Fremantle defender Brennan Cox has done everything possible to convince coach Justin Longmuir to pick him for the grand final after producing an energetic training session in front of 3000 fans at Cockburn on Wednesday morning.
Cox will either complete a lifelong dream of playing in the grand final or suffer through the heartache of having to watch from the grandstand after struggling with injury in the latter half of the season.
Fremantle held him out of the WAFL grand final on Sunday to avoid him having a six-day break if they picked him, and Cox completed a private training session over the weekend instead.
Having not played any footy since injuring his calf in round 24 against Carlton, Cox needed to train the house down to force his way back into the team.
He was full of energy throughout the session and showed he isn’t afraid to test his calf with explosive efforts. At one point he won possession in the midfield, produced a fend off and then sprinted clear and took a bounce before sending the ball forward.
Earlier he attempted to get past Caleb Serong in a tackling drill and showed strength while competing with Jye Amiss in match practice.
Cox’s son Arlo was watching from the sidelines and cheering for his dad. Arlo then stepped onto the field after training and put on a show for the fans with Luke Ryan, kicking the ball at them and waving enthusiastically. The fans cheered for him as much as they cheered for Cox.
But when it came to match practice at the end of training, Cox played for the B-Team. Oscar McDonald, who has been in the AFL team for the last eight games in a row played in the A-Team.
McDonald will be under pressure if the Dockers elect to pick Cox but all eyes were also on him to see if he recovered from a collision against Sydney in the preliminary final.
McDonald’s body language at times was quite flat, but that changed several times during the session, including during an extended conversation with defensive coach Jade Rawlings.
That discussion included Rawlings speaking to McDonald about body positioning, which was a strong indication that he is likely to play.
McDonald’s brother Tom played in a premiership for Melbourne in 2021 and he will be desperate to join him with a flag having played for the Demons until the end of 2020. Oscar also played in Melbourne’s 2018 preliminary final loss to West Coast.
Fremantle don’t have to name their team until Thursday night and will travel to Melbourne as an entire club earlier in the day, which means they won’t give away any secrets about who gets on the plane.
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