BigBlog

Please be advised that i'm no longer blogging here but you can find my new, improved and "very exciting" blog at http://mattcooper.beinvolved.com.au/ Hope to see you there soon...!!

The last time I wrote an entry we were on top of the NRL. Well we’re not there now, but we’re also not too far off. The loss against Newcastle wasn’t ideal. Losses never are, but the important thing is we got together as a team, came out last week and put on what I thought was a pretty impressive display against the Roosters.

We went into the ANZAC Day game trying to build on our defence after we let some easy tries in against Newcastle so to come away with  a 29-0 result against was a great team effort.

Regardless of what the perception is of how the Roosters are playing, to keep a team with the likes of Braith Anasta, Mitch Pearce, Sia Soliola and Willie Mason scoreless is huge and we were very happy with our performance.

I can’t give enough credit to Jamie Soward for yet another brilliant performance. Sowie has proven himself as a consistent performer this year and as everyone knows is one of the form players in the competition.

I was quoted earlier this week as saying I don’t think Jamie is quite ready for Origin yet, but I do think he could play it.

On form Jamie could handle it this year. If he keeps playing the way he is then playing Origin is something he’s definitely going to achieve.

He’s obviously had a really good start to the season and his confidence has grown tremendously. Come next year if he keeps this up I can see him being a force in the number six jersey for NSW because they will need the attacking flair he has got.

Jamie’s defence is getting better as well and although he has been criticised (somewhat unjustly) for his defence in the past he has been doing well and is continuing to improve it.

To get that number six jersey it looks as if he will have an ongoing battle with Terry Campese who has been playing great for Canberra. Terry had a really good season last year, making the World Cup squad and has come back this year and is one of the in-form five eighths in NSW. If he gets in I see him doing a good job for the Blues.

Just briefly on a former Dragon, I caught up with Josh Morris the other day and was sad to see him on crutches. I really believe if he wasn’t injured Josh would have been up to the challenge of Origin footy.

I also reckon Mick Weyman could be a bolter and I couldn't be happier for the big guy. Justin Poore was named in the extended squad as well and I feel it’s time he was recognised.

Those boys will have a huge battle on their hands this weekend when we take on the Warriors at WIN Stadium on Sunday and I hope plenty of Dragons fans pack into what is my favourite ground.

The Warriors have a great forward pack with the likes of Steve Price, Ben Matulino, Jacob Lillyman and Micheal Luck and I reckon that battle, along with the rumble out wide between Wendell Sailor and Manu Vatuvei, will be worth the price of admission alone.

It’s good to see Dell back after his hamstring strain and I know he’ll be trying to put on a show for the Queensland selectors.

The man we really have to watch is Warriors fullback Wade McKinnon who is a slippery customer out on the field. McKinnon can hurt you from anywhere as can Lance Hohaia, so our defence has to be spot on.

Coops

For the first time in the history of the St George Illawarra Dragons we are sitting top of the table and it feels good.

Having said that we are not getting carried away with it, being just five games into the season, although it’s definitely better to be 4-1 than 1-4 like in some seasons in the past.

It’s also nice to be joint Premiership favourites but in truth it means little and we’re not worried about what the bookies think.

For two weeks I’ve been sitting on the sideline watching the boys go around and while it’s been difficult for me, I couldn’t be prouder of them and the way they have gone about their footy over the last fortnight.

The whole team has excelled and ground out four straight victories over quality opposition. I think the toughness we have showed in those games is important and was particularly so in the round four win over Brisbane.

A few people have commented to me about the smile on Wayne Bennett’s face as the camera cut to us in the dressing room after that game and I can confirm Wayne does smile and actually has a great sense of humour, contrary to what some of the media would have you believe.

There is no doubt Wayne has had a huge influence on the club. He has the players motivated and we all really want to go out there and do our best for him and the club every week. There have been a few cases where that attitude has really shown through.

The form of Jamie Soward has been amazing. Sowie was heavily targeted with what we thought to be some unjust criticism from elements of the media after the round one loss to Melbourne.

The boys rallied around him and showed our support by telling Jamie to keep his head high and now he’s one of the form halfbacks in the NRL and showing his class. His kicking game and general play have been fantastic.

