Axed star opens up on 'draining' Souths drama
Damien Cook has opened up on his “draining” demotion to NSW Cup, admitting there was “a lot of tension” surrounding the shock decision.
In one of the most surprising calls of the season, South Sydney axed their long-time hooker for a clash with Cronulla in round six – a game which they ended up losing.
Cook is one of the club’s most experienced players, having made 189 appearances in the top grade since moving to Redfern in 2016, as well as representing NSW on 17 occasions and Australia four times.
However, the 32-year-old was sent back to reserve grade in a huge call from embattled coach Jason Demetriou and has now admitted the call had a significant impact.
”There was a obviously lot of tension about it – quite draining by the time I got to game day, just how the week played out,” Cook told Sky Sports Radio.
“There was so much noise around last week. It has been building a lot last week. The way JD has handled himself has been great too, you wouldn’t think anything of it.
“That result on the weekend, I’m not saying it was enough, but it’s great to see that the noise has dropped off and the media has dropped off a bit.
“We can just focus on what we need to do. We know we’ve got the talent here and the team here to get the job done.”
