Rugby league veteran centre Matt Cooper remains firm on playing another NRL season despite Dean Young and Ben Hornby calling time on their careers on Sunday.
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Cooper will become the NRL’s fifth-oldest player next year, but the 33-year-old says a combination of injury and inconsistent form this season has inspired him to go around one last time.
‘‘I’ve still got one year on my contract to do and the whole time I’ve had it in my head that I’ll play it out,’’ Cooper said when quizzed about reassessing.
‘‘I’m keen to get back here next year and really give it a go and try to do a bit better than what we have this year.’’
Injuries have almost forced Cooper from the field on more occasions than he has been on it this year, making fewer appearances than any other season as an established centre.
Playing a third consecutive match after a hamstring problem, Cooper hoped he could finish his campaign on a high this Sunday.
‘‘It hasn’t been the best year for me and I wanted to finish the season strong, especially on Sunday night, sending the two guys off on a winning note,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve done some good things with the ball in recent weeks and I think we’ll learn a lot from this year. On Saturday night we did some good things with the ball and scored more than we have all year.
‘‘I think we’ll come back better next year. We’re not far off. There were a couple of games this year when it could have gone either way, a couple of golden point losses.’’
With captain Hornby and vice-captain Young both drawing the curtain on their combined 482 NRL appearances this Sunday, Cooper agreed he would need to increase his leadership.
The Dragons are yet to announce who will take the reins as captain at the club next year, or who will replace Hornby at halfback.
‘‘Obviously I’ll have to step up my leadership skills next year,’’ Cooper said.
‘‘There’s a few young boys that are on the verge of becoming good leaders and there’s a good chance for those guys to step up: Dan Hunt and even Jamie Soward in a sense.
‘‘There’s a good group of players that are just on the verge of becoming great leaders and I think next year those guys will step up and with the help of me, Ben Creagh, Nathan Fien, I think we’ll be looking good.’’
