Damien Cook

Damien Cook (born 23 June 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker and centre for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL and Australia at international level.

Damien Cook

Personal information
Born	(1991-06-23) 23 June 1991 (age 32) Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Playing information
Position	Hooker
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2013 St. George Illawarra 2 0 0 0 0 2014–15 Canterbury Bulldogs 7 4 0 0 16 2016– South Sydney 183 27 7 0 122 Total 192 31 7 0 138 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017 Country NSW 1 0 0 0 0 2018–23 New South Wales 17 3 0 0 12 2018–19 Australia 4 1 0 0 4
Source: ^[1]^[2] As of 20 August 2023

He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League, and at representative level for Country NSW and New South Wales in the State of Origin series.

Background

Cook was born in Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia. He was educated at Endeavour Sports High School. He is the nephew of former rugby league player Peter Phillips.^[4]

Cook grew up in his home town of Helensburgh, New South Wales, in the Illawarra region of Australia. He was a state champion in the NSW Surf Life Saving Championships throughout his youth.^{[citation needed]}

He played his junior rugby league for the Helensburgh Tigers, before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.

Playing career

In 2010 and 2011, Cook played for the Penrith Panthers' NYC team.^[5] In 2012, he joined the Illawarra Cutters in the New South Wales Cup.^[6] On 30 October 2012, he signed a one-year contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons starting in 2013.^[7]

2013

In round 6 of the 2013 NRL season, Cook made his NRL debut for St. George against the Wests Tigers.^[8] On 22 September, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2013 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.^[9] On 6 November, he signed a two-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2014.^[10]

2014

In round 14 of the 2014 NRL season, Cook made his Canterbury-Bankstown debut against the Parramatta Eels.^[11]

 

Cook playing for the Bulldogs

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Cook played for Canterbury in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.^[12]

On 27 September, Cook was named on the interchange bench in the 2015 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year, for a second year.^[13] On 15 October, Cook signed a 2-year contract with the South Sydney Rabbitohs starting in 2016.^[14][15] Cook played a total of 37 reserve grade games for Canterbury and scored two tries.^[16]

2016

On 1 February Cook was named in South Sydney's 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad.^[17]

On 6 March 2016, Cook made his debut for Souths against the Sydney Roosters and scored a try in Souths 42–10 win. Cook went on to play a further 17 times for the 2016 NRL season. Cook also featured for Norths in The NSW Cup making two appearances.^[18][16]

2017

Cook was named in South Sydney's squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines.^[19]

On 1 May 2017, Cook was named in The NSW Country Origin representative team to play against The NSW City representative side in the last ever City vs Country game.^[20]

2018

Cook started the 2018 NRL season as the first choice hooker for Souths over Robbie Farah. This year was Cook's most successful year. He made his debut for NSW in state of origin and the Australian Kangaroos. On 28 May 2018, Cook was selected to play for NSW against Queensland in the 2018 State of Origin series after a number of good performances at club level.^[21] Cook played in all 3 games for New South Wales as they won their first origin series since 2014.^[22] Cook was part of the Souths side which finished 3rd on the table at the end of the regular season and made it all the way to the preliminary final before being defeated by arch rivals the Sydney Roosters 12–4.^[23]

He capped a stellar season by earning selection in the Australian Kangaroos team as starting hooker for Test matches against New Zealand and Tonga.^[24]

On 5 December Cook signed a five-year deal worth $4.5 million to stay with Souths until the end of 2023.^[25]

2019

After a good start to the 2019 NRL season for Souths, Cook was selected to play for New South Wales in the 2019 State of Origin series. In the series decider at ANZ Stadium, Cook scored a brilliant individual try as New South Wales defeated Queensland 26-20 winning their second series in a row. The match was won in the last 20 seconds courtesy of a try scored by James Tedesco.^[26][27]

Cook made a total of 26 appearances for Souths in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Cook played in all three of the club's finals games as they reached the preliminary final against the Canberra Raiders. Cook had a game to forget in the preliminary final which culminated when he missed a one on one tackle with Canberra forward Josh Papalii who scored under the posts to win the match 16–10.^{[28][29][30][31]} On 7 October, Cook was named in the Australian side for the Oceania Cup fixtures.

