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Collingwood premiership cult hero Mason Cox has received an AFL lifeline, a month on from being delisted by the Magpies.

Cox, the second American to play at the highest level, played 139 games in black and white after making his debut as a 25-year old on Anzac Day in 2016, including the Magpies’ 2023 grand final win and a memorable performance in the 2018 preliminary final, kicking three goals in the second quarter to help down red-hot favourites Richmond.

The 34-year old was keen to continue elsewhere in 2026, and he will move across the country to do so, with Fremantle signing Cox on a two-year deal in the pre-season supplementary period.

However, he is unlikely to be a regular at senior level unless injury disaster strikes, with the Dockers regularly employing a twin-ruck AFL partnership between Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson and with teenager Aiden Riddle developing as a long-term option.

However, the departure of back-up ruckman Liam Reidy to Carlton during the trade period left the Dockers needing ruck depth, with Cox’s experience fitting the bill perfectly.

“We see a real benefit with having a 211cm premiership ruck of the calibre of Mason Cox joining our program,” Fremantle head of player personnel David Walls said in a statement on the club website.

“We are really pleased with our ruck combination of Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson and see Mason adding to our depth in that department, his knowledge and experience will be really valuable. 

“We have 19-year-old Aiden Riddle developing nicely and he will benefit greatly, along with Luke and Sean. 

“We look forward to welcoming Mason to the club.”

Speaking to the Dockers’ media team, Cox said he was ‘very excited’ to be making the move west and reunite with coach Justin Longmuir, who was an assistant coach at Collingwood before taking the senior job at Fremantle at the end of 2019.

“I’ve got obviously a lot of experience, I’ve been in the system for 11 years,” he said.

“I think my body’s going really well and everything else, so I’m pretty excited to be able to continue the journey.

“He’s [Longmuir] a great man, I’ve got a lot of respect for him, so I’m excited to kind of start to work with him again.”

Cox didn’t hold back in his praise of the Dockers’ playing squad, saying they have the ‘best list in the competition’ despite bowing out in an elimination final in 2025 via a stunning one-point loss to Gold Coast.

“It might be a bit bullish to say, but I think it’s the best list in the competition,” he said.

“You look at what they were able to do last year, the streak of wins. It’s pretty impressive, and hopefully I can add some experience along with everything else to continue that success.

“Someone once told me that purple is royalty, so hopefully we can make some great memories.”

At 211cm, Cox is one of the tallest players to have ever played at AFL level.+