“I was a bit of a wild boy.”
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North Ballarat’s Jacob Cooke-Harrison regrets the decisions he made as a youth that impinged on his AFL aspirations – but the 24-year-old has put those times behind him now and is focusing on making up for lost time with the Roosters’ VFL team.
Cooke-Harrison played his first senior game for his home town of Horsham at 15, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Port Adelaide young gun Brendon Ah Chee in the Flying Boomerangs programs as a 16-year-old and played his junior football against Sydney’s Jake Lloyd and Saints’ star Seb Ross – but the seemingly promising path went off-road in the latter stages of his schooling.
Cooke-Harrison missed the final cut for the under-16 Vic Country team and admits he was not the hardest worker at training and was playing on pure talent at the time.
The disappointment of missing the state side was quickly wiped away as St Patrick’s College invited him to board at the school, all-expenses-paid.
However, Cooke-Harrison only saw out eight months of the privileged offer as the talented youngsters made some poor decisions which ultimately saw him kicked out of school and in the process his Rebels commitments cut.
“I had it all at my feet,” Cooke-Harrison said.
“I didn’t take advantage of the facilities and the coaches advice – all I wanted to do was party.
“I made a lot of decisions I’m not proud of...every year I think about that. I didn’t understand what I threw away.
I made a lot of decisions I’m not proud of.
- Roosters livewire Jacob Cooke-Harrison
“I regret not finishing school there.”
Cooke-Harrison returned to play for the Horsham Saints as many of his teammates and opponents were drafted onto AFL lists.
Seven years on, he thinks about the missed opportunity regularly, but 2017 has served as somewhat of a turning point in Cooke-Harrison’s life.
Brett Goodes and Roosters’ coach Marc Greig handed him a football lifeline late last year, inviting him to come and train for a spot on the VFL list. While off the field, he is preparing to be a father by years-end.
Cooke-Harrison has played nine out of the Roosters 10 matches this season, kicking eight goals and being named in the best on three occasions.
While he is far from pleased with his form this season, the explosive forward has played patches within games that have been as damaging as any player on the Roosters list.
Cooke-Harrison remains hopeful an opportunity at the top level may arise, but for now he is firmly focused on cementing himself as a consistent VFL footballer and continuing to lift his training standards.
“My fitness has always been a factor, talent can only take you so far. The work rate and fitness, if you can get that into your game you can be a lot better player.
“I think I can compete with the best players in the VFL and maybe the development of a pre-season in an AFL club could go a long way.
“If you work hard then hopefully the rewards will come down the track.”