Nakia Cockatoo

Nakia Cockatoo (born 23 October 1996) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Nakia Cockatoo
Personal information
Full name Nakia Cockatoo
Date of birth (1996-10-23) 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 Brisbane Lions
Number 12
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015–2020 Geelong 34 (25)
2021– Brisbane Lions 4 (5)
Total 38 (30)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 22, 2021.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Cockatoo was born in the Northern Territory into a family of Indigenous Australian descent (Jupangati and Marrithiyal)[1] and was raised the small town of Humpty Doo. 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[2] as well as three of his Queensland-based uncles Che, David and Donald playing professional football in the AFL.[3] Several female cousins of his are also involved in the Gold Coast Suns' developmental football academy.[4] Nakia played junior football for Southern Districts in the NTFL and the Northern Territory Thunder in the NEAFL.[5]

AFL career

Cockatoo was drafted with pick 10 in the 2014 AFL Draft,[6] by Geelong Football Club. He made his debut in the first round of the 2015 AFL season against Hawthorn.[7]

At the conclusion of the 2020 AFL season, Cockatoo was traded to the Brisbane Lions.[8]

References
  1. "AFL Players' Indigenous Map 2020" (PDF). AFL Players Association. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. Harms, John. "Force for good: how Indigenous Australians have enriched football". Audio on Demand. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  3. "Geelong Cats pick up four young guns". Geelong Advertiser. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  4. "Yokayi Footy: Name of the game for footy blood rich Cockatoo-Motlap twins". AFL Women's. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  5. Schubert, Steven (28 November 2014). "Nakia Cockatoo from NT Thunder snapped up by Geelong Cats in AFL draft". ABC Online. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. "Lions land former No.10 pick from Cats". AFL Media. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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