Former Dragons star Matt Cooper has admitted he will be ‘‘totally out of his comfort zone’’ when he makes his debut on Dancing With the Stars next week.
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The latest season of the long-running reality TV show is set to hit screens on Tuesday, pitting a fresh batch of would-be ballroom dancers against each other.
Cooper, an Illawarra native, is set to take on fellow sports stars Eamon Sullivan, AFL player David Rodan and Torah Bright, along with singer Ricki-Lee, Kyly Clarke and Mark Holden for the winning spot.
The NSW State of Origin centre confessed to initially declining the invitation to appear on the show but soon had a change of heart.
‘‘At first I was a no, it’s definitely not my thing,’’ he said.
‘‘But then I actually had a good think about it and I thought it would be a good challenge and something I could enjoy with my daughters.
‘‘My five-year-old loves dancing and I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to do something that they will get a lot of enjoyment out of.’’
Cooper admitted he was not a ‘‘flashy dancer’’ and had only danced in front of people once – at his wedding in 2009.
‘‘My wife said she wanted to do something different for the wedding so we had two half-hour dance lessons and didn’t tell anyone,’’ he said.
‘‘After the cake, the lights went out, the music started playing and I got up in front of all my footy-playing mates.
‘‘They were just laughing and in shock, saying, ‘what the hell is going on’ but we nailed it.’’
All proceeds from Cooper’s appearance on the show will be donated to the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Dancing With the Stars will screen on Tuesdays at 7.30pm.