The Swans return to the SCG armed with plenty of inside knowledge on the new Giants star, courtesy of former Melbourne premiership coach Simon Goodwin.
Three-time All-Australian midfielder Oliver's trade to GWS at the end of last year was paralleled by Goodwin's move to the Swans as the club's new director of coaching and performance, after being sacked by the Demons.
Oliver, who starred in the 2021 premiership campaign under Goodwin, has since become integral to the 12th-placed Giants after midfield bull Tom Green tore his ACL in pre-season.
The 28-year-old boasts an "elite'' average of 30.6 disposals and 7.2 clearances across five games in the Giants' Â 2-3 record this season.
With GWS looking to notch back-to-back derby wins for the first time in the fixture's history, Cox is well aware of the danger Oliver poses.
Sydney (4-1) lead the league after beating Gold Coast - without injured recruit and 2021 Norm Smith Medallist Christian Petracca - by 32 points at Norwood Oval.
"Obviously, Clayton's new and performed really well for that football team," Cox said.
"We've got 'Goody', who knows him really well and obviously what he's doing to that club.
"Some players will go to 'Goody' this week about 'Clarry' (Oliver) if they're going to run through him in the midfield at some stage."
Swans tagger James Jordon - Melbourne's unused 2021 premiership substitute - is the obvious choice to clamp down on Oliver.
But Jordon could again be deployed against defender Lachie Whitfield or fellow midfield gun Finn Callaghan.
Callaghan was the star in the most recent derby, sparking the Giants' 44-point comeback in the third quarter.
"I'm not sure about the exact match-up we'll use yet or whether he will do it," Cox said about Jordon.
"That's the flexibility we do have, is that we've played him ahead of the ball throughout times as well.
"He's also been on Whitfield and the like a fair few times ... Finn's a phenomenal footballer, so is Clayton Oliver.
"James is great. We can tell him halfway through a game, right, we need to quell this bloke's influence, or we can start with it."
Last year's round-20 win was the first time the Giants had won local bragging rights after five straight defeats, effectively ending Sydney's campaign to muscle into finals.
The Giants had been down by 35 points before coach Adam Kingsley delivered a halftime spray described by Callaghan as "the biggest he's ever given us".
GWS captain Toby Greene had also issued a warning at halftime after describing Sydney livewire Tom Papley as "overweight".
Kingsley will be forced to make at least two changes for Friday night, with key forward Aaron Cadman and midfielder Stephen Coniglio out with concussion.
GWS are also searching for a new chief executive with inaugural boss Dave Matthews set to step away at the end of the season.
Matthews has led the club since their fledgling days in 2011, helping to land Kevin Sheedy as their inaugural coach, grow membership to last year's record of 37,705 and establish the Giants as a foundation AFLW side.
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