- Mason Cox crashed the GWS meeting to take notes before the game
- Online football fans collapsed over the American’s move
- GWS had the last laugh, winning by 32 points over Collingwood
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Collingwood star Mason Cox has been roasted for a pre-match incident ahead of his team’s 32-point first round loss to the GWS Giants at Engie Stadium on Saturday night.
Overwhelmed by a speeding orange tsunami, the Magpies were denied the perfect start to their defense of top spot with a decisive 32-point victory: 18.6 (114) to 11.16 (82).
The Collingwood ruckman had a quiet match, but it was his pre-match antics that surprised many fans.
As the players warmed up before the game, the American big man decided to storm into the GWS player area and shove Giants great Shane Mumford and take a mark.
The GWS and Mumford players seemed unimpressed by the move, and fans watching at home were outraged.
GWS overcame Collingwood at Engie Stadium on Saturday night
“Just be ashamed of this,” one X user wrote.
“Arrogance has no limits,” responded another.
“It’s the only touch in the game,” said a third.
The Orange Army had the last laugh with the Magpies defense crumbling under the Giants’ firepower with Irish forward Callum Brown with a career-high five goals, followed by Jesse Hogan (4.0) and Brent Daniels (4.0).
Collingwood kicked four of the last five goals but were unable to mount a trademark comeback.
“We learned some really good lessons early on,” Collingwood coach Craig McRae said after the game.
“Coming into the game we thought we’d get better physically and then you get there and you realize the reality: everyone else is getting better.”
‘We want to achieve deep victories and nurture them. We will have superficial losses but we will learn the lessons very quickly.
Overwhelmed by a speeding orange tsunami, the Magpies were denied the perfect start to their premiership defence.
GWS were unfazed by Mason Cox’s pregame antics, and the Giants made it comfortably
‘We’ll be back in six days and play the Swans at the MCG.
“We go back to work and we have six days to do it.”
Without Jeremy Howe and Nathan Murphy, Collingwood’s defense struggled in the air against the GWS seniors.
Brown was able to score two goals without scoring, while Hogan showed off his aerial prowess against the likes of Collingwood’s Darcy Moore, Isaac Quaynor and Brayden Maynard.
“That’s how we want to play. “We want to be aggressive on defense,” McRae said.
‘Interestingly, when we weren’t, that’s when we got hurt.
“The Giants’ heights impact the game aerially and we just don’t impact 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 scored two against his former team, while brothers Nick (34 disposals, 10 clearances, one goal) and Josh Daicos (28 touches) were usually busy.
Collingwood should have been more rewarded for their scoring efforts after finishing the game with 60 inside 50s to GWS’s 53, but it was their inaccuracy that cost them.
Drafted in to add depth to the forward line, former Fremantle striker Lachie Schultz made his debut but failed to score his first goal for the club with a back three.
“The stats would say we had opportunities to score well, but we just couldn’t connect in the top 50,” McRae said.
“There’s a little bit of a rush to get the ball inside the 50 and then not be ready for us and then lose the ball.”