He’s found his preferred position, secured a spot in Fremantle’s best 22, and extended his contract until the end of 2024.

Now comes the next challenge for Brennan Cox: Stay healthy.

Cox locked in a new two-year deal on Friday, recommitting to the Dockers past his previous contract that had been due to expire at the end of next season.

With his future in purple assured, the 23-year-old’s attention is locked on making sure his body can withstand the rigours of an AFL campaign after spending time on the sidelines in recent seasons.

Having overcome hip problems that interrupted his 2019 and 2020 seasons, Cox showed strong form through the first 12 games this year before his campaign was ended by a hamstring injury.

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Cox said he was confident he was back to full strength as he looks to launch into Freo’s pre-season.

“It was obviously not ideal getting the hammy and it’s been a long process to get back to full strength, but I’m there now,” he said.

“It’s been a long off season, but the hammy is fully healed and I’m ready to get stuck into pre-season.”

After establishing himself as one of the Dockers’ most important defenders in the past two seasons, Cox revealed he had been flagged by the coaching staff as a potential swingman should the club’s forward stocks take a hit.

Fremantle have a string of tall defensive options, with Cox, Alex Pearce, Joel Hamling and Griffin Logue all vying for spots.

Cox booted 27 goals in his first 34 AFL games after spending most of his formative years forward, but has played exclusively as a backman since Justin Longmuir’s arrival at the end of 2019.

“I’ve spoken to ‘Boydy’ (assistant coach Matthew Boyd) and he’s said that I’ll be a defender,” Cox said.

“If a tall forward goes down I might have to swing forward and kick a few goals. But at this stage, I’m a defender.”