Dukes of depth - Saturday 26 August 2000
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You feel for players destined to be the bridesmaid never the bride. The
perennial understudy never the lead actor. Always the deputy not the
sheriff. Wrong place at the wrong time. A classic example is Brett Cook
who crossed from Fitzroy to St Kilda. His luck turned in the 1997 finals.
Through a series of mishaps, he played in a grand final.
Cook hailed from Broken Hill in the wild west of NSW. Same home town as Essendon star Dean Solomon. Brett boy grew up a talented athlete. The tape measure rolled out to 195 centimetres and the needle pointed to 92 kilograms. Perfect for ruck or key position. The young gun travelled further west. He polished his badge at Norwood in the SANFL. Fitzroy drafted the western union man with 1991 national draft pick 20. The Roys presented Cookie with the number 35 jumper worn previously by Craig McGrath and Scott Jordon. The busted hillier was blooded through the seconds at Lionland. He had some injury problems but effectively had three seasons at twos level to learn the quick draw for the OK corral of senior football. BC could call upon experience from 50 reserves games by the time he made his senior debut in AD 1994. Cook rode shot gun for ruckmen ex Blue Peter Sartori and Collingwood premiership player James Manson. The club put faith in number 35. 1995 round 2 Fitzroy versus Carlton at Optus. For a big bloke, Cook showed some agility late in the second quarter. Took a strong catch and played on. Dodge City on McKay then Silvagni and a left foot goal from the square. Roys down 8.8 to 18.17. During round 4 against the Swans at the SCG, Cook flew for a mark and fell forward. His face collided with the back of an opponent's head. Blood flowed from the Brett forehead. Cascading corpuscles obscured his vision and he had trouble running off the ground for medical attention. But it indicated he was tougher than Wyatt Earp in a shootout. Round 21. Lions opposed to St Kilda. Cook rucked well. During the last stanza, snapped a great goal from the pocket highway end at the then Western Oval. A loss for the Maroons 13.12 to 16.21. 1996. Matthew Primus arrived. He took over the main ruck duties. Once again B boy became second fiddle at the Roy ranch. He copped a quad injury, played some rezzies football. But at the time a noble team was on death row. Stan Alves threw Cooky a life saving lariat. St Kilda selected the ruckman with 1997 pre season selection 5. The new Saint accepted the number 42 jumper made famous by Wayne Judson. Again Brett strapped on the holster of understudy this time to Spider Everitt and Lazar Vidovic. The former Fitzroy fella played 8 solid games in the ones, 11 in the magoos. But for once he was in the right place at the right time when disaster struck near the 1997 finals. Spider broke his collarbone and Laze did his knee. Enter Cook. As the Saints got on a roll so did big Brett. The '97 grand final against Adelaide. Ten minutes into the first, he took a huge mark under pressure. His set shot missed but it was before both teams had settled down. Cook contested hard. His back took a buffeting. He needed treatment but continued to pressure the likes of Rehn and Robran. Unfortunately the result went against the Saints. The Cook continued through 1998 and 1999 as spare ruckman. He was released at the end of '99. 44 magnum games in the ones and close to 120 in the reseves over 9 years. Brett Cook provided a showdown with the opposition at every contest. |
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