Cook is a fan favourite. He's exciting when he comes into the field even if it is for only 15 minutes. The fans are constantly screaming for him to come on. You don't have to like the guy but you shouldn't hate the fans just for having a favourite player.
Cook was part of the team that looked like a finals squad at the end of last year. You can sit there and say that it wasn't just because of cook but it the facts show that the team can win with cook steering them around.
Personally I believe recruiting Farah was one of the dumbest ideas this club has had in terms of recruitment/retention for the last few years. The only thing dumber that I saw was not allowing cook to go the sharks and instead offering him more money to stay.
I don't know who was the one who came up with that idea but it was shocking. Souths are now going to be paying in full for an ageing Farah next year which is estimated to be around 900,000 per season. Cook could no way be on more than 300,000. If you ask me Souths have f**ked up big time by recruiting Farah when they had a perfectly capable 80 minute hooker in cook. Souths have now missed out on 900k spending money for a prop/centre/winger.
Our salary cap is a mess and it's not going to improve next year either so honestly everyone should get used to the same roster because there isn't going to be a cleanout.
We won 4 in a row late in 2016, but cooks influence was minimal. If he truly was a key part, we don't buy farah and we don't start him rd 1. What's always forgetten is Inglis stood up in those late rounds and Sam and reynolds went with him.
We had a good young hooker, but we forced him out of the club thanks to Rusty's drunken antics.
The fans have probably kept cook in the team longer then he should have been. It's political. If maguire drops cook, the fans kick up, they threaten membership cancellations etc/bad will, the club uses that against maguire to fire him. I think we've reached a point were enough is enough and start picking the best 'team' instead of the 'favourite' players.
You are right that the cap is a mess. Yet so many put their head in the sand for the cause. They then continually criticise some of the few players earning their keep. We continue to move on good squad players all we'll end up with is The Burgii, Some kids and some overpriced journeyman. We have to make do with what we've got for the next few years.
