Caroline Wilson has slammed Collingwood ruckman Mason Cox’s “flimsy” apology for his pre-match antics in the lead-up to the Magpies’ clash with GWS on Saturday night.
It comes after Cox was slammed for his “bizarre” behaviour after interrupting the Giants’ pre match warm up, shoving GWS ruck coach Shane Mumford in the back while competing in a mock ball-up exercise before the first bounce.
Wider vision that was released on Monday night shows Cox finishing off his ball ups in the middle with a Collingwood ruck coach, as the Giants midfield group enter the centre circle for their dedicated warm up session.
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Cox continues to smash through the Giants group, knocking ruck coach Shane Mumford in the back, as the Collingwood assistant stood by.
Despite it now being cleared up to be Cox’s ball up, Wilson was still not impressed with his behaviour and justification of the situation, that warranted a please explain from the AFL.
”That’s a flimsy excuse at best,” Wilson said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday night.
“He wanted one more ball up, one more run up, but the time was up and even if it wasn’t up, you don’t go and jostle and hit the opposition’s former ruckman (Mumford).”
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The 32-year-old received a please explain from the AFL for his actions before the Giants 32-point victory over the reigning premiers.
Wilson believes it’s not a major incident, but has warned Cox that another brain fade like this may be even more costly than a slap on the wrist from the league.
“It’s not the end of the world, but you can’t have these little on field incidents involving physicality,” Wilson said.
“He shouldn’t have touched Mumford.”
The 2023 premiership ruckman clarified his actions, acknowledging that he did not read the moment correctly on Saturday night.
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“I apologise for the incident in our pre-game where I made contact with a GWS official,” Cox said via a club statement on Monday.
“In the moment, I was solely focused on getting one more bounce in – in hindsight, I should have stopped my run-up rather than completing the drill.”
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