Nakia Cockatoo (/nəˈkaɪə/ nə-KY-ə;[1] born 23 October 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Nakia Cockatoo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Nakia Cockatoo | ||
| Date of birth | 23 October 1996 | ||
| Original team(s) | NT Thunder (NEAFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 10, 2014 national draft | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder / Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Retired | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2015–2020 | Geelong | 34 (25) | |
| 2021–2023 | Brisbane Lions | 15 (7) | |
| Total | 49 (32) | ||
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life edit
Cockatoo was born in the Northern Territory into a family of Indigenous Australian descent (Jupangati and Marrithiyal)[2] and was raised the small town of Humpty Doo. He began playing football at Auskick level with the Humpty Doo Bombers.[3] He played his junior football with Southern Districts in the NTFL and the Northern Territory Thunder in the NEAFL.[4]
He has strong family connections to Queensland with his surname deriving from his great-great-great grandfather who was known as 'Old Man Cockatoo' in the Cape York Peninsula[5] as well as three of his Queensland-based uncles Che, David and Donald playing professional football in the AFL.[6] Several female cousins of his are also involved in the Gold Coast Suns' developmental football academy.[7]
AFL career edit
Cockatoo was drafted with pick 10 in the 2014 AFL Draft,[8] by Geelong Football Club. He made his debut in the first round of the 2015 AFL season against Hawthorn.[9]
At the conclusion of the 2020 AFL season, Cockatoo was traded to the Brisbane Lions,[10] where he would play 15 games before retiring at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
Statistics edit
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2015 | Geelong | 5 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 47 | 37 | 84 | 29 | 19 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 7.6 | 2.6 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | Geelong | 5 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 74 | 42 | 116 | 28 | 39 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 7.4 | 4.2 | 11.6 | 2.8 | 3.9 |
| 2017 | Geelong | 5 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 73 | 30 | 103 | 24 | 42 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.6 | 2.7 | 9.4 | 2.2 | 3.8 |
| 2018 | Geelong | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 12.5 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| 2019 | Geelong | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2020 | Geelong | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2021 | Brisbane Lions | 12 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 5 | 22 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 6.0 | 0.7 | 3.1 |
| 2022 | Brisbane Lions | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 49 | 27 | 76 | 22 | 22 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 9.5 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| 2023 | Brisbane Lions | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career[11] | 49 | 32 | 26 | 275 | 171 | 446 | 114 | 148 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 5.6 | 3.5 | 9.1 | 2.3 | 3.0 | ||
References edit
- ^ "How to say the AFL's trickiest names". Australian Football League. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "AFL Players' Indigenous Map 2020" (PDF). AFL Players Association. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ AFL Record. Round 22, 2022. pg 40
- ^ Schubert, Steven (28 November 2014). "Nakia Cockatoo from NT Thunder snapped up by Geelong Cats in AFL draft". ABC Online. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Harms, John. "Force for good: how Indigenous Australians have enriched football". Audio on Demand. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ^ "Geelong Cats pick up four young guns". Geelong Advertiser. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Yokayi Footy: Name of the game for footy blood rich Cockatoo-Motlap twins". AFL Women's. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Auciello, Michael (27 November 2014). "AFL Draft: Geelong Cats pick up four young guns". Geelong Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ McNicol, Adam (4 April 2015). "Final Cats side v Hawks". geelongcats.com.au. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ "Lions land former No.10 pick from Cats". AFL Media. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Nakia Cockatoo". AFL Tables. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
External links edit
- Nakia Cockatoo's playing statistics from AFL Tables
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