Matt Cook (rugby league)

Matt Cook
Personal information
Full name Matthew Cook
Born (1986-11-14) 14 November 1986
Warrington, Cheshire, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (182 cm)
Weight 16 st 7 lb (105 kg)[1]
Playing information
Position Prop, Second-row, Loose forward

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–09 Bradford Bulls 70 6 0 0 24
2008(loan) → Castleford Tigers 3 1 0 0 4
2010–11 Hull Kingston Rovers 28 8 0 0 32
2012–14 London Broncos 64 11 0 0 44
2015– Castleford Tigers 89 9 0 0 36
Total 254 35 0 0 140
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006 England 2 0 0 0 0
As of 4 August 2018
Source: [2][3][4][5]

Matthew Cook (born 14 November 1986) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.[2][3]

Cook has played at representative level for England, and at club level for Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers, Hull Kingston Rovers, and London Broncos in the Super League.

Background

Cook was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England.

Cook represented England at all levels up to under-19s in rugby union and up to under-18s in rugby league. He represented the England Academy rugby league side where he scored two tries in the record-breaking win over Australia. As a junior, he played for Bedford Swifts when they were both a rugby league and rugby union side.

Playing career

2000s

Cook signed for Super League club Bradford Bulls from Saracens (rugby union) in December 2003.

In 2005, Cook made his Super League début for Bradford Bulls on the 28 March against St. Helens R.F.C. and went on to make several appearances off the bench.

In 2006, Cook started the season with a 30-10 victory over National Rugby League premiers Wests Tigers in the 2006 World Club Challenge. He also played in the Challenge Cup round win against Hull F.C. where he was awarded the Man-of-the-Match. At the end of the 2006 season he played in the play-off simi final loss against Hull F.C., and made his England début on 22 October against France national rugby league team (sub) and earned a second cap against Tonga national rugby league team (sub) leading to the team winning the Federation Shield competition.[4]

In 2007, Cook established a regular bench spot and made his first starting game against Leeds Rhinos in the controversial Millennium Magic Weekend match.

In 2008, Cook had a brief loan spell at Castleford Tigers before his parent club Bradford Bulls called him back. He played just 3 games for the Tigers where he also scored a try on his début against Hull F.C. on the 11 April.[6]

On 1 September 2009 Cook signed for Hull Kingston Rovers on a 2-year contract, starting with the 2010 season.

2010s

In 2010, Cook made his Hull Kingston Rovers début on 7 February against Salford Red Devils. He also played in the clubs first ever play-off win with a 24-04 victory over local rivals Hull F.C.

In 2011, Cook found his game time limited but still managed to score an impressive 5 Try’s in only 10 games for the Robins.

On the 1 of September 2011 Cook signed for London Broncos on a 3-year contract, starting with the 2012 season.

In 2012, Cook made his London Broncos début on 12 February against Warrington Wolves.

In 2013, Cooks dreams of playing at Wembley Stadium in the Challenge Cup final came to an end when the team came crashing to an embarrassing 70-0 record semi-final defeat to Wigan Warriors.

In 2014, after the club narrowly avoided going into administration at the end of 2013, Cook was handed the tough challenge of leading a young and inexperienced London Broncos team that sadly resulted in their relegation to Championship (rugby league).

On the 1 September 2014 Cook signed for Castleford Tigers on a 3-year contract, starting with the 2015 season.

In 2015, Cook made his second Castleford Tigers début on 27 February against St. Helens R.F.C..

In 2016, having played the majority of the seasons fixtures Cook was relieved to have scored his only try of the season in the last fixture of the campaign, happily avoiding the dreaded traditional rugby league forfeit of having to do a nude run.

In 2017, Cook made history with the Castleford Tigers when they topped the league for the first time in the clubs 91 year history winning the League Leaders Shield. Cook also played in his and the Clubs first Super League Grand Final in 2017 against the Leeds Rhinos. Unfortunately on his and the clubs maiden Grand final he had to settle with a runners up medal.

Statistics

Club

YearClubAppsPtsTGDG
2005 Bradford Bulls8----
2006 Bradford Bulls12----
2007 Bradford Bulls1541--
2008 Bradford Bulls17164--
2008 Castleford341--

Tries

Scores and results list Matt's try tally first.
DateVenueOpponentResultTournamentScored
4 April 2008KC Stadium,Hull F.C.8–24Super League1
11 April 2008Wheldon RoadHull F.C.12–32Super League1
22 June 2008Odsal,Hull F.C.36–22Super League1
17 August 2008OdsalHull F.C.42–14Super League1
24 August 2008OdsalHull Kingston Rovers42–18Super League1
5 April 2010Twickenham Stoop,Harlequins12–52Super League1
11 April 2010Craven Park (Hull)Warrington36–16Super League1
22 August 2010Craven Park (Hull)Wigan18–38Super League1
9 April 2011Craven Park (Hull)Leeds38–28Super League1
15 April 2011Craven Park (Hull)Wigan16–28Super League1
22 April 2011KC StadiumHull F.C.36–18Super League1

Representative

YearTeamMatchesTriesGoalsDrop GoalsPoints
0000
0000
0000

References

  1. ↑ "Castleford Tigers 1st Team Matt Cook". Official Castleford Tigers web site. Castleford Tigers Rugby League Football Club Ltd. 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Profile at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 "England Statistics at englandrl.co.uk". englandrl.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ↑ London Official
  6. ↑ "Castleford switch for Bulls' Cook". BBC. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
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