Mason Cox saw plenty of highlights in his time at Collingwood, but just months into his tenure at Fremantle, the American recruit as found himself in a state of constant disbelief watching new teammate Shai Bolton.
Bolton, who joined the Dockers from Richmond in a high-profile offseason trade at the end of 2024, has enjoyed a blistering start to the 2026 season. After a 33-disposal effort against his former side in Round 3 — which followed the 32 and two goals he managed a week prior — the dual-premiership star has firmly established himself as one of the most damaging forward-mids in the competition.
For Cox, witnessing the 27-year-old’s talents from the same side of the fence has been quite the eye-opener.
“He’s an absolute freak,” Cox said on the Red Time podcast. “I never really watched a lot of Fremantle games, but now being a lot more invested in it, I can easily say Shai is one of the most exciting players I’ve ever played with.”
The 211cm ruck-forward is yet to make his Fremantle debut after 139 games in the black and white, but admitted that it’s easy to find yourself slipping into the role of a spectator whenever Bolton has a footy in his hands.
“He just does stuff where you give him the ball and you just kind of watch him like, be shifty as hell, side step three people and somehow kick one from 55,” Cox said. “You’re just going, ‘I couldn’t do that if I tried that 1000 times’. Just freak athlete stuff and I absolutely love it. He’s such an exciting talent who everyone loves to watch… He’s an absolute gun.”
While Bolton is providing the silk and creativity, it is Josh Treacy providing the commanding aerial dominance in Justin Longmuir’s forward line. The 23-year-old key forward has become the competition’s most statistically dominant aerial threat after four rounds, currently ranked No. 1 for contested marks.
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In a rain-soaked Round 3 win over the Tigers, Treacy defied the conditions to haul in a massive 12 marks and slot four goals. It followed a similar path the week prior against Melbourne, where he took 10 marks and kicked another four majors, taking his tally to 10 goals in just three games.
When asked if Treacy is now the premier full forward in the AFL, Cox didn’t shy away from the hype.
“Obviously a teammate of mine so I’m biased, no doubt about that, but I think the stats back it up,” Cox said. “He is an absolute train. If you get caught in front of him, you best brace for impact.
“He’s got a really vice-like grip as far as marking the football goes and he’s killing it. His ability now to really lead up and mark the football on the lead… has been a really positive change for the club. It was raining [last week], it was wet, but it didn’t look like it from Josh Treacy’s standpoint, I’ll tell you that.”
Bolton and Treacy are just two components of a Dockers outfit that has kicked more than 100 points in their first three games of the season, and that scoring potency will be put to the test in a Good Friday clash against the Crows at the Adelaide Oval.