Cooper wants to continue Dragons domination post Bennett
BY TIM BARROW
22 Jul, 2011 04:00 AM
Dragons centre Matt Cooper has made it his final NRL mission to help ensure St George Illawarra remain a premiership force long after Wayne Bennett heads for Newcastle.
Shrugging off interest from cashed-up English Super League clubs, the 32-year-old yesterday signed a two-year contract extension, ensuring he will be a career one-club man.
Cooper reignited the Dragons' title defence with a man-of-the-match performance in the 38-8 demolition of Cronulla on Monday night, in his first game back from a fractured cheekbone and wrist.
Having lived out his lifelong dream when he won the premiership after a decade in the NRL, Cooper said he was motivated to play a key role in coach Steve Price's project development next year.
"I didn't want to go anywhere else," Cooper said. "I want to stay here at the Dragons. I've been here my whole career and I love the club and the fans.
"We're going to lose Darius [Boyd] and Gaz [Mark Gasnier] and a couple of other younger boys and we're going to miss them.
"But we've still got a great core of players here in Dean Young, Ben Hornby, Ben Creagh, players like that. We're going to be strong next year and I'm looking forward to seeing how Steve goes.
"I rate him as a coach and as a person. I'm good mates with him and I support him all the way."
A Shellharbour junior, Cooper is the Dragons' second most-capped player with 211 games and is the joint venture club's leading try scorer with 111.
The star centre also leads the premiership try list this year with nine.
Continuing the good news for St George Illawarra, second-rower Beau Scott trained at a rain-soaked WIN Stadium yesterday. But he is yet to be cleared to play against the Raiders at Canberra Stadium on Monday night.
Cooper said his fractured cheekbone and wrist had turned into a back-handed blessing, as it had left him feeling fresh for the run in to the finals series.
"I was pretty lucky this time, it was only a couple of broken bones," said Cooper, who has struggled with hamstring and foot injuries in previous seasons.
"They heal pretty quick and it didn't limit my training too much.
"A week out of surgery and I was back running, so that's helped.
"I probably look at it as a good thing. I got to freshen up coming into the back end of the season.
"I had to look at it like that and train hard to get back on the field."
The Dragons have lost their past eight NRL games in Canberra, a hoodoo stretching back to July 2000.
Cooper, who didn't play in the victory in 2000, has failed to win in the capital in five starts.
However, he claimed the Dragons would break the drought if they reproduced the form which saw them sweep to a 24-nil lead at half-time against the Sharks.
"That first half was really good, " he said.
"If we can go down there with that attitude and put together what we did [on Monday], then hopefully the win will come."
