'I feel for him': Cook praised for performance as make-shift centre

Blues star Stephen Crichton admitted he felt sorry for Damien Cook after the veteran hooker was forced to play 77 minutes in the unfamiliar role of left centre in Wednesday night’s 32-6 Origin loss.

Cook started from the bench in a late swap with debutant Reece Robson but the 31-year-old quickly found himself in the action after NSW centre Tom Trbojevic ruptured his right pectoral muscle in the third minute. 

With no backs on the bench, NSW coach Brad Fittler shuffled his side, with Crichton shifting from left centre to the right to mark Maroons speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Cook taking his position opposite a surprised Valentine Holmes.

“I am sure he was probably more shocked than I was,” Holmes said. “If you don’t carry a back on the bench and something happens to an outside back that is just what can happen.”

NSW team-mates and Queensland opponents were full of praise for Cook, who scored his side’s only try midway through the second half and ran 118 metres with the ball, but he also blew a number of try scoring opportunities and missed three tackles.

“It’s a bit hard on Cookie,” Crichton said. “I kind of feel sorry for him, defending as a centre. That’s something he hasn’t done before.

“I have played there my whole career and I still find it so hard defending the shape that's coming so I kind of feel sorry for Cookie. He had to do what he had to do and I definitely feel for him.”

Holmes scored two tries and left winger Xavier Coates also crossed in the 64th minute but the Kangaroos centre praised Cook.

“I thought he played awesome,” Holmes said. “He almost done me and got around me. He is very fast and nippy, and he is very experienced.

“We scored a couple of tries down there but considering he has never played on an edge - defending against outside backs and halves, and reading backrowers’ leads and fullbacks out the back - it is a very tough position to defend in and I thought he played well.

“In the first game Liam Martin scored inside me so that was my focus, I didn’t want anyone running inside my shoulder, I wanted to be strong and I thought I did a good job of that.

“To keep a team like NSW to nil in the first half and six points in the game, I couldn’t be more prouder and happier.”

Holmes said the way that the Maroons had won the series opener in Adelaide three weeks earlier after coming from behind to score two tries in the last 10 minutes while prop Tom Flegler was in the sin bin had given them confidence.

“That just showed the spirit we have for each other, our coaches and our state and it just carried on into this game,” he said.

“I could tell from watching out wide that they were getting a good roll on through their middles, they were getting attacking kicks on and we were getting locked in. That’s Origin and that’s what it comes down to.

“I thought the way we defended and scrambled for each other, you can’t beat it. I think we built confidence from Game I, we trained well and everyone was really confident of what they could bring and confidence in their mate next to them.

“That’s what it takes in this arena. The guys out here are the best of the best, the best Queensland players against the best NSW players, battling and going to war.

“I just thought we stuck to our guns, we stuck to what we spoke about in our meetings and what we trained for.”