2020

In round 10 of the 2020 NRL season, Cook scored two tries as Souths lost the match 20–18 against Newcastle at Bankwest Stadium.^[32]

Cook played 23 games for South Sydney in the 2020 NRL season. Cook played in the club's third straight preliminary final but the club once again fell short of a grand final appearance losing to Penrith 20–16.^[33]

Cook was again selected to play for New South Wales in the 2020 State of Origin series. In game 1 of the series he scored the opening try, but NSW lost the match 18–14. He played all three games in the series as New South Wales suffered a shock 2–1 series defeat.^[34]

2021

On 30 May, Cook was selected for game one of the 2021 State of Origin series. Cook played in all three games as New South Wales won the series 2–1.^[35]

Cook played a total of 24 games for South Sydney in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final defeat against Penrith.^[36]

2022

In round 6 of the 2022 NRL season, Cook scored his first career hat-trick in South Sydney's 36–16 victory over Canterbury.^[37] On 29 May, Cook was selected by New South Wales to play in game one of the 2022 State of Origin series. Cook played in all three games as New South Wales lost the series 2-1^[38] Cook played 23 games for South Sydney in the 2022 NRL season including all three of the clubs finals matches as they reached the preliminary final for a fifth straight season. Souths would lose in the preliminary final to eventual premiers Penrith 32–12.^[39]

2023

After not being selected by New South Wales for game one of the 2023 State of Origin series, Cook was chosen to play in game two after Apisai Koroisau was ruled out of the series with a suspected broken jaw.^[40]

Statistics

*stats are correct as of round 12 2023 ^[41]

Year	Team	Games	Tries	Goals	Pts
2013	St. George Illawarra Dragons	2
2014	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	2
2015		5	4		16
2016	South Sydney Rabbitohs	17		7	14
2017		23	2		8
2018		25	4		16
2019		26	3		12
2020		23	5		20
2021		24	2		8
2022		23	8		32
2023		12	1		4
	Totals	182	29	7	130

References

1. "Damien Cook – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
2. loverugbyleague
3. McDonald, Margie (25 August 2015). "Bulldog hooker Cook steps up to replace Lichaa". The Australian. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
4. Proszenko, Adrian (2 June 2018). "Cook rises from the canvas after living Ali's inspirational words". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
5. "C". NYC DATABASE. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
6. TIM BARROW (27 February 2012). "Vidot to headline inaugural Cutters team". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
7. "Cutters duo join Dragons for 2013". NRL – Zero Tackle. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
8. Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (21 August 2015). "NRL 2013". Retrieved 23 August 2015.
9. . NSWRL. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
10. "Bulldogs sign Cook on two-year deal". NRL – Zero Tackle. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
11. Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (19 August 2015). "NRL 2014". Retrieved 23 August 2015.
12. "2015 Auckland Nines squad lists". NRL. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
13. . NSWRL. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
14. "Rabbitohs sign Damien Cook | NRL". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
15. . Zero Tackle. 4 October 2015. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
16. "Damien Cook – Player Statistics". SportsTG. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
17. "2016 Downer NRL Auckland Nines Official Squads". NRL. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
18. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Damien Cook – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
19. "2017 Auckland Nines squads: Every player named for the tournament". The Roar. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
20. "2017 Country Origin squad announced". 1 May 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
21. Proszenko, Adrian (30 May 2018). "NSW hooker Damien Cook benefits from secret sessions with UFC champ". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
22. "Highs, Lows, Big Blows: 10 biggest talking points from the 2018 State of Origin series". 13 July 2018.
23. "Copper Cronk in doubt for grand final as Sydney Roosters beat South Sydney 12-4 in preliminary final". ABC News. 22 September 2018.
24. "New Zealand v Australia team lists: Men's, women's, junior sides". 13 October 2018.
25. "Damien Cook commits to five-year $4.5m deal at South Sydney Rabbitohs under Wayne Bennett". 5 December 2018.
26. "Emotional Blues legend Wayne Pearce opens up on his son Mitchell's battle". News.com.au.
27. "I'm very lucky text exchange that squashed cooks pre game nerves". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 July 2019.
28. "South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Manly Sea Eagles 34-26 in NRL semi-final". ABC News. 20 September 2019.
29. "Rabbitohs dig deep to eliminate Sea Eagles in finals thriller". NRL. 20 September 2019.
30. "Canberra Raiders end 25-year wait to reach NRL grand final with victory over Rabbitohs". The Guardian. 27 September 2019.
31. "South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett confirms major changes for Sydney Roosters final". Sporting News. 14 August 2021.
32. "South Sydney v Newcastle". Fox Sports. 18 July 2020.
33. "Penrith Panthers beat South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-16 to set up NRL grand final against Melbourne Storm". ABC News. 17 October 2020.
34. "State of Origin 2020 game 3: Qld Maroons beat NSW Blues – as it happened". The Guardian. 18 November 2020.
35. "NSW Origin team: Luai gets nod for Freddie's fresh-faced Blues". nrl.com. 30 May 2021.
36. "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". The Guardian. 3 October 2021.
37. "Damien Cook scores hat trick in South Sydney win". foxsports.com.au. 15 April 2022.
38. "Wighton starts at centre as Blues confirm lineup for Game One". nrl.com. 30 May 2022.
39. "Penrith Panthers defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-12 to qualify for third straight NRL grand final". ABC News. 24 September 2022.
40. "NSW Blues name State of Origin side for game two, with Mitchell Moses and Damien Cook in for Nathan Cleary and Api Koroisau". ABC News. 12 June 2023.
41. "Damien Cook".

External links

• South Sydney Rabbitohs profile