Wentworthville Magpies captain Blake Cook is not a greedy man but he’d dearly love to win a fourth Leagues Clubs Australia Ron Massey Cup premiership in the black-and-white jersey.
“I’d love it. To win a grand final is something special. I’ve enjoyed that success in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and we’ve been chasing one again ever since.
“We got close last year and that really hurt,” Cook (pictured above right) said referring to the 40-12 loss to St Marys Saints in 2023.
They face Glebe Dirty Reds at Leichhardt Oval tomorrow (Saturday 14 September) for the chance to reverse that feeling.
“It definitely has been mentioned and we have tweaked a few things we’ve done this week in preparation,” Cook said.
“Losing a grand final always hurts and takes a long time to get over. We hope to make amends this year.”
Standing in their way is Glebe captained by the NSWRL’s 2024 Ron Massey Cup Player of the Year, Craig Garvey (above left).
“That was something I definitely didn’t see coming … I owe a lot to my teammates and the club who have been so good to me,” said Garvey who enjoyed stints with St George Illawarra (2013-15) and Canterbury-Bankstown (2016-17) NRL clubs.
“The Dirty Reds have made my footy a lot more enjoyable and I’m reaping the rewards of that now.”
Garvey is joined by fellow NRL players David Nofoaluma (Wests Tigers/Melbourne Storm) and Dean Whare (Manly Warringah/Penrith) and believes the key for the Dirty Reds tomorrow will be their defence.
“We’re definitely an attacking team who can score points but this last four weeks we’ve really defended well – been a real change in our defensive mindset driven by the senior boys in the group. The boys coming back from NSW Cup or been on the fringe have really bought into that at training.”
While Garvey and Nofoaluma have scored 16 tries between them, with centre Iverson Fuatimau the team’s top scorer (13), the skipper says some of the unsung heroes are props Tayson Fakaosi and Callum Ellis.
“They go really hard and really strong. They’ve hardly had a rest, but I’d say everyone has an impact in this team.”
Cook says Wenty is wary of Glebe despite winning both meetings during the club season.
“They were close games both times but we got the biccies in the end. That gives you a bit of confidence but they’ve found good form at the right time.
“Glebe have strike across the park so you can’t switch off for a second. Winning the field position will go a long way to winning the game.”
