State of Origin 2018: The NSW footballers who thought their chance may never come now on verge of Origin triumph

NOT so long ago, Damien Cook, Matt Prior and Latrell Mitchell faced suburban ovals, empty grandstands and the smell sausage sizzles. On Sunday night, 80,000 fans will be screaming them on to Origin glory.

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THESE are the Blues who give every park footballer hope.

On Sunday night, Damien Cook, Matt Prior, Paul Vaughan and Latrell Mitchell will run out onto ANZ Stadium in front of 84,000 screaming NSW fans.

Yet not so long ago, they were chasing an Origin dream against a backdrop of suburban ovals, empty grandstands and the smell of club fundraising sausage sizzles.

Damien Cook had to bide her time at the Bulldogs. (Mark Evans)

Cook, the Blues attacking hooker, was trapped behind Canterbury’s Michael Lichaa while contracted to the Bulldogs in 2014 and 2015.

Belmore Oval became his home, playing every second Saturday afternoon in front of a handful of blue and white diehards.

Cook played two NRL matches in 2014 and five in 2015 — the remainder of his time at Canterbury was at halfback or hooker in the NSW Cup.

He admits there was a moment, ever so fleeting, that retirement crossed his mind.

Damien Cook reveals the Ali quote on his ribs. (Phil Hillyard)

“I never made a call that I would stop. But it did cross my mind, that this could be it,’’ Cook said.

“But I do remember sitting behind Lichaa for the whole year. Des would say that if there was any injuries to Lichaa, I’d be next in.

“But it was getting late in the year, so I said to myself ‘I’m just going to try and win the comp with the NSW Cup side and see what happens.’’

The Rabbitohs is what happened, with Cook poached to switch clubs in 2016.

“One thing I’m very proud of is that when I have been knocked back, I’ve stuck at it and tried to come out the other side,’’ Cook said.

“That’s something I’m proud of my career so far.’’

He has even inked a Muhammad Ali quote across his ribs as a permanent reminder to never give up.

The quote reads: “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, my body can achieve it.”

Like Cook, Prior also spent the majority of 2014 in the NSW Cup playing for a combined Sharks-Storm side at an almost empty Shark Park.

Prior couldn’t even make the lower grade starting side with George Rose and Dayne Weston ahead of the then bench-forward.

“I needed to make a choice there and then because I didn’t want to look back on my footy career with any regrets,’’ Prior said.

Vaughan thought his time would never come.

For Vaughan, State of Origin seemed impossible two years ago.

Unable to hold down a regular starting spot at the Raiders, the Blues forward was demoted to Canberra’s NSW Cup feeder-club Mounties.

The relegation proved a turning-point in his career and he concedes he simply couldn’t have predicted that he could be playing to win an Origin series.

“There’s a lot of players that go through their careers that have to play reserve grade at one point,’’ Vaughan said.

But perhaps the most stunning rise is that of Mitchell.

Latrell Mitchell for the Wyong Roos a little over a year ago. Unbelievable.

Just over 12 months ago, Mitchell was driving up the F3 to play for the Wyong Roos, the Roosters’ NSW Cup feeder club.

The 20-year-old was dropped by coach Trent Robinson halfway through the 2017 season.

Robinson sensed that complacency had crept into the youngster’s game and a stiff reminder of his fortune was required.

Mitchell has explained why the Morrie Breen Oval stint was vital to his development.

“I sort of had a think of it, I got a bit complacent with what I was doing and getting rested or ‘dropped’ as you call it, it really brought me back to what I needed to do,’’ Mitchell said last year.

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Originally published as State of Origin 2018: The NSW footballers who thought their chance may never come now on verge of Origin triumph