or even Westhoff ever really were but always someone who is going to rely on movement to be at his most effective.

Nick Reiwoldt?

 

[BrunoV]

Nick Reiwoldt?

Not so much because N Roo was a power forward from day 1. I don't think Cox could be that player this year (or likely even next).

It's also hard because I don't really think of the player Riewoldt was from day 1. He may well has just been a skinny kid.

 

[TheFrenchCut]

He is the taller, more athletic, non-Ross-Gellar-looking Kyle Langford

4

Kyle Langford

Age

27

Ht

192cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

7.3

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

3.3

5star

G

0.7

4star

D

17.4

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

8.4

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.6

3star

G

0.7

4star

D

8.2

2star

K

3.2

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

3star

.