In Jim Main's series, 'Swan Songs', this week he talks to former Swans key position player, Russell Cook...

Russell Cook
Born: September 23, 1947
Played: 1966-75
Games: 164
Goals: 54

There have been few more courageous footballers to have played in the red and white than ruckman/centre half-forward Russell Cook.

Yet he joined South Melbourne almost as an afterthought after originally embarking on a cricket career.

Cook explained: “As a 16-year-old fast bowler, I was selected to play for a Victorian country team against the touring South Africans in a match at Warrnambool and, from there, was invited to play District cricket with South Melbourne.

“I therefore moved to Melbourne from my home town of Portland to play cricket and, at the same, time, I started my training for the police force.

“I played football for the police cadets in a Wednesday competition against the teaching colleges and I remember that two of our opponents were Peter McKenna and Bryan Quirk (who went on to have superb VFL careers with Collingwood and Carlton respectively).

“It was around this time that I discovered that the South Melbourne Football Club was looking for players for their under 19s side, so I decided to have a go to keep me fit for the cricket season.”

Amazingly, Cook joined the Swans with no rival VFL club showing any interest in him and, after “about seven games” in the Under 19s, he progressed to the reserves and, late in the 1966 season, to the seniors.

“I made my debut against Collingwood and played four games in my first season,” Cook said.

Cook, meanwhile, was such a talented cricketer that he represented Victoria, with suggestions that he could go all the way and play Test cricket.

Then, at just 20 years of age, he had to terminate his cricket career on medical advice. He explained: “I went to Sydney for a Sheffield Shield match but had to pull out because of a serious ankle injury.

“It was so bad that a doctor told  me to give cricket away because I was pounding away on hard pitches and this was causing more and more problems.”

Ironically, replacement fast bowler Alan “Froggy” Thomson (a VFL umpire) went on to play Test cricket.

Cook, to the Swans’ enormous benefit, therefore concentrated on football and developed into one of South’s most reliable players.

Although only 185 cm (just over 6ft 1in on the old imperial scale) Cook played either in the ruck or at centre half-forward, usually giving away 15cm to ruck giants like Collingwood’s Len Thompson.

So how did he cope? “I refused to get involved in wrestling them,” he said. “I would duck, dive and use my spring as it would have been useless trying to outmuscle or outreach them.

“I also played like a ruck-rover as I had a fair bit of mobility and this helped me win the ball around the ground.”

Cook was such an efficient work-horse that he won the Swans’ best and fairest in 1972 and played his best football under the tutelage of legendary coach Norm Smith.

“He was terrific,” Cook enthused. “He was a tough task-master, but I seemed to thrive under his discipline and, of course, we made the finals in 1970, even if St Kilda was too good for us in the first semi-final.”

Cook spent his entire VFL career while pursuing his off-field career with Victoria Police and admitted this made life extremely difficult.

“It was tough,” he admitted. “There were times when I did not finish a shift until seven in the morning and I then had to catch a few hours’ sleep before going to somewhere like Essendon to play a match that afternoon.”

Cook ended his VFL career in 1975 because of recurring ankle and knee problems and was captain-coach of Ballarat club Golden Point for three years before spending another two years with that club before retiring altogether.

He worked in Ballarat as a detective, but retired from the force when he reached 60 years of age. Cook still lives near Ballarat, from where he follows the Swans’ fortunes with great interest.

“I get to see them a few times a year when they play in Melbourne and I go to Sydney once a year for the match against Collingwood.”

But why the clashes with the Magpies? Cook laughed: “Because my partner, Marie Young, is a Collingwood fan.”