Brisbane is currently in the process of rebuilding injury-plagued new recruit Nakia Cockatoo, coach Chris Fagan has revealed.
After just 34 games in six seasons at Geelong due to persistent soft-tissue injuries, the explosive former top 10 draft pick requested a trade during the off-season as he looks for a change of fortune.
Following a hamstring setback in January, Fagan said the club were willing to be “really cautious” with the 24-year-old and put no timeframe on him making his Brisbane debut.
“I’ve spoken to Nakia (Cockatoo and said to him that) everybody talks you up but to be honest at this point in your career, you haven’t been able to live up to that reputation and he understand that,” he said on Sportsday.
“It’s a pity that we didn’t train before Christmas as I think it would’ve been really helpful to have three or four weeks with Nakia to understand his body a bit, especially for our physio and conditioning guys.
“He started training in January, he was a little bit below the standard we would’ve hoped, but that wasn’t his fault as he had a few things going on in his life.
“He strained a hamstring in late January so we’ve taken a really cautious approach with him since then and we’re just trying to rebuild him at the moment.
“(On Thursday) he started running some really good speeds and his body shape has really changed, we’ll just take our time with him and give him the best chance to succeed as the season goes on.”
Brisbane will complete their pre-season preparations with a clash against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Monday night, just over a week since both sides squared off in a scratch match at the same venue.