- Mel Cooke
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Mel Cooke Personal information Full name Melville Lance Cooke Born 30 May 1934
Christchurch, New ZealandHeight 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) Weight 86 kg (13 st 8 lb) Playing information Position Scrum-half, Loose forward Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 19??–1964 Hornby 1965–1968 Monaro Total 0 0 0 0 0 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1953–19?? Canterbury South Island 1959–1964 New Zealand 23 5 0 0 15 NSW Country Coaching information Representative Years Team Gms W D L W% 1963–1964 Hornby 1965–1968 Monaro 1969–1978 Hornby 1971 Canterbury Source: RLP Melville Lance Cooke[1] (born 30 May 1934 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a former rugby league player who represented his country twenty three times between 1959 and 1964.
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Playing career
Cooke was a member of the Hornby club in the Canterbury Rugby League competition. He was the player-coach when Hornby made the national tournament finals in 1962 and 1964 and when they won the Thacker Shield in 1964.[2]
A Canterbury and South Island representative, in 1962 Cooke was captain of the first Canterbury team to win the Northern Union Cup from Auckland at the Addington Showgrounds.[3]
Cooke played in 23 games for New Zealand, including at the 1960 World Cup. He played in eighteen consecutive tests between 1960 and 1964.[2] Cooke was the captain for the last three seasons before accepting a player-coach position in Canberra in 1965.
Coaching career
Cooke took up a player-coach position with Monaro in 1965. While there he captained the side against the 1966 British Lions and was selected for New South Wales Country.[2]
In 1969 Cooke returned to Hornby as coach. He was a Canterbury selector and coach in 1971 and again coached Hornby in 1978.[2]
Legacy
Cooke was named one of New Zealand Rugby League's "Legends of League" in 1995.[4]
In 2009 Cooke was named in the NZRL's team of the century.[5]
References
- ^ COOKE, Melville Lance 1959 - 64 - Kiwi #384 nzleague.co.nz
- ^ a b c d Significant Results in Canterbury Rugby League 1912-2009
- ^ Smith, Tony (30 May 2009). "Nothing better than bettering Auckland". The Press. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/2458687/Nothing-better-than-bettering-Auckland. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Legends of League NZRL
- ^ "Graham is best in 100 years". The Sunday Star-Times. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/155489. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
The New Zealand Rugby League Team of the Century (1907–2006) 1. Des White • 2. Tom Hadfield • 3. Tommy Baxter • 4. Roger Bailey • 5. Phillip Orchard • 6. George Menzies • 7. Stacey Jones
8. Cliff Johnson (c) • 9. Jock Butterfield • 10. Ruben Wiki • 11. Mark Graham • 12. Ron Ackland • 13. Mel CookeNew Zealand squad – 1960 Rugby League World Cup Ron Ackland · Jock Butterfield · Mel Cooke · Neville Denton · Cyril Eastlake · Reese Griffiths · Tom Hadfield · Cliff Johnson (c) · Trevor Kilkelly · Henry Maxwell · George Menzies · Laurie Oliff · Gary Phillips · Tom Reid · Keith Roberts · William Sorensen · George Turner · Coach: Travers HardwickCategories:- New Zealand rugby league players
- Canterbury rugby league team players
- New Zealand national rugby league team players
- Living people
- New Zealand rugby league coaches
- New South Wales Country rugby league team players
- Canterