South Sydney hooker Damien Cook has told NSW coach Brad Fittler he is ready to answer an SOS recall after detailing the conversation he had with the coach after being dropped.
Cook had played 15 State of Origin games in a row for the Blues before being overlooked by Fittler in the 26-18 loss to Queensland in the Origin series opener in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Fittler elected to choose one recognised hooker Apisai Koroisau in his 17-man squad but the jury is out on whether that was the right move.
Cook didn’t kick stones about his omission and showed he is primed for a recall for game two of the series in Brisbane on June 21.
He made a team-high 38 tackles, with one missed, in the 46-28 win over Gold Coast on Saturday night and set up a crucial second-half try in a strong all-round game for the Rabbitohs.
“I had a really good conversation with Freddy (Fittler) and he gave me a lot of his time,” Cook told AAP.
“He didn’t rush the call and told me straight off the bat that he was going with Api.
“He knew I was very disappointed but I respected the time he gave me and I assured him that when he needed me I would be ready to play for NSW.
“I will always make myself available if ever needed. I loved how he handled the chat and I thought I handled it quite well too.”
Cook said it was possible that NSW would elect to go with two hookers in game two as Queensland did in Adelaide by having Harry Grant on the bench to replace Ben Hunt.
“NSW have a lot of quality players. Even though they didn’t get the job done in game one, NSW knows how to bounce back,” Cook said.
“There is always talk about Queensland wanting it more but I have been in that camp and I know how much it means to NSW. Whoever pulls the NSW jersey on will respond well and keep the NSW team in the fight.”
While a Blues recall would be nice, Cook and the top-four placed Rabbitohs are chasing the club’s first NRL title since 2014
The win over the Titans was a step in the right direction.
“We’d had a couple of losses and last week I didn’t think my defence was the best but I thought tonight was a good step in the right direction to get back where I was a couple of weeks ago,” Cook said
“We are chasing a premiership. That is what we want and where our focus is.
“It was good to get back in the winner’s circle.”
Australian Associated Press