Born and bred Bulldog Jack Cogger set for long-awaited debut
Sixteen years after running out onto Belmore Oval new recruit Jack Cogger will finally make his debut for Canterbury as the Bulldogs face the Storm on Sunday.
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Sixteen years after running out onto Belmore Oval new recruit Jack Cogger will finally make his debut for Canterbury.
Cogger played the majority of his junior football on the central coast but the 21-year old was actually born deep in Bulldogs territory.
He even played his first ever rugby league grand final for Berala Bears under-6’s at Belmore.
“I was born in Greenacre. I went to kindergarten at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Sefton. But I moved to the central coast when I was seven with my family. I still have lots of family down here, my grandparents are still here so I still have some roots down here,” Cogger said.
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Cogger will replace Kieran Foran on Sunday when the Bulldogs take on Melbourne at AAMI Park. Foran suffered a serious ankle injury against Wests Tigers last weekend and will be sidelined for up to three months.
The young playmaker joined Canterbury from Newcastle on a two-year deal but started the season in the Canterbury Cup with coach Dean Pay opting for Lachlan Lewis and Foran as his first choice halves.
“It’s unfortunate for Kieran and the club. I was unlucky to not get picked in the first couple of rounds. I would have liked to make my way into the team through form than misfortune. But I have to take the opportunity and put my best foot forward,” he said.
Cogger, the son of former Western Magpies great Trevor Cogger, is backing the work he put in over the summer with both Foran and Lewis to make his transition into the first grade side as smooth as possible.
“It does make it hard to form those combinations. But in saying that we did have all pre-season and I was changing in and got to work with both of them,” he said.
“My assets are probably different to Kieran’s in that I like to have that game management and organisation. But I have to do what’s best for the team and I’ll slot in on the right edge where Kieran was and fill the void.”
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Cogger’s debut for the Bulldogs could have easily happened in 2018 but at the time Newcastle refused to grant him an early release after he signed with club in January last year.
According to Cogger, that decision did have a silver lining. He was called into the Knights starting side after halfback Mitchell Pearce suffered a long-term pectoral injury. Not only did Cogger get the chance to take control of the Knights, he was able to pick Pearce’s footy brain.
“He helped me with game management … that everyone talks about and seems pretty easy but he’s got an in depth thinking towards it. To sit down with him and go through that, I learned a lot there. I’ll take a bit from his game and a bit from Kieran’s and try to make it my own.”
Originally published as Born and bred Bulldog Jack Cogger set for long-awaited debut
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