Dayna Cox (born 12 August 1993) is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. A small defender, she made her debut in the AFLW in 2017 and played every match for the season. She was part of Adelaide's premiership team, winning the Grand Final.

Dayna Cox
Cox playing for Adelaide in January 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 (age 31)
Original team(s) Morphettville Park (SAWFL)
Draft 2016 free agent: Adelaide
Debut Round 1, 2017, Adelaide vs. Greater Western Sydney, at Thebarton Oval
Height 163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017–S7 (2022) Adelaide 32 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the S7 (2022) season.
Career highlights
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Career

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Cox played football for Morphettville Park Football Club in the South Australian Women's Football League.[1][2] During her early career she faced injury setbacks, but she became one of the best players in the state and played several exhibition matches representing South Australia in 2016.[2] After missing out on selection in the 2016 AFL Women's draft, she was signed by the Adelaide Crows as a free agent to become the final member of their inaugural squad in October 2016.[1][3]

Cox made her AFLW debut in the thirty-six point win against Greater Western Sydney at Thebarton Oval in the opening round of the 2017 season.[4] In the seventh and final round of the regular season, she was charged with striking Collingwood player Alicia Eva, putting her in jeopardy of playing in the Grand Final the following week. The Match Review Panel judged the contact to be low impact, so with an early guilty plea she was given a reprimand and allowed to play.[5] She was a part of Adelaide's premiership side when the club defeated Brisbane by six points at Metricon Stadium.[6][7] She played every match in her debut season to finish with eight matches.[8]

Adelaide signed Cox for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[9] During the Crows' round three match against the Western Bulldogs, Cox was reported twice for striking, receiving a reprimand for the first incident and a one-match suspension for the second.[10]

In June 2022, the Crows announced that Cox would be placed on the Club's inactive list for AFL Women's season seven commencing in August 2022, due to her work commitments with the South Australia Police.[11]

In February 2023, Cox announced her retirement.[12]

Player profile

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Cox is a small defender who plays on half-back, both tagging a forward and providing an avenue out of defence.[1] Upon signing her in 2016, coach Bec Goddard said, “She is a fantastic chase down tackler and she also loves to push forward from half-back to kick a goal."[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Dayna Cox". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b Walsh, Scott (4 June 2016). "SA pair Dayna Cox and Deni Varnhagen share a history of height". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b Burtenshaw, David (31 October 2016). "Crows finalise inaugural women's list". AFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  4. ^ "AFLW Teams Round 1: Full sides named for inaugural round of AFL Women's competition". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  5. ^ Greenwood, Rob (20 March 2017). "AFLW, AFL Women's: Courtney Cramey racing the clock to be a part of Adelaide's AFLW Grand Final team". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  6. ^ "AFLW: Grand Final teams revealed". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  7. ^ David, Greg (25 March 2017). "Adelaide Crows defeat Brisbane Lions by six points in AFLW grand final". The Courier-Mail. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Dayna Cox". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  9. ^ "AFLW: All the clubs' full lists after trade period - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  10. ^ "AFLW: Cox accepts charge". AFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  11. ^ "AFLW: List Update". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  12. ^ "AFLW: Dayna Cox announces retirement". Adelaide. Telstra. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
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