Then came the stern words from veteran defender Lynden Dunn. “I hold myself to a high standard, and he does, too. I deserved a bit of a spray, at that point, and I sure enough got one,” Cox said. “I know he just means the best for me and just wants me to play good footy. It was a silly mistake by me, it was a mental error and we turned it around in the second half. “I don’t take anything personally. “Me and ‘Dunny’ have done plenty of stuff together one on one, and I know he’s just trying to help me be the best player I can be.” But that moment was isolated. The oft-maligned big man hauled in a career-high eight marks and broke his season duck for goals, kicking 2.2 as the Pies ran away to a 49-point win.

Two years on from his debut in the same fixture, Cox said he was building self-belief. “I think every game really I grow in confidence,” Cox said. “Today was one of those days, a dry day, you get your confidence up. ‘‘It’s always a bit of a weight of your shoulders every time you kick your first goal and you don’t have to think about it any more.’’ There are likely always going to be critics given his unusual background, but Cox said “all the outside stuff doesn’t bother me”.

Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video He remains committed to a defence-first attitude, and joked of being in a state of disbelief that he had actually managed to tackle diminutive and speedy Bomber Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti. Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley seemed pleased with Cox’s progress. ‘‘I thought he was effective last week, and I thought he was effective again today,’’ said the Magpie coach. ‘‘When he jumps at the ball the way he does today and starts clunking them it’s going to ask a lot of question of back sixes and how you plan to defend him.’’