Mike Cooper

[Harrigan]

You have to remember the top 4 or 5 teams in the ESL are NRL standard and Warrington probably have the best pack in the league so to make 100+ appearances is good going. He's not world class, but he's a good forward with plenty of drive and a great motor. I think he will surprise a few when he gets a few games under his belt. The better coaching in the NRL will develop him even more too remember.

 

[stg666]

looks to have some pace and is damn ugly. just like you need a forward to be . looks like a typical tough pom.

 

[dragonv]

The better coaching in the NRL will develop him even more too remember.

hmmmm

 

[muzby]

this quote of his made me chuckle..

"There were a couple of clubs that we were speaking to within the NRL having watched the last couple of seasons. St George Illawarra is a club with a great heritage this along with the big names involved with club and the pictures of where they are based at Wollongong ticked all the boxes for me.

looks like dousty showed him this:

and not this:

 

[TheRev]

Id move to the gong based on that pic.... someone should send it to Cummins too.

 

[stg666]

aahh , that photo of the 'works brings back fond memories of life in the 'gong . got off the bus one day to start work at number one merchant mill , walked across the road , and hitched back to warilla for a wave . probably showed the pom the smog photo and that reminded him of home . too easy .

 

[DirtyHarry]

this quote of his made me chuckle..






looks like dousty showed him this:

and not this:

Wrong way round Muzby. The guy is from the north of England.

 

[Evil Homer]

That's still nicer than Warrington to be fair.

 

[English Rose]

He is an average forward at best. No way near in the calibre of S Burgess or Graham.

 

[saint_marto88]

He is an average forward at best. No way near in the calibre of S Burgess or Graham.

Thanks scoop. Saved us all from getting the wrong idea for a moment then

 

[English Rose]

Thanks scoop. Saved us all from getting the wrong idea for a moment then

No worries ;-) He is going to make Matt Prior look like Sonny Bill Williams!

 

[WireMan]

That's still nicer than Warrington to be fair.

Nicer than Warrington? Pah.

You never been to Cheshire? Lovely place.

 

[Stagger Lee]

Nicer than Warrington? Pah.

You never been to Cheshire? Lovely place.

I have, many times, and it is a shithole. Cheshire may be nice but don't try and kid anyone that Warrington is a lovely place.

 

[BennyV]

You have to remember the top 4 or 5 teams in the ESL are NRL standard and Warrington probably have the best pack in the league so to make 100+ appearances is good going. He's not world class, but he's a good forward with plenty of drive and a great motor. I think he will surprise a few when he gets a few games under his belt. The better coaching in the NRL will develop him even more too remember.

This - everyone bags out on ESL but melbourne were pushed to the limit in the WCC this year and Manly were beaten last year. I really like this signing - would have been cheap because the kid was looking to move to NRL to develop.; Will probably put on 10 or so kgs before getting a run (similar to what Gaz did when he returned) and will look good coming off the bench.

 

[Mr Red]

interesting signing, i havent seen much of him but what i have seen is ok, though not spectacular.. so a few questions come to mind..

1. we had to pay a transfer fee for an average prop?? surely we could have sourced a prop of his quality from the NRL, or even from our juniors?
2. his signing seemed to happen relatively quickly - how come Rangi Chase and Dugan arent already on board?

 

[LOYAL DRAGON]

interesting signing, i havent seen much of him but what i have seen is ok, though not spectacular.. so a few questions come to mind..

1. we had to pay a transfer fee for an average prop?? surely we could have sourced a prop of his quality from the NRL, or even from our juniors?
2. his signing seemed to happen relatively quickly - how come Rangi Chase and Dugan arent already on board?

Thats what I was thinking about Dugan and Rangi.

 

[Fingerbang]

No worries ;-) He is going to make Matt Prior look like Sonny Bill Williams!

In other words.....Cooper is so sh!t hot, his presence in the team will downgrade Matt Prior.

I can live with that.

 

[Dr Fruitbasket Returns]

My guess is someone who knows just a tad more about rugby league than you has seen something in him.

Dude, I'd love to know what they've seen. Maybe they could tell us?

I'd love to know what they've seen that's suggested to them that a bloke whose already 24 and around 100kgs and a fringe first grader in the ESL is going to be above the standard of, say , the Ah Maus, the Matthewss and the Veas that these league geniuses bought last year, who were all reserve graders at the time, are all still reserve graders and who will all be here playing reserve grade next year.

That's harsh. But, I'll go out on a limb. You don't transform from a bench player at Warrington, at 24, into the kind of player that turns a solid pack like ours into a premiership contender. No, really. You just don't. At best you become a journeyman.

Which is fine, every team needs those solid journeymen. But there are journeymen on the market, here. And we've already got our quota anyway.

I'm not having a shot at Cooper. Good on him. Welcome to St George. If he turns out to be the Adrian Morley I'll be ecstatic. But you don't need to know a whole lot about league to know the odds of that are really long.

And I'd like to understand the decision. It looks like a stupid one. We've made plenty of stupid recruitment choices and many of them recently. I'd like some idea of why this isn't another one.

 

[Godz Illa]

I dont think it's worth getting worked up about. In Doust code "value proposition" is one of the least knotty euphemisms to decipher. The deal with Warrington looks a lot like a loan so it's possible theyre even paying for some of the already miserly contract

 

[jenninga]

Dude, I'd love to know what they've seen. Maybe they could tell us?

I'd love to know what they've seen that's suggested to them that a bloke whose already 24 and around 100kgs and a fringe first grader in the ESL is going to be above the standard of, say , the Ah Maus, the Matthewss and the Veas that these league geniuses bought last year, who were all reserve graders at the time, are all still reserve graders and who will all be here playing reserve grade next year.

That's harsh. But, I'll go out on a limb. You don't transform from a bench player at Warrington, at 24, into the kind of player that turns a solid pack like ours into a premiership contender. No, really. You just don't. At best you become a journeyman.

Which is fine, every team needs those solid journeymen. But there are journeymen on the market, here. And we've already got our quota anyway.

I'm not having a shot at Cooper. Good on him. Welcome to St George. If he turns out to be the Adrian Morley I'll be ecstatic. But you don't need to know a whole lot about league to know the odds of that are really long.

And I'd like to understand the decision. It looks like a stupid one. We've made plenty of stupid recruitment choices and many of them recently. I'd like some idea of why this isn't another one.

Why don't we all make a qualified opinion of him when he plays his first game for us.The likes of Morley,Burgess ,Graham and Ellis all possess a tough mentality and willingness to get stuck in.If this guy has the same mentality then it is a start,let's wait and see.