Just read the below article and wanted to know if anyone watched Cooper regularly on Premier Sports and is he doing as well as reported? www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/28755474

Just read the below article and wanted to know if anyone watched Cooper regularly on Premier Sports and is he doing as well as reported? www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/28755474

I have watched all his games on Premier Sport this season, he has been going really well. He started the season as an interchange forward but for the last few weeks he has been the starting prop apart from this week he was on the bench despite having the number 10 jersey.

He put in a big hit last week where he took a large forward off the ground and slammed him into the ground which the commentators raved about. All the commentators are impressed with him and he's always referred to as the Big Englishman. Even Gus Gould has good things to say about him, was a bit disappointed by Andrew Johns referring to him as a reserve grader with Warrington.....

To be fair he isnt doing much different to what he was with us. Less handling errors than he had with us although he did drop his first touch having come off the bench this week.

He isnt busting tackles but he is making solid metres and more than holding his own over there, i personally think he has been a big loss for us this season.

On another note.... i have being watching Ashton Simms with great interest since we have signed him and he will be a great signing for us. Totally different to Asotasi who again i watched a lot last year, Asostasi was being dropped from the Souths team last year and when he was on he rarely took the ball up or made himself available and hung around in back field putting no effort in which is what are are seeing with us now. Ashton on the other hand always wants to be involved, taking numerous hit ups and dummy runs, along with always being involved in defence.

It was Sam Moa who he picked up and smashed and it was completely legal as well.

He has been going really well but i don't think he is at the level where he deserve and England spot well at least not in first 17, but Tom burgess got picked last year on completely no merit at all so i won't be surprised if Cooper does. He looks to have another level in him as in running a little bit harder and more direct, but he doesn't look out of place in the NRL.

Fair bit of competition up front but he's certainly in with a shout.

Don't forget McNamara's still the England coach so there's no knowing who will be selected.

To be honest I'm surprised that he's doing so well - as reported at least.
He was OK with us, but certainly not our best forward.
I wonder how much he has improved and how much is down to the way the game is played in Oz and his style of play being more suited to that.

Cooper was always a good defensive forward, a style more suited to the NRL.

I am made up for the lad, he wasn't the best here and many on this board thought he would be playing second grade over there and he has proven us all wrong.

I haven't watched him to say whether he deserves to start for England or not but I wouldn't begrudge him a spot.

I am surprised that he is doing so well. Not because I didn't rate him when he played for us (because I thought he was very good during12/13) but because we have this perception that the NRL forwards are all these Hulk type players that can all run through a brick wall whenever they feel like it. The reality is that there is not much difference in the standards of forwards in SL and NRL. if we had never heard of Mike Cooper and he was an aussie that had just signed for Warrington then I bet every topic on this forum would have people offering to buy his plane ticket back home but likely say that is a perception and expectation thing. the big gulf in SL and NRL is skill level of the half backs and three quarters.
Anyway rant over- good luck to Cooper. Just hope he does not enjoy it too much and comes back home. I don't enjoy him wearing that red Vee.

Did you see him body slam Sam Moa last week? Bloody brilliant tackle. Moa sprinted into a stationary Coops and Coops just picked him right up in the air and slammed him on his back. The commentators loved it, showed replays of it during the game and at half time.

I think Cooper will get picked for England, yes McNamara being close to him in Oz will be a factor but I think the lad deserves it, he's bulked up and put in solid performances against the best in the NRL. Also factor in that Sam Burgess and Lee Mossop's places in the squad will be up for grabs, and Coops deserves it as much as Huby / Amor or any other front rower in contention.

I have watched cooper pretty closely on premier sports and he has improved a great deal. The level of training in the nrl has made him fitter and stronger and he seems to have improved his handling too. It has been great to see him surprising people over there and good luck to him in his quest to get in the England squad.

I don't get why we are surprised that English forwards do well in Australia. The reason that the Aussies usually spank us is because they have far superior backs especially half backs, full back and hooker.

When did a Hooker(the guy right in the middle of a scrum) become a back?

Come on Yed we all knew what he meant...........and breath ha ha

This is another misconception. Apart from 2010 when were England last "spanked" by Australia? They are always good, close games but frustratingly they manage to punish our mistakes, with a few terrible calls from the allegedly superior NRL referees thrown in.

Dave

Parker reports in League Weekly that Cooper could return to us as early as next season.

I get you maybe spanked is a bit too much of an exaggeration, but can you hand on heart say we have really challenged them? We are still a way off matching their quality in key positions.

I am well aware that a hooker is not a back, I was listing it as a key position, which it is. You are correct though so I apologise for my mishap. It's still a key position that the Aussies are far better covered at than we are and that is the point I intended to convey.

I haven't seen a hooker in the middle of the scrum for years. Charnley packed down in the front row last Thursday.

We can rule that one out then.

Named in the Zero Tackle best Rookies in the NRL
Thats no mean feat !!!