Damien Cook fights tooth and nail to prove he belongs in the NRL
DAMIEN Cook’s heart sank the day South Sydney signed Robbie Farah. How he responded is a lesson for every kid out there who dreams of playing in the NRL.
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TEENAGE kids dream of being Greg Inglis. They don’t dream of being Damien Cook.
But they should.
For every youngster with the rare God-given footballing talent of GI, there are literally thousands more with as much potential as this unassuming 26-year-old hooker for South Sydney.
Yet they don’t make it nearly as far.
Why?
Because quitting just isn’t in Cook’s DNA.
Don’t worry, he’s thought about it over the years, several times.
Like the day his heart sank when South Sydney signed Robbie Farah.
“Yeah, it did,” Cook told The Saturday Telegraph heading into Saturday night’s opening trial against Wigan at ANZ Stadium.
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Cook didn’t say it as a put-down to the player he is challenging to win the Rabbitohs’ No. 9 jumper this year.
This is just the reality for a former beach sprint champion who has had to fight tooth and nail his entire career to prove he belongs in the NRL.
Now one game short of his 50th NRL game, Cook is at his third club coming into his sixth season.
And he knows the race to prove himself is not over yet.
New coach Anthony Seibold has made no secret that form over these trials will decide which one of these players starts the season.
Right now, Cook has his nose in front.
Just.
But experience has also taught him not to take anything for granted.
After debuting at St George Illawarra in 2013 where he played two games, Cook moved to Canterbury where Michael Ennis was the top Dog.
Then when Ennis left the club paid huge money for Michael Lichaa to take over.
So Cook went to Souths who had lost Issac Luke but found another young hotshot in Cameron McInnes many were talking up as the future NSW No 9.
When McInnes departed for the Dragons, Cook admits he was starting to feel like finally he was ready to cement his spot.
Then the Farah bombshell dropped.
“After Cam left, I’d played the last few games (of 2016) and I thought, ‘Good, I can move into next year as starting hooker’,” Cook recalled.
“But when Robbie arrived it did shake me a little bit.
“I wasn’t sure what to do.
“I felt like, ‘why are they going to bring in a NSW hooker to play reserve grade or off the bench?’
“A lot of things were going through my head. There was an opportunity to go to Cronulla and start. But in my heart I wanted to stay.”
You say to him a weaker character might have walked away.
“I have said that to a couple of younger people I have talked to,” Cook continued.
“They ask for advice and I just think it is about sticking in there and trying to achieve your goals. Believing in yourself.
“There are a lot of players out there playing club footy who have the skill to play first grade.
“It is just whether they are prepared to do the training week in, week out.
“And it might be starting on a minimum wage. It might be playing off the bench, or spending a few years fighting to your spot. But it is worth it if this is what you want.
“The battle has never stopped for me. All the way back to when I was at the Dragons trying to get a spot there.
“I have always had someone there to push me to keep improving. It is good to have that healthy competition.
“But I do feel confident where I am now. I feel like I belong in the system. I have worked hard for it.
“I have had a few knock backs. But I am not the only one who has had knock backs.”