Fremantle defender Brennan Cox is raring to go for his 50th AFL game this Sunday against Carlton at Marvel Stadium, despite concerns he had picked up an injury in Freo’s round two win against GWS.
Cox appeared sore after a marking contest in the third term but has been pleased with how he’s recovered following the game.
“I pulled up really well actually. I thought I’d pull up a lot worse,” Cox said.
“I just copped a big knee or something in the back. I just couldn’t generate any real power from it, (t was) hard to sprint. But I pulled up really well.”
Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe touted Cox as Fremantle’s no.1 defender in the pre-season and, following the injuries to Alex Perace (knee) and Joel Hamling (ankle), the 194cm defender is now the clear choice for the opposition’s best forward.
“Obviously you don’t want to see Joel and 'Moose' (Pearce) go down and we got Griffin coming back in a couple of weeks,” Cox said.
“I’m ready to step up to that role. I’ll embrace the challenge and I’ll hold down the fort until they get back hopefully.
“I put in a lot of work over the pre-season and off-season to try and be that number one and for him to recognise it…it gives me a lot of confidence to play that role.”
Ahead of his 50th game, Cox said he had relished developing a friendship with teammate Luke Ryan since they were drafted in 2016.
“We have really strong connection. (We were) drafted together, lived together for four years,” Cox said.
“So we know each other pretty well and trust each other to get it done on game day as well.”
