COLLINGWOOD will keep the faith with struggling big man Mason Cox, with coach Nathan Buckley saying that dropping him could severely compromise team structure.

The beanpole forward's place in the Magpie line-up has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks but Buckley backed him to "bounce back".

The Pies coach also revealed the surprising statistic that Cox has been the AFL's best one-on-one player over the past month.

Cox reaches for a mark against the Hawks. Picture: AFL Photos



Despite this, Cox, who missed five games after injuring his right ankle against Essendon on Anzac Day, has had little impact since his return in round 12.

The 'American Pie', who shot to international prominence with a special exhibition of high marking in the preliminary final hammering of Richmond last year, is a shadow of the player he was that night.

Mason Cox with the speccie and the strut!#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/7O3LTeNJIl — AFL (@AFL) September 21, 2018

In the loss to Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night, he was regularly outbodied and nudged under the ball, and even bungled a couple of elementary marking attempts within easy scoring range.

The 28-year-old's place in the team might well have been saved by a calf injury to key forward Ben Reid in the drubbing from North Melbourne the previous week.

Collingwood's Ben Reid has headed for treatment after this marking contest early in the first quarter.#AFLPiesNorth pic.twitter.com/1tvGh7UWJu — AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) June 29, 2019

As Buckley intimated, Cox's importance to team structure cannot be understated, particularly given the wobbling Magpies face their nemesis West Coast at Optus Stadium on Friday night.

The third-placed Pies are rank outsiders against the revitalised Eagles, who have triumphed in their past four head-to-head clashes, including last year's Grand Final.

Cox will have a crucial role to play against West Coast's strong-marking defenders, and will also provide support for star ruckman Brodie Grundy against Eagles duo Nic Naitanui and Tom Hickey.

BARRETT Weight of expectation could crush Pies' dreams

Asked whether Cox needed to return to VFL level to rediscover his form and confidence, Buckley took a considered pause.

"There's an argument for that, but we believe that 'Coxy' is capable of finding better. He's been a bit like us – he hasn't performed at his best," Buckley told SEN radio on Tuesday.

"You're treading that fine line of 'this week' versus 'in a month's time'. What's the best decision for the team first and foremost, but what honours selection across your group? Because the players that are toiling away in the VFL and are working for their opportunity to come and contribute at AFL level, they need to believe that they're going to be rewarded for their efforts.

"But there simply are some times where you cannot replace a player at the top without completely undermining your structure, and this may be one of those occasions.

"But at the same time, Coxy's had some lean patches before but has bounced back pretty well.

"Out of 16 one-on-one's he's been in in the last month, he's won seven. He's the leading one-on-one player in the competition over the last month, statistically. Your eyes wouldn't tell you that at all, but that's the facts."

In 10 games this year Cox has tallied 15 goals, scoring at least one major in every game he has played.

Since making his debut as an international rookie on Anzac Day in 2016, he has played 54 games in total and scored 67 goals.

In last year's preliminary final against the Tigers he was best-afield after taking 11 marks, including eight contested (the second-most recorded in a final) and kicked three goals in a remarkable eight-minute burst to give Collingwood a matchwinning break early in the second term.

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