Damien Cook says captaining St George Illawarra alongside Clint Gutherson is the “highest honour of his career” as the star recruits prepare to lead the Dragons into the post-Ben Hunt era.
The joint venture’s inaugural captains Paul McGregor and Mark Coyne were on hand as Cook and Gutherson were officially appointed to the captaincy in Wollongong on Monday.
The pair had been called into coach Shane Flanagan’s office earlier in the pre-season to learn they would be replacing talismanic half Hunt, who earned a release to join Brisbane for 2025.
It is unusual for two new recruits to step straight into a captaincy role but Flanagan was confident they would “fight for everything” while leading the team.
Blake Lawrie and Jack de Belin had filled in as skipper during Hunt’s State of Origin duties in recent season but Flanagan said he had always been confident in hooker Cook and fullback Gutherson as the men to spearhead a new era.
“In the back of my mind, I always knew those two were going to be the leaders of the club,” he said.
“It’s such a big job, being captain of a club. Obviously there’s the gameday pressures that you have to handle and media and so on. I just think moving forward it’s a big role and those two will share the role.”
The appointment made an impression on Cook, who earned his NRL debut for the Dragons in 2013 before becoming a first-grade mainstay in nine seasons at South Sydney.
Cook made the 2021 grand final with the Rabbitohs, beat Cameron Smith to win Dally M hooker of the year in 2018 and was NSW’s starting number nine in three State of Origin series wins.
But the Dragons junior ranked the captaincy as “by far” the pinnacle of his career.
“Just growing up in the area and then debuting here in 2013,” he said.
“I’ve been away for a bit but to come back and lead the side alongside Gutho, it was a real special moment when the coach told me and definitely the highest honour of my career.”
Cook captained the Prime Minister’s XIII in last year’s 42-20 win over their Papua New Guinea counterparts, and deputised as South Sydney co-captain for one game of the 2023 season.
But the Dragons role marks his first stint as a full-time captain.
Then 23, Gutherson was first appointed to Parramatta’s co-captaincy in 2018 and had been either sole skipper or co-captain every season since earning a release ahead of 2025.
He and Cook will be tasked with steering the Dragons to their first finals berth since 2018, with halfback Lachlan Ilias and back Val Holmes brought in to assist with that task.
St George Illawarra came within a sliver of finishing in the top eight last season, only to suffer a shock loss to struggling Parramatta that ultimately cruelled their chances.
Flanagan had higher hopes for a finals berth in 2025.
“We’ll be better than last year, that’s all I can guarantee,” he said. “If we’re better than last year, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
Monday marked Ilias’ first full-contact training session since he suffered a horror leg injury playing reserve grade for Souths last April.
“We’ve got probably a good month with him now to build some combinations (before pre-season trials),” Flanagan said.