Parra Guru said:
Cooper is a great centre. Similar to Ben Smith in defence, but better in attack.
Cooper is a freakish talent but imo he is a selfish centre. He is very similar to Ben Smith in defence that's right, but selfish in attack. with all the on field attention he recieves from the opposition defence I give him credit for still being able to do what he does. Which is run around them.
But he plays for himself often opting away from the better play which is very often an unmarked winger outside him. He makes line changes that runs into teamates territory & runs them out of their options.
Good centres can run around the opposition, but they can also open a hole for someone else in a better position. He milks it & runs his team out of options always wanting to break the line, then look for his supports.
Good centres don't need to work that hard for the line break. They play the numbers & let the ball take the ground off the defence with select passing.
Good player, Great talent, Selfish. We used to call them ball hogs back in the day! They always make the rep sides because no one else sees the ball to get a look in!