Essendon ‘frustrated' with situation surrounding young gun Nik Cox
Cox has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after facing the AFL's independent concussion panel in June following a series of head knocks over the past 12 months.
But while he was initially given a clear return-to-play pathway, the panel won't reconvene until October at the earliest.
It leaves the club and Cox unsure of his future until after the trade period.
'The situation now, and this is what's frustrating Essendon, is that the concussion committee cannot be convened for the purposes of assessing the future of Nick Cox until at the very, very earliest October and probably November,' Wilson reported on The Agenda Setters.
'Look, I don't know if it's bureaucracy. These are busy people. There's medical people involved. They have busy schedules. This is also a very costly exercise. Clubs have to pay for this, and it's not coming out of the soft cap.
'I'm not dissing the importance of the seriousness of concussion, but we're looking at $10,000 to actually go through this process. So I think that the footy department is becoming increasingly frustrated that the AFL can't intervene and speed this up.
'I think, if I'm blunt, I think Nick Cox is probably at the moment a 50-50 proposition to play again, and whether he chooses to play again with all the red flags he's had with concussions.
'But the club need to know, surely, before the trade period, they need to know for their list management what's going to happen. So this is an ongoing issue.'
Wilson stressed that concussion is a very serious issue in the game.
'I think this is just one of the many bureaucratic problems that has come about through what is rightly a very serious issue and doing the right thing,' she added.
Fellow panellist Luke Hodge said it's important to make the right call when it comes to Cox's future.
'It's also something that you wouldn't want to rush into,' he said.
'He might need a good four, six months to make sure he gets over the last concussion before they go and make a pretty serious call on his future.'
Cox suffered a concussion in Round 22 last year before going down again in a training session before Christmas.
Symptoms lingered throughout the pre-season, but he eventually returned to VFL level and played two games before he was sidelined again and placed in concussion protocols.
He then faced the same independent panel that recommended he sit out the remainder of the season.
Cox made an eye-catching start to his AFL career.
Taken with pick No.8 in the 2020 draft, the 200cm utility excited the AFL world with his athleticism and mobility.
He played 22 senior games in his debut season, but then only managed 11 in 2022 and 2023.
Cox was a regular starter last year, managing 20 games until a concussion in Round 22 ended his season early.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
AFLW legend Erin Phillips shares heartbreaking details of wife Tracy's miscarriage days before 2022 preliminary final
AFLW great Erin Phillips has broken down while speaking about a 'devastating' family tragedy she went through just days before a preliminary final in 2022. The dual sports champion and star commentator, became emotional on Channel 7's Unfiltered while revealing her wife, Tracy, had a miscarriage during the pregnancy of their fourth child. Phillips was a superstar for Adelaide's powerhouse AFLW team that won grand finals in 2017, 2019, and, eventually, in Season 6 in 2022. Bu there were mixed emotions and complications in 2022, as Erin and Tracy went through another IVF journey after already having three other children. 'It took us two years before we had Blake and Brooklyn, and we had multiple unsuccessful pregnancies where we couldn't even get pregnant. We tried. We moved on to the IVF route, which is more expensive, obviously,' Phillips said. '(We were) maybe a bit more hopeful in the chances of becoming parents, and we end up getting five embryos. We tried for two, and we were just hopeful to just get one, and we won the lottery. We got two, we got Blake in Brooklyn. 'I thought, after all the sleepless nights and ... just how crazy life was, I thought maybe we'd be done at two, because looking after kids is a full-time job. 'And so we decided to have another one. So we go for three and then we had Drew straight away, no problem. And then we tried for number four, thinking that this is easy, like the hard part's done. 'We've had one, two and three. All the three embryos took. Why wouldn't number four take? And initially it did. 'And then three days before the prelim in 2022, three days before we played Fremantle in the prelim at Adelaide Oval, Tracy miscarriages ... 'And it was one of the most just ... devastating, hardest, awful moments to see your your wife, your partner, go through that. 'As her wife, there was nothing I could do to make it better. You just feel so helpless to see her go through that. 'We got to the obstetrician thinking it was a regular scan, (but the scan is) saying there's no heartbeat anymore. And it was like, it was a shock. It was like, we can't possibly be hearing that, surely not. 'We didn't talk about it with anybody. We didn't want to tell people what we were going through, because we didn't really want people to worry. 'I didn't want anyone to feel like that something was wrong, and I had a prelim, and I know that seems so irrelevant, a game, and it is in many respects, but it was also a big game that I wanted to find the energy and the willpower to go and perform and bring some joy into back into our lives. 'And and there was also this element of, you know, we were so lucky. We've already got three kids, you know. You know, we miscarried our fourth. Should we even be feeling like we were unlucky or should we even be grieving. 'There were so many emotions going on at the time when we won the grand final, it was like the final siren was the moment that I could actually just grieve. You know, I just, I just wanted to bring some joy back in that moment for Trace and what we just been through. 'And football seemed like such a small part of what we were going through, but we were able to celebrate and find some joy in that moment.' The couple would again try for child number four, and in 2023 Londyn Skye Phillips was born.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Simon Goodwin speaks out on sole reason for ‘shock' sacking
