A loveable larrikin becomes a legend
WHEN loveable Cowboys’ rogue Gavin Cooper, and his infamous rat’s tail, caught the eye of club director of football Peter Parr, he knew he was destined for a long career.
If only he got everything right off the field.
Cooper was the perfect student of league, coming up from the Redcliffe Dolphins in the early 2000s he joined an NQ Young Guns side that included Matthew Scott, Scott Bolton, Clint Amos and Jaiman Lowe.
That side would go on to clinch the Queensland Cup grand final the year of his arrival in 2005.
Even in the early years, Cooper showed the tenacious work ethic that has become a hallmark of his career.
It’s a career that will celebrate 300 NRL games at Central Coast Stadium tomorrow.
But it was his penchant to “burn the candle at both ends”, that Parr believed might be his downfall.
“I wasn’t sure he would play 300 games, not with how his lifestyle was early on,” Parr laughed.
“He trained really well and it is fair to say he burned the candle at both ends. He was never any trouble, he just enjoyed himself.
“There was no doubt if he got everything right off the field, he would have a long NRL career.”
Club veteran Matt Scott, who was part of the group of Cowboys ‘larrikins’ along with Cooper, admitted there definitely was a few late nights at the famed Mad Cow Tavern in the early days.
“There was a group of us that could have gone either way there for a while,” he said.
“But as much of a larrikin as he was, he always had a good work ethic, he always looked out for his mates and above all else he was always a good club person.”
Cooper played one year with the Cowboys NRL squad in 2006, before he was lured away from the club to become a foundation player in the Gold Coast Titans start in the NRL.
He would go on to play two seasons for the Titans, before the boy from Murgon moved out of Queensland for the first time, taking up an opportunity at the Penrith Panthers. He played 40 games over two seasons at the Panthers before he got a chance to return home to Townsville.
“We tried to keep him (when he went to the Titans), but they offered him a big deal and you can understand why,” Parr said.
“After a couple of years he showed a desire to come back, we were happy to accommodate that given our knowledge of what he was like as a player and a bloke.”
Cooper returned to the Cowboys at the end of 2010, sans rat’s tail, and with a new desire to make himself an established name in the NRL.
It was a journey back to the Cowboys that the 33year-old would never change.
“I wouldn’t change any of the story so far. It has helped me grow, let me see another