Nakia Cockatoo Biography

Brisbane select Nakia Cockatoo with pick No.29 in the 2022 Rookie Draft.

Nakia Cockatoo gathers 8 disposals and kicks a goal in his first AFL game after more than three years of dealing with persistent hamstring injuries.

"It (ending his career) crossed my mind at points, when I'd get another niggle, but I think mentally I've been pretty resilient," he said.

"Footy is still a dream of mine, to keep playing, and hopefully now I can take the next step and get some consistency with my footy and my body as well."

Geelong trade Nakia Cockatoo to Brisbane in exchange for a future third-round selection that is tied to Melbourne.

Cockatoo has not played an AFL match since 2018 while being plagued by persistent hamstring problems and has managed just 34 games in six seasons.

"I'm over the moon, there's been a bit of a wait so when I got the call that it was going ahead it was a great feeling,'' he said.

"I'd like to thank Geelong, I'm so grateful for the opportunity they gave me, coming from a little town called Humpty Doo, to live out my childhood dream of playing AFL, I can't thank them enough. But now I'm a Brisbane Lion and I can't wait to get stuck into training with the boys.''

Nakia Cockatoo continues to manage his troublesome hamstrings that will rule him out of round one.

"The body's going OK at the moment, it's just trying to get my hammy strength back up to 100 per cent," Cockatoo said.

"I'm making sure I'm doing everything right in the gym and making sure I'm up-and-running for training sessions. I want to make sure everything is all right before I do go 100 per cent."

Nakia Cockatoo fails to finish training after complaining of soreness behind his troublesome left knee.

Still on a modified program following surgery to repair the PCL he re-injured in July, the 22-year-old failed to finish the session as a precaution at Deakin University.

Nakia Cockatoo re-injures his troublesome left knee less than 10 minutes into his VFL return.

The latest setback is a blow for Cockatoo's hopes of a late-season return, the Cats having devised a plan for him to get much-needed game time in the next month.

Nakia Cockatoo has one aim for the pre-season; to significantly strengthen his troublesome right hamstring after a season wrecked by repeated strains.

"I've been keeping up with the gym sessions and the hammies are feeling really good at the moment," Cockatoo said.

"I'm trying to tick those things over to try and get them bulletproof for the season."

Geelong will be trying to find a quick fix to Nakia Cockatoo's injury issues after he suffered his third hamstring strain for the season.

Cats football manager Steve Hocking said the first step was to ensure Cockatoo overcomes his current injury, with late-season games and finals still a possibility for the electrifying forward.

The next phase, when the season ends, would be to map out a pre-season that builds Cockatoo's body to make it stronger.

"It's about building his resilience so he can sustain that level of force and that level of output over a period of time," Hocking said.

"A full pre-season will help that."

Nakia Cockatoo suffers another hamstring injury in his return to senior football since round 13.

Geelong coach Chris Scott, however, denies that the youngster was brought back too soon.

"He had a very, very thorough rehab, so there can be no suggestion that he was rushed back," Scott said.

"In terms of performance, players of his age tend not to miss big chunks of game time and walk straight back into the AFL 22, but we did that for a few reasons.

"One, because we rate him so highly as a player, and I think we saw things that showed that tonight, but also we've been happy to say publicly we are looking to get the group of players, particularly in our forward half, playing together for as much as possible before the end of the season because for reasons outside of our control, we just haven't been able to achieve that."

Geelong re-signs a quartet of emerging Cats, with Sam Menegola, Nakia Cockatoo, James Parsons and Brandan Parfitt all inking new deals with the club.

Menegola and Parsons have signed three-year deals with the Cats, which will keep the duo at Simonds Stadium until the end of 2020, while Cockatoo and Parfitt have both recommitted until the end of 2019.

Nakia Cockatoo is out of the game by quarter-time after hurting his right hamstring early in the Cats' clash against the Western Bulldogs at Simonds Stadium.

Nakia Cockatoo will miss up to a month after injuring his thumb in the Cat's 42-point win over Fremantle.

"Unfortunately, he's hurt his thumb. He's going to need surgery tomorrow and he's going to miss a few weeks, maybe four," Geelong coach Chris Scott told Fox Footy.

"He's having a little bit of a tough run."

Nakia Cockatoo believes he's improved his game after a strong pre-season.

"My game's come a long way," Cockatoo said after training.

"I know the right patterns to run now and there's always guys pointing me in the right direction.

"I'm just trying to get to the right spots and I feel like that's starting to show at training."

Geelong is satisfied that Nakia Cockatoo did not do any further damage to his right knee when he returned to play after being injured against West Coast.

The 19-year-old had surgery last week to pin down his lateral ligament after suffering the injury against the Eagles.

"We're absolutely satisfied that going back on to the ground didn't contribute to any further damage," Scott said.

Scott said without surgical intervention Cockatoo may have returned more quickly but because of the player's age the best option was surgery.

"With a young player we thought it was really important to take the surgical option and that was absolutely right," Scott said.

"It is what it is. It's disappointing. He was shaping as a really important player for us. We're just going to have to wait for a couple of months before we get him back but we're sure we will."

Nakia Cockatoo will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after having surgery on his right knee.

Cockatoo injured the lateral ligament during the win over the Eagles but played out the match.

It was initially believed to be a calf injury after the game, but further investigation revealed Cockatoo's knee problem.

Coach Chris Scott said the Cats were still unsure of the exact injury, but the club would tend towards caution when managing the explosive youngster.

"We're usually very conservative with young players," Scott said.

"The situation with Nakia is that it was a very difficult assessment to make and the diagnosis is still not clear at the moment, so we're not sure of his status at the moment but optimistic it's not a serious issue."

Nakia Cockatoo makes his AFL debut for Geelong at the MCG with 6 disposals (3 kicks and 3 handballs), 2 marks and 4 tackles in a 62-point loss to Hawthorn.

Geelong extends the contracts of youngsters Nakia Cockatoo and Cory Gregson for a further year, tying them to the club until the end of 2017.

"Both boys have managed to impress through their skill and personal values in their short time here," Geelong's general manager of football, Steve Hocking, said.

"The signing of these two young talents has the future looking even more positive."

The foot problems that dogged draft bolter Nakia Cockatoo are a thing of the past and the speedster now has his sights set on making his debut for Geelong.

"It's pretty much trying to get my body right now and I'm looking forward to the season," he said.

"I'm still trying to ease into full training. I've been doing about 80 or 85 per cent (like other draftees).

"I've been doing weights and all my conditioning after training, so it's been good."

Geelong uses its first pick in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft on a player that played little football in his draft year after selecting Nakia Cockatoo with pick No.10.

Cockatoo shot to prominence after a sensational performance in the curtain raiser on Grand Final day when representing an under age all-star team.

He had an operation after touring Europe with the AIS-AFL Academy to repair his injured foot and did not return until Grand Final day.

However Geelong recruiting manager Stephen Wells said the club had seen enough of Cockatoo to use pick No.10 on the tall Northern Territorian.

"We've seen plenty of Nakia with his year's in the under-16 championships, with the AFL Academy last year and also under-18 championships last year. We saw enough of him to use our top-10 pick," Wells said.