Coach Jason Demetriou of South Sydney expresses his satisfaction in learning that fired hooker Damien Cook was “frustrated” and “angry” after leaving the squad two weeks prior.
The Rabbitohs’ terrible run of play, which was only broken by the bye in round seven, claimed the veteran rake.
After dropping their opening six games of the season, the Bunnies were at the bottom of the NRL standings until they won two points from their bye.
Cook is a State of Origin incumbent and one of the most experienced hookers in the league, and admitted he was “frustrated, angry, sad” at being dumped from the team by the coach.
But that radio interview a fortnight ago was exactly what Demetriou wanted to hear.
“As I said to the players, 17 blokes get picked every week… there are 36 players in a squad, with a few injuries there are 15 who don’t get picked every week,” he told media on Wednesday.
“You want to feel hurt, you should be hurt if you’re not getting picked.
“It’s not different to Tallis Duncan and Sean Keppie at the moment, they are hurt but they’ve got to fight their way back in.
“Cooky is an experienced player, we need him at his best.”
Cook has been recalled for the trip to Melbourne on Anzac Day.
Demetriou was quizzed as to why he would drop an experienced player, only to bring them back one game later.
“There were some things we need to work with, conversations that will stay between Damien and myself,” Demetriou said.
“But I thought he handled that really well, he was really honest in that conversation and honest in how he handled going back to NSW Cup.
“We have an opportunity now to play two hookers, with two hookers who are very different in how they play the game but can complement each other really well.
“We need to… use that as an asset for us.”
Cook will start against the Storm on Thursday, while young rake Peter Mamouzelos will play off the bench.
The Rabbitohs face a tough two weeks with games against Melbourne and Penrith – two powerhouses of the past decade.
