Brennan Cox has lauded Walyalup’s defensive unit for re-discovering their best football in recent weeks, with yet another strong showing against Narrm at the MCG on Saturday.
Walyalup’s backline proved a force against Narrm’s attack, defending 58 inside 50s for the day against a forward line boasting the likes of Brodie Grundy, Koisiah Pickett and Bailey Fritsch.
Hayden Young was the biggest driver of the footy on ground with a game-high 644 metres gained in a performance that also tallied 27 disposals, 10 rebound 50s and nine intercept possessions.
Cox (20 disposals, 12 marks) joined Luke Ryan (22 disposals, 11 marks, 634 metres gained) and Alex Pearce (eight intercept possessions, four marks) as the primary interceptors for Walyalup.
The 24-year-old highlighted the pressure brought by Walyalup further up the field that went a long way to successfully executing their team defence.
“We are back to our best I think, and we get a lot of help from the mids and the forwards who are pressuring the ball,” Cox said.
“It allows us to play more proactively and try and win the ball back rather than defend it.
“We are always looking to do it together, I thought we handled the key forwards pretty well and the smalls, we were able to stop at ground level.
“I feel like we are back to our best and working together.”
Cox added to the choir of praise hurled Luke Jackson’s way after the forward/ruck stepped up in the absence of an injured Sean Darcy, who was subbed out of the game with a hamstring injury in the second term.
Against his former side, Jackson finished on 19 possessions (11 contested), 15 hitouts, a game-high eight clearances, six tackles, five inside 50s and a goal.
With plenty of talk during the week about Jackson’s return to the MCG, Cox said the ruckman’s nature wouldn’t have let that distract him from the task at hand.
“There’s not much that fazes big ‘Dogga’, he performed really well and it felt like he got his hands to everything,” Cox said.
“To step up in Sean’s absence with an unlucky injury was huge.
“All the boys are getting around Sean, he’s pretty flat but that’s to be expected.
“He said he has never done (a hamstring) before so he’s not too sure how bad it will be, so he will just wait on the result.”
Young key forward duo Jye Amiss (three goals) and Josh Treacy (two goals) continued to make their presence felt at AFL level, with Cox identifying their intensity around the ball as well as their goal nous.
'He amazes me' - Huge praise for young gun
Amiss leads Walyalup on the goalkickers list with 19 majors from 10 games in 2023, while Treacy has impressed since his regular return to the AFL side in round 8.
“They have been brilliant since coming in, not just marking it but bringing the ball to a contest,” Cox said.
“They are looking really dangerous with their follow up work and are pretty much following up like smalls with their intensity and pressure on the ball.”
Walyalup now have a chance to refresh with a round 12 bye after a testing first half of the season that sees the Club sit at 6-5 on the ladder.
“After a win like that you sort of want to keep playing, but we need the bye,” Cox said.
“It’s been tough up until now, so everyone will get the mental and physical refresh.
“I’m going up north to Jurien Bay, my partner is from there. We’re going up there for a bit of fishing - I’m looking forward to it.”
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