Troy Cook: Life Member 2016

Tough, hard, courageous.  Three words that could be used to describe the career of former Fremantle, Sydney and Perth footballer Troy Cook.

Cook started his career back in 1994 after moving from Carnarvon where he had been playing with the Warriors Football Club.  However he wasn’t recruited by the Demons he more or less lobbed on their front door looking to play.

“After moving down with my parents (Allan and Gloria) I was keen to keep playing footy so I had a look at where the closest football clubs were around Kenwick where we were living and the Perth Football Club was on the train line.”

“So I hopped on the train and knocked on their door and asked them if I could play and what I had to do to be a part of the football club.”

Cook’s hard work over that preseason eventually paid off when he made his league debut in round three against South Fremantle at the WACA.  The Demons lost by 34-points that day but Cook still remembers it fondly.

“It was a very proud moment for me to make my league debut and the accumulation of a lot of hours spent out on the training track refining my game.”

“With Dad supporting the Demons as well, I think he was really proud that my name would now be in the history books as having represented the club.”

Cook played 18 games in his debut season and 11 the following season but it was in 1996 that he started to stand out and was regularly among the best players for Perth.

“I worked pretty hard that preseason on getting fitter, stronger and working on different deficiencies of my game.”

“From memory I got dropped a couple of times early that season and went back and played in the reserves.”

“Once Wayne Blackwell who was the coach at the time put me back into the league side it was all about getting back to basics and finding a routine that made me play well.”

After being recalled in round six, Cook did not miss a game for the rest of the season.

He went to the Sandover Medal night not really expecting much but found himself tied with Jeremy Wasley from Swan Districts heading into the last round of the season.

“In the last game of the season against South Fremantle I got a massive corkie in the first quarter and that was the end of my game.”

“Obviously I didn’t poll any votes and I think Jeremy got two votes and won the Sandover.”

In the early hours of the next morning when the after party from the Sandover Medal was still going strong Cook met a man that would go on to have a profound effect on his life.  Peter Gilkinson or ‘Gilko’ as he would later be known as briefly met Cook at the Brisbane Hotel where they arranged to have a formal meeting at a more convenient time.

“Because of our good finish to the season, potentially it looked like that I might be getting drafted.  However I didn’t have anyone to represent me.”

“This is where I first encountered Gilko and while I might have been a bit dusty at the time when we finally did sit down and meet he agreed to represent me and when the draft came around he was and has continued to be since that first encounter very good to me.”

“He’s looked after me in regards to contracts from the AFL and also life skills and money management.”

“He has been a great friend and mentor to me.”

After the Sandover Medal Night a couple of months went by before the draft where Cook was taken at pick 27 by the Sydney Swans.  At the Swans Cook would go on to play 43 games over the next three years before returning to Western Australia to play with the Fremantle Dockers.  By the end of his first season at the Dockers Cook had played all 22 games, lead the club in disposals and was named club champion.

Cook would not miss a game for the first four years of his Fremantle career, playing in 88 consecutive matches before he broke his ankle in the final round of the 2003 season.  This unfortunately forced him to miss the Dockers first ever finals match against Essendon.

Cook started the following season in the WAFL before forcing his way back into the Fremantle team, playing 18 games.  He managed to play in 20 games in 2005 but in 2006 he found himself playing most of the first half of the season at WAFL level.  Consistent performances saw him force his way back into the Dockers team and he finished the season playing 15 AFL games.

With opportunities being given to younger players at Fremantle in 2007, Cook divided his time between playing for Perth in the WAFL and when called upon Fremantle.  On August 26^th 2007, Cook announced his retirement from the AFL and played his 150^th and last game for the Dockers against Port Adelaide in round 22 of that year.

After retiring from the AFL Cook still had a passion to play the game.  This was when former teammate and coach at the time of the Demons, Simon Eastaugh, suggested he come back to the club where it began all those years ago.

“Easty who I was pretty good mates with asked me if I’d like to come back and potentially spend a couple of years playing in the WAFL.”

“He also floated the idea of possibly being captain and this was something that was very appealing to me.”

“At the end of the day it was a pretty easy decision as the body was still willing, the mind was fresh and there was the chance to captain a club that was close to my heart.”

“I thought as captain I could use the experience that I had gained from my time in the AFL and hopefully try and pass some of this onto the younger guys coming through.”

Unlike other high profile AFL recruits when they come back and played WAFL, Cook did not ask for much from the Perth Football Club.  All he wanted was a gym membership to keep fit and a golf club membership so he could have a hit every now and then.

“With the position that I was in at the time and the club itself, well I didn’t want to hold the club to ransom and I thought that they could use the funds on potential players and try to get the club back up the ladder.”

Cook would go on to play 44 games over the next three seasons at the Demons before playing his last game for the club and officially retiring in round 11, 2010.  Perth defeated Peel Thunder by 91-points that day with Cook kicking two goals.

Like most players they would not be able to achieve what they have if it wasn’t for a great support network around them and Cook had plenty of people he could rely on.

“My parents who used to work away always made sure they were there for most of my games, especially Mum.”

“They taught me the value of working hard and trying to make the most of every opportunity that comes.”

“My wife Tamara and my two kids have been a great support to me over the years and especially towards the end of my career when I was coming to terms with making that decision of finishing up.  Their support helped make this decision easier.”

“I can’t thank Gilko enough for what he has done for me over my whole footy career and even after I had finished playing.”

“He’d probably hate me saying this, but unlike most footy managers who are probably out to make a buck he was very kind and didn’t charge me a cent for his services.”

“Bill Coleman also helped me develop my skills early in my career at the McGillivray All Stars and he has been a great mentor to me.”

From humble beginnings in 1994 to finally calling time on his career in 2010, Cook’s career would span 17 seasons, see him play 303 games and kick 110 goals.  Cook will go down as one of the greats of the Perth Football Club.

“When I started my footy career and first walked through the doors of the club, if somebody had said to me that one day I would be a life member of this club it would have been the furthest thing from my mind.”

“But when you step away from the game and I’ve been out of the game for a while now, to be accepted into the rich history of this club, to be a life member is truly amazing and very humbling.”