Dragons prop Mike Cooper hits back at club’s ‘unfair’ critics
Matt Logue, The Daily Telegraph
July 26, 2016 6:40pm
ST GEORGE Illawarra prop Mike Cooper has called for critics to lay off the under-fire club, slamming the constant condemnation levelled at the Red V as ‘unfair’.
On the same day the Dragons were forced to stand down Tim Lafai and Siliva Havili for breaching the club’s code of conduct after the pair were charged by police following a drunken incident in Wollongong on Sunday morning, Cooper called for calm from the fans.
While the British-born bookend understands the fans’ frustration after a string of below-par performances, he believes disapproval aimed at the players, coach Paul McGregor and long-serving CEO Peter Doust is unwarranted.
Mike Cooper has hit out at the Dragons’ critics.
“There a lot of teams below us in the league and that have been in the finals for the last couple of years that are getting no heat whatsoever,” Cooper said.
“But (we do) because it’s the Dragons and we get all the pressure, which is a shame.
“I don’t really understand why this club gets so much heat all the time. It’s unfair, but it is the way it is.
“I’ve learnt being a part of this club that you are under a lot of pressure. Coming from the UK this is a different kettle of fish completely.”
The Dragons have lost their past three games by a combined total of 93-30 as they’ve fallen out of the top eight. Despite scoring just five tries in those losses, Cooper said he could not cop people taking pot shots at the Dragons’ application.
“If people are trying to question the effort or desire for us to win right from the top down to the kit man, then that’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
“The people that are saying that don’t know sport. That’s the disappointing thing. People think people aren’t putting effort in and at times we are over trying rather than not putting effort in.
“Everyone is sticking together and you have to in this type of situation. Obviously we are a proud club and a lot of people involved with this club are putting in as much effort as possible to go forward.”
Pressure aside, Cooper refused to make excuses for poor player behaviour. He admitted Lafai and Havili would regret their actions on the early hours of last Sunday morning, but maintained his support for the duo.
Both Lafai and Havili will be stood down from all club activities until further notice, while they also face Wollongong Local Court on September 6.
“I’m sure the lads if they had their time again wouldn’t have put themselves in that situation,” he said. “But that’s the decision that they made which they have to live by.
“The boys will always stick by the players and there are two sides to the story. I’m sure if they’ve broken the code of conduct by the club, then action will be taken.”
Dragons captain Gareth Widdop is equally disappointed by the actions of Lafai and Havili, but stressed the side must now look forward.
As difficult as this season has been for the underachieving Saints thus far, Widdop insists the spotlight is nothing compared to the salary cap scandal he endured in his rookie season at the Melbourne Storm in 2010.
Widdop says the club’s woes cannot be put down to the players not trying.
“That was a lot worse than where we are,” he reasoned. “We are just outside the top eight and we haven’t been stripped of everything we’ve worked at for 10 years. And they got out of it and won a grand final two years later.
“I guess I’ve been through a few challenges, but the biggest thing I’ve learnt from it is to stick together and get through it.
“It’s just about sticking together as one, working hard at training and not shying away from the challenges. So no pointing fingers -that’s the only way you can go about it.”
This positive mindset is why Widdop hasn’t given up hope of making the finals despite the Dragons’ substandard form in recent weeks.
“We are definitely not up to par to where we want to be,” he said.
“It’s not through lack of effort though. We are coming to training and working hard, but it’s just not coming off for us. That’s what quite hard and disappointing to take.
“We’ve just got to be honest within the group of where we are at and where we want to go and that’s still the finals.”
Link for those who wish to comment in the comments section
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/97f359e9b65852414e148c7144c34042
Matt Logue, The Daily Telegraph
July 26, 2016 6:40pm
ST GEORGE Illawarra prop Mike Cooper has called for critics to lay off the under-fire club, slamming the constant condemnation levelled at the Red V as ‘unfair’.
On the same day the Dragons were forced to stand down Tim Lafai and Siliva Havili for breaching the club’s code of conduct after the pair were charged by police following a drunken incident in Wollongong on Sunday morning, Cooper called for calm from the fans.
While the British-born bookend understands the fans’ frustration after a string of below-par performances, he believes disapproval aimed at the players, coach Paul McGregor and long-serving CEO Peter Doust is unwarranted.
Mike Cooper has hit out at the Dragons’ critics.
“There a lot of teams below us in the league and that have been in the finals for the last couple of years that are getting no heat whatsoever,” Cooper said.
“But (we do) because it’s the Dragons and we get all the pressure, which is a shame.
“I don’t really understand why this club gets so much heat all the time. It’s unfair, but it is the way it is.
“I’ve learnt being a part of this club that you are under a lot of pressure. Coming from the UK this is a different kettle of fish completely.”
The Dragons have lost their past three games by a combined total of 93-30 as they’ve fallen out of the top eight. Despite scoring just five tries in those losses, Cooper said he could not cop people taking pot shots at the Dragons’ application.
“If people are trying to question the effort or desire for us to win right from the top down to the kit man, then that’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
“The people that are saying that don’t know sport. That’s the disappointing thing. People think people aren’t putting effort in and at times we are over trying rather than not putting effort in.
“Everyone is sticking together and you have to in this type of situation. Obviously we are a proud club and a lot of people involved with this club are putting in as much effort as possible to go forward.”
Pressure aside, Cooper refused to make excuses for poor player behaviour. He admitted Lafai and Havili would regret their actions on the early hours of last Sunday morning, but maintained his support for the duo.
Both Lafai and Havili will be stood down from all club activities until further notice, while they also face Wollongong Local Court on September 6.
“I’m sure the lads if they had their time again wouldn’t have put themselves in that situation,” he said. “But that’s the decision that they made which they have to live by.
“The boys will always stick by the players and there are two sides to the story. I’m sure if they’ve broken the code of conduct by the club, then action will be taken.”
Dragons captain Gareth Widdop is equally disappointed by the actions of Lafai and Havili, but stressed the side must now look forward.
As difficult as this season has been for the underachieving Saints thus far, Widdop insists the spotlight is nothing compared to the salary cap scandal he endured in his rookie season at the Melbourne Storm in 2010.
Widdop says the club’s woes cannot be put down to the players not trying.
“That was a lot worse than where we are,” he reasoned. “We are just outside the top eight and we haven’t been stripped of everything we’ve worked at for 10 years. And they got out of it and won a grand final two years later.
“I guess I’ve been through a few challenges, but the biggest thing I’ve learnt from it is to stick together and get through it.
“It’s just about sticking together as one, working hard at training and not shying away from the challenges. So no pointing fingers -that’s the only way you can go about it.”
This positive mindset is why Widdop hasn’t given up hope of making the finals despite the Dragons’ substandard form in recent weeks.
“We are definitely not up to par to where we want to be,” he said.
“It’s not through lack of effort though. We are coming to training and working hard, but it’s just not coming off for us. That’s what quite hard and disappointing to take.
“We’ve just got to be honest within the group of where we are at and where we want to go and that’s still the finals.”
Link for those who wish to comment in the comments section
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/97f359e9b65852414e148c7144c34042