Premiership coach Simon Goodwin has opened up on his exit from the Melbourne Football Club for the first time since last Tuesday's shock announcement to sack him after nine years at the helm. While the Demons' struggles in season 2025 were well-documented up until his departure, the board's decision to axe the 2021 flag winner took the vast majority of people by surprise. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Goodwin, who is one of just four people to ever lead the Demons to a V/AFL flag, spoke to Fox Footy's AFL 360 eight days on from his departure at Melbourne. 'It was a shock, there's no doubt about that. I was disappointed that they'd come to that decision — but you accept that position,' Goodwin began. 'Do I 100% think that I was the right person to carry this team forward? Yes, because I've done it before ... but that's the decision the board made, and I accept that decision. 'They need a new voice, they want a new voice, and they're going to get one.' When probed by hosts Gerard Whateley and Garry Lyon as to whether there was any other rationale for his sacking beyond the club's 'need' for a new voice, Goodwin responded: 'I had a standard board meeting the week before, and didn't have an inkling at that point. But as I said, I'm sure the board went through a thorough process.' 'That was the (only) reason I got; that they needed a new voice.' The two-time Adelaide premiership player had a decorated career across his 275-game career, and has now spent well over a decade as a coach in the AFL system — making him a prime target for all clubs looking ahead to 2026. Seven's Mitch Cleary revealed on Wednesday evening that GWS have reached out to Goodwin in regards to a role next year. Speaking on any future plans in the industry, Goodwin noted he right now feels open to anything. 'I've spent some time up in Sydney, and I'm going to catch up with a whole range of different people,' Goodwin continued. 'I'm open-minded to doing any thing in football. I love the game, I love coaching. I want to get away, have a spell ... (but) coaching's never complete, you want to get better. And I know with the experience and everything that's I've gone through, with some PD (personal development), I'll come back even better.' Melbourne's off-field imperfections before Goodwin's departure are well-documented, leaving the 48-year-old with an extra layer of difficulty when trying to maintain the club's success year-on-year. It includes  report last October that some board members and those within the club's corporate circle held concerns over former chief executive Gary Pert and his handling of a player's trade negotiation — as well as separate worries over the management of superstars Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver. Goodwin agreed when questioned as to whether his tenure while coaching without a CEO led to a level os misalignment at the club. 'I think clearly. Clearly, you need alignment for success. You look around the great sporting organisations around the world in business and sport, alignment is critical. It's critical because it builds trust, and you can make some really great decisions that you need to moving forward,' Goodwin said. 'There's certainly been challenges, and things that all football clubs need to work on — and Melbourne's no different. But if you walk through the doors at training at Casey Fields with those players, the environment's healthy, alive and well ... and that's the biggest part of your program to get right. 'For the next coach, I think it's set-up incredibly well. I'd be incredibly excited by the group that they've got available to them.'
7NEWS
4 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Sacked coach Simon Goodwin meets with GWS Giants about new job for 2026 season
Just eight days after he was sacked by Melbourne, Simon Goodwin is already looking ahead to his next move. 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary has exclusive details of the meeting that is certain to keep the premiership coach in the AFL industry next year. 'Simon Goodwin has met with GWS over a role for next year,' Cleary said on 7NEWS. 'The link ... his wife is based in Sydney and Goodwin is expected to spend extended periods in the Harbour City.' Goodwin's wife Kristine Brooks is a high-flyer in the Sydney finance world. And the move makes sense, with both Sydney clubs having long spoken about the challenges in convincing big off-field names to the city. 'There's been a significant increase to the soft cap for football spending for 2026, so the Giants could afford it too,' Cleary said. Meanwhile, Cleary said Collingwood legend and former coach Nathan Buckley was the raging favourite to replace Goodwin at the Demons. And premiership hero Dale Thomas (who was coached by Buckley) backed his former mentor to do a great job with Melbourne. Thomas said the situation Buckley would be walking into was not too similar to the situation he faced when took over Collingwood after Mick Malthouse. 'He certainly ... learnt some lessons in that first part of his year (as coach) ... it ended up being 10 years coaching Collingwood,' Thomas said on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters. 'If he comes in now and he gets his opportunity at Melbourne, he can go, 'Right, this is what we're going to look like from the top down.'. 'There's still enough pieces of that puzzle that I think he (Buckley) can have a real impact. 'If (the Dees) do go and get him, I think he'll be a great fit.'
