| Nakia Cockatoo | |
| Fullname: | Nakia Cockatoo |
| Birth Date: | 23 October 1996 |
| Originalteam: | NT Thunder (NEAFL) |
| Draftpick: | No. 10, 2014 national draft |
| Height: | 186 cm |
| Weight: | 90 kg |
| Position: | Midfielder / Forward |
| Currentclub: | Retired |
| Guernsey: | 12 |
| Years1: | 2015 - 2020 |
| Games Goals1: | 34 (25) |
| Years2: | 2021 - 2023 |
| Games Goals2: | 15 (7) |
| Games Goalstotal: | 49 (32) |
| Statsend: | 2023 |
Nakia Cockatoo (;[1] born 23 October 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Cockatoo was born in the Northern Territory into a family of Indigenous Australian descent (Jupangati and Marrithiyal)[2] and was raised the small town of Humpty Doo. He began playing football at Auskick level with the Humpty Doo Bombers.[3] He played his junior football with Southern Districts in the NTFL and the Northern Territory Thunder in the NEAFL.[4]
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[5] as well as three of his Queensland-based uncles Che, David and Donald playing professional football in the AFL.[6] Several female cousins of his are also involved in the Gold Coast Suns' developmental football academy.[7]
Cockatoo was drafted with pick 10 in the 2014 AFL Draft,[8] by Geelong Football Club. He made his debut in the first round of the 2015 AFL season against Hawthorn.[9]
At the conclusion of the 2020 AFL season, Cockatoo was traded to the,[10] where he would play 15 games before retiring at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
|-| 2015 || || 5| 11 || 3 || 5 || 47 || 37 || 84 || 29 || 19 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 4.3 || 3.4 || 7.6 || 2.6 || 1.7|-| 2016 || || 5| 10 || 11 || 5 || 74 || 42 || 116 || 28 || 39 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 7.4 || 4.2 || 11.6 || 2.8 || 3.9|-| 2017 || || 5| 11 || 11 || 11 || 73 || 30 || 103 || 24 || 42 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 6.6 || 2.7 || 9.4 || 2.2 || 3.8|-| 2018 || || 5| 2 || 0 || 2 || 14 || 11 || 25 || 6 || 4 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 7.0 || 5.5 || 12.5 || 3.0 || 2.0|-| 2019 || || 5| 0 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –|-| 2020 || || 5| 0 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –|-| 2021 || || 12| 7 || 5 || 1 || 18 || 24 || 42 || 5 || 22 || 0.7 || 0.1 || 2.6 || 3.4 || 6.0 || 0.7 || 3.1|-| 2022 || || 12| 8 || 2 || 2 || 49 || 27 || 76 || 22 || 22 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 6.1 || 3.4 || 9.5 || 2.8 || 2.8|-| 2023 || || 12| 0 || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || –|- class=sortbottom! colspan=3 | Career[11] ! 49 !! 32 !! 26 !! 275 !! 171 !! 446 !! 114 !! 148 !! 0.7 !! 0.5 !! 5.6 !! 3.5 !! 9.1 !! 2.3 !! 3.0|}