It happened pretty quickly.
Before the first bounce of the 2018 Preliminary Final, Mason Cox was known for a few things; his height for one, his foreignness in the game of AFL another, but his ability to tear a game apart, not yet.
But in just 45 minutes, that changed forever.
As the marks started mounting, the confidence grew.
As the confidence grew, the swagger emerged.
And as the swagger emerged, the cult hero status exploded.
For the man himself, time has flown by since that night five years ago to the day.
While no moment stands out to Cox for when he knew he was on, there a few things that stick in his mind.
“I wouldn’t say there was like a specific moment, but it definitely helps when you get a few marks and goals going early to know you’re going to be a threat,” he says.
“The first one would’ve been on the wing near where we come up the race.
“After a few clunks you feel a bit on, and you get your confidence up.
“It seems like a long time ago to be honest with you, but it was a good day, a sticky day which was nice.”
Perhaps that there was no specific moment that emerges as key, highlights just how dominant Cox was that night.
Taking 11 marks – which to this day is the most of his career – Cox sliced through a Richmond defence who had been the benchmark all season.
In a 10-minute span that no Pies fan will forget, Cox took three marks inside fifty and converted each into goals, sending the MCG into raptures.
Bruce McAvaney was in awe, Tigers fans were stunned, and the Collingwood chant was replaced with a USA one.
“I just remember feeling really free around the ground and feeling really good and feeling really connected with the team which is the biggest thing,” Cox says.
“I do remember the chant after the second goal I think but I wasn’t really too plugged in, you’re so focused on the game that it doesn’t really register at the time and you’ve got to focus on the next play.
“When the game is over you realise how momentous it was, but it was pretty incredible.”
The underdog status going into the game was important too, with Cox saying just as they do now, the Magpie Army was crucial in giving the team energy.
“We were a bit of the underdog and I think Richmond had won 20 straight game at the MCG or something like that so it was just one of those games where everything was working for the team,” he says.
“It was wild, the Magpie Army always shows up and that was one of those days people were extra loud given the fact Richmond was also a big team.
“The underdog story made it even better and it was exciting, and the Magpie Army is something that really helps us.”
Now going into his third Prelim since that night, the story follows Cox wherever he goes.
It was only the 43rd game of his career, with the past five years helping him understand the significance of the penultimate week of the year.
“You get up for big games and enjoy the moment a bit more the more you realise how rare they are,” he says.
“I’m definitely going to make the most of them while they’re around and soak it in.
“On Friday night I’m sure at some point I’ll do a 360 and realise just how big the crowd is and how unique of an experience it is to be in front of that many people and you’ve got to enjoy that.
“It’s why we play at times, you want the pressure and you want the big reward at the end to get a win and that motivates you to do well on the day.”
