- Mason Cox stormed into the GWS group to get the score before the match
- Footy fans online were left in stitches by American’s move
- GWS had the last laugh, winning by 32 points against Collingwood
Collingwood star Mason Cox has been roasted for a pre-match incident before his side suffered a 32-point opening round loss to the GWS Giants at Engie Stadium on Saturday night.
Overwhelmed by an orange tsunami in full force, the Magpies were denied the perfect start to their premiership defense by a decisive 32-point victory – 18.6 (114) to 11.16 (82).
The Collingwood ruckman had a quiet game but it was his pre-match antics that surprised many fans.
As the players were warming up for the match, the American big man decided to charge into the GWS players’ area and shove Giants big Shane Mumford and get a point.
GWS players and Mumford looked anything but impressed by the move, and fans watching at home were furious.
GWS ran over the top of Collingwood at Engie Stadium on Saturday evening
“Shrink this,” one X user wrote.
“Arrogance knows no bounds,” replied another.
“Just a whiff of the game,” said a third.
The Orange Army had the last laugh as the Magpies’ defense disintegrated under the Giants’ firepower, with Irish forward Callum Brown having a career-best five goals, followed by Jesse Hogan (4.0) and Brent Daniels ( 4.0).
Collingwood scored four of the last five goals but could not complete a signature comeback victory.
“We learned some really good lessons early on,” Collingwood coach Craig McRae said after the game.
“Coming into the game we thought we were going to improve physically, and then you get there and you get the reality: everyone else is improving.
“We want to achieve deep victories and cherish those victories. We will suffer superficial losses, but we will learn the lessons very quickly.
Overwhelmed by an orange tsunami in full force, the Magpies were denied the perfect start to their premiership defense
GWS were unperturbed by Mason Cox’s pre-match antics, while the Giants fared comfortably
‘In six days we come back and play the Swans at the MCG.
“We’re going back to work and we have six days to do so.”
Without Jeremy Howe and Nathan Murphy, Collingwood’s defense struggled in the air against the GWS longs.
Brown managed two goals unmarked, while Hogan showed off his aerial skills against the likes of Collingwood’s Darcy Moore, Isaac Quaynor and Brayden Maynard.
‘That’s the way we want to play. We want to be aggressive on defense,” McRae said.
“Funnily enough, when we weren’t, we got hurt.
“The Giants’ bigs influence the game from the air and we just had no influence on that part of the game.”
Coach Craig McRae said Collingwood ‘learned some really good lessons early on’
Brody Mihocek scored three goals and Bobby Hill grabbed two against his old side, while brothers Nick (34 disposals, 10 clearances, one goal) and Josh Daicos (28 touches) were generally busy.
Collingwood should have received more reward for their efforts on the scoreboard after finishing the match with 60 inside-50s against GWS ’53, but it was their inaccuracy that cost them their way.
Former Fremantle striker Lachie Schultz was recruited to add depth to the forward line and made his debut but failed to score his first goal for the club by three down.
“The stats would say we had chances to score well, but we just didn’t get into the top 50,” McRae said.
“It’s a bit of a rush to get the ball inside the 50 and then not being there for us and then you turn the ball over.”