Michael Weyman has also been talked about a lot in the media this week in regards to how well he is playing and I can’t disagree.

Mick has had his fair share of injuries in the past, but since coming to the club he has been training the house down and it’s no surprise to any of us to see how well he has been playing. In fact it was almost expected.

The other guy in the side who hasn’t been getting all the credit he may deserve is our young fullback Darius Boyd.

Since joining from Brisbane Darius has trained hard and played very well. What else would you expect from a guy who played Origin at just 20 years of age. Darius has been a handful for every team we have played with his kick returns and general play and he’s only going to get better.

This week we’ll be taking on the Newcastle Knights at home and once again it won’t be an easy game. The Knights are playing well and have a big, strong forward pack containing a couple of former Dragons, Chris Houston and Danny Wicks. I hope all the Dragons fans give them a big welcome home.

As I said the Knights won’t be an easy opponent and have been one of the form teams this year, but I am looking forward to seeing the boys put in another great effort, particularly Wendell Sailor, who along with Newcastle centre Adam MacDougall has renewed an age old war of words.

I don’t know why, they don’t even play on the same side of the field these days, but bragging rights are bragging rights.

I’ll still be missing in action this week but am confident I will return from my hamstring injury for the big Anzac Day clash with the Roosters.

Coops

It’s that time of year again, summer has come to an end, autumn is creeping in and the NRL season is about to kick off. To be honest I can’t wait to get started against the Storm on Friday night.

Of course tackling the Storm in Melbourne is no easy task first up, but we have had a really good pre-season under Wayne Bennett. The boys are all fit and for the first time in a few years I have had a pre-season which hasn’t been interrupted by rehab or injury and feel a lot better for it.

There has been a lot of change at the club with new players joining as well as the new coaching staff and it feels like a different club. It’s a bit like Brisbane Broncos version two down here with ex-Broncos Luke Priddis, Darius Boyd, Wendell Sailor, Neville Costigan and of course Wayne and his coaching staff.

Hopefully they can help bring us the success they enjoyed at the Broncos.

Wayne has a very different style to that which Nathan Brown had. Immediately Wayne demanded and got respect from the players and has instilled a lot of respect in us for each other. He has also brought a change to the club and we are confident we can do well this year.

That all begins this Friday night in Melbourne and there is no better team to play against to to show our improvement.

The Storm, despite losing last year’s Grand Final, are still as tough a proposition as any other side and, while I don’t want to put too much pressure on any of the boys, we have a poor record when it comes to the way we have started the season in recent times and we will be looking to turn that around.

We have a tough start to the season with the first four matches against Melbourne, Gold Coast, Cronulla and Brisbane, but if we can come out of those games with victories I’m sure it will get people talking.

This Friday night I look like lining up on Willie Isa and, while I don’t know a lot about him, I have heard he is impressive and I certainly won’t be taking him lightly.

I’m particularly looking forward to Darius Boyd’s debut for the Dragons. Darius really surprised me. I’ve seen him play before but watching him at training and seeing what type of athlete he is and the way he moves I think he will become a bigger star than he already is.

I’m also very pleased to see Ben Hornby has been named captain of the team this year. I think Benny was always likely to be given the job and I couldn’t think of a better player to lead us.

Ben has been a very good mate for a lot of years and he is a leader on and off the field.

Speaking of off the field it was a great summer as, after a lot of planning, I finally tied the knot.

We spent 10 days on Hamilton Island with 60 of our closest friends and had a great time. We also finally finished the new house and have been there about five weeks now.

Life’s good, lets get into some footy.

Coops

Yesterday marked the release of a sensational new DVD, ‘Gods of Football: the Making of the 2009 Calendars’, featuring rare and captivating behind-the-scenes footage of last year’s provocative ‘Gods of Football’ photo-shoots where many of Australia’s NRL and AFL Australia’s footballers posed ‘naked for a cause’ to support the McGrath Foundation.

The sale of Gods of Football products helps raise funds for the McGrath Foundation places McGrath Breast Care Nurses throughout rural and regional Australia whilst also increasing breast awareness in younger women.

It’s a worthy cause that I hope you can get behind. Check out the DVD trailer on my video page.

It would also be great to see plenty of Dragons’ fans out in support as we take on South Sydney in this weekend’s Charity Shield.

Coops