Yeah and that's why you guys should have patience with Cook. Give him more time out there and he may end up like Peats or Korisau or McInnis is now. You've got to have patience with the young kids, it takes a fair while to get used to the rigors of first grade. I believe your club is excellent at spotting the talent, but no good at being patient with them long enough to keep them there. Then in 2 years, they blossom at another club.
Man I would cut off my left nut to get Peats at my club. His service is wonderfully fast. It reminds me of when Craig Wing played hooker, no one gave service that fast ever before or since, but Peats is pretty close now. I see a fair bit of Peats in Cook right now, his service speed is very good. He just needs to learn a bit more and in a year or two i reckon he'll be right up there. Anyhoo, I hope your club makes the right decision this time. Good luck man.
Yea it sucks that we tend to get rid of players just before the blossom.
I don't think you can compare Peats to Cook. There development was miles apart. Peats was debuted before he was ready in 2011. Due to injury he was called in to 1st grade as a back-rower. He had almost a full season in the back row and that helped shape the player he is. A good hooker needs 3 things.
1. He needs to be tough, and a good defender
2. He needs skills. Good service from dummy half and a decent scoot.
3. He needs footy intelligence and a calmness.
That's the order it needs to happen. A hooker who isn't tough or a good defender is useless. Even if he has the other 2 qualities, without the 1st he is nothing. It's also the hardest to teach. If it was easy almost every former half who doesn't make it as a half would be a hooker. But that doesn't work out. That's why guy like Buderus and Wallace are a rare breed. That's why when you develop a half you usually take a tough kid who can tackle and go from there. Take Andrew McCollough as a perfect example. He started in first grade as a tough little bigger who could tackle. Over the years his service got slowly better, his running game improved. Finally over the last 18 months his game management and calmness under pressure has really came along.
With cook you have someone has the second part. He has decent service and decent running (when he goes through with it). But to be a quality long term first grade hooker he needs to develop some tougness and defence. He is already 26. Most hookers have that first part at least when they are 20-21. Without the tougness he'll find it hard to have the 3rd part. Because playing smart and calm requires taking a hit now and again, something cook hasn't mastered.
