FREMANTLE is excited by the impact that experienced recruit Mason Cox can have off field as well as his ability to generate competition for spots after the premiership ruckman officially joined the Dockers on Monday.
Cox, 34, becomes the Dockers' oldest player after joining on a two-year deal, and one of only three players aged over 30, alongside captain Alex Pearce and midfielder Jaeger O'Meara.
After fielding the fourth youngest team on average last season and losing experienced leaders Nat Fyfe and Michael Walters, the Dockers targeted Cox as a replacement for back-up ruckman Liam Reidy, knowing he would be a positive influence on a young group.
"We know that his best footy stacks up at AFL level, and even from a locker room point of view, we've already seen in meetings that his ability and his experience will have an influence across the group," general manager of football Joe Brierty said on Monday as the Dockers returned for pre-season training.
"We looked at all the mature-age talent across the country, and we looked at his record with 140-odd games for Collingwood. He's a premiership player, he has great experience, and he's had really good durability with his body.
"He's only played since 2015 at AFL level as well, so he'll come in and play that ruck and forward role.
"It was pretty important from a list demographic perspective to make sure that we had a mature ruck that we could bring in … if Sean (Darcy) or Luke (Jackson) were unavailable."
Cox joined his new teammates for the first time on Monday, hitting the track as more than 30 players started their pre-season.
While only the first-to-fourth-year players were required, senior players and leaders including Pearce, Caleb Serong, Hayden Young, Luke Ryan and Jordan Clark all made a head start as the club also introduced its new draftees to light training.
Cox was straight into full training and met fans afterwards, with the American excited to continue his career in Perth on a two-year deal. He said he had a connection already with Darcy and Jackson and looked forward to working with the duo.
"It's a bit of a fraternity of some sort, ruckmen, and you always have respect for someone who plays that similar position as you," Cox said.
"So I'm excited to catch up with them for a coffee and pick their brain and see where I can help out."
Asked about the Dockers' list, Cox said: "It might be a bit bullish to say, but I do think it's the best list in the competition.
"You look at exactly what they were able to do last year and the streak of wins, it's pretty impress exactly what they're doing and hopefully I can add a bit of experience and everything else to continue that success."
Brierty said the addition of Cox would give the Dockers more flexibility to explore different roles for Jackson after he played as a ground-level midfielder when not in the ruck through 2025.
Cox's arrival and the expansion to a five-player bench would also make it easier for the team to stick with two rucks if one of Darcy or Jackson was injured.
Among the players to make an impression at Monday's return to training was Telstra AFL Rising Star Murphy Reid, who looked lean and ran well as he prepares to potentially spend more time in the midfield in 2026.
Brierty said the 19-year-old had already been working closely with new director of performance Adam Beard on enhancing both his contest work and his endurance.
"It looked like he ran pretty well, and I think his body has matured," Brierty said.
"He came in as probably a young man in terms of his physical strength and his work in the gym. That's something that he needed to build on, and I think we'll only see him explore that and grow.
"He'll want to take his contest work to another level but also his endurance and getting up and down the ground.
"We expect him to play a similar role, but there might be opportunities getting into the midfield this year as well. I'm sure Murphy's excited about all those things."