Two ex-greats claim Mason Cox is unfairly treated by umpires, but Magpies won’t take issue to AFL

AFL greats claim Collingwood tower Mason Cox is being manhandled by defenders every week — and the umpires aren’t rewarding him. Will the Pies do something about it?

Are defenders getting away with too much when dealing with Mason Cox? Picture: Getty Images

COLLINGWOOD has no plans to meet with the AFL umpiring department over the treatment of Mason Cox by opposition defenders as two former star forwards claimed the Magpies’ big man was being unfairly treated.

Wayne Carey and Brian Taylor said Cox wasn’t being rewarded when defenders regularly attempt to chop his arms and stop the 211cm forward from getting to marking contests.

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Are defenders getting away with too much when dealing with Mason Cox? Picture: Getty Images

The Magpies confirmed yesterday they haven’t broached the matter with the AFL and have no intention of doing so.

It comes as Cox made a lighthearted quip on social media, joking he was prepared to have a coffee with AFL CEO Gill McLachlan, as Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson did earlier this year.

Carey said on Talking Footy: “I see other forwards get slight chops of the arm and slight blocks (and they get free kicks) … he gets absolutely nothing.”

“And let’s be honest, when he puts his hands up at full stretch you can only give away a free kick to spoil (the ball through) chopping of the arms or illegally using your body to push him under the ball.

“It happens to him week in, week out.”

Cox has been a revelation for the Pies this year and teams have started to plan for him. Picture: Michael Klein

Taylor was just as emphatic that rival teams had put work into trying to delay Cox from getting to a marking contest, such was his enormous reach.

“There’s work that goes into him to push him off the football,” Taylor said.

“There’s not always much in it, but just enough to delay him getting to the contest. They are working over Mason Cox and I think they are doing it unfairly.

“His attribute is to be able to run and jump. When he runs and jumps you can’t beat him.

“So all they have to do is interrupt his run and put him slightly off balance so he can’t run and jump at the football in the perfect position and it’s all over.”

Cox tweeted yesterday: “Umpiring would be one of the hardest jobs. No glory and people hate you for making or not making a call. Having said that my coffee order is a skinny cappuccino 1 sugar when you are free Gil.”

When asked about the treatment of Cox last week, coach Nathan Buckley said: “I think he was committed to the aerial contest and I think there’s a lot of early work from their defenders on him.”

“Some of it’s part of the game. It’s up to the umpires to adjudicate that.”

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