Which is why curbing the influence of St Kilda ace Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera looms large in his thoughts ahead of Saturday afternoon's Marvel Stadium fixture.
"One of the toughest in football," Cox said of the challenge in stopping the Saints star.
Sydney tagger James Jordon appears set for the job against the red-hot Wanganeen-Milera, who kicked four goals and gathered 46 disposals last weekend against North Melbourne.
"What he can do, and certainly where he positions himself, he has a licence, by the look of things, to do whatever the team needs him at a certain time," Cox said.
"We have got to plan and be aware for where he is going to situate and where he's going to play the majority of his game.
"Because whether it's back, forward, midfield, he plays in and out of a lot of those positions regularly throughout a game as well.
"They have got a really good system to help maximise his impact and we have got to try and nullify it as much as possible."
Cox named an unchanged team for his second-placed Swans against the Saints, who hold 10th spot on percentage only from a chasing pack.
St Kilda summoned Rowan Marshall and Campbell Lake to replace the injured Max King and axed Dan Butler for a game that Cox predicted would follow a recent trend and be a tight encounter.
The Swans pipped the Saints by two points on June 7 at the SCG, extending a sequence of close results between the clubs.
Sydney beat St Kilda by five points in round 19 last year and the Saints won by two points in round 18, 2024.
"They have been tight against St Kilda for a number of times," Cox said.
"We respect the footy club immensely, the way they go about how they play.
"They're a tough team to beat and we expect that tomorrow afternoon."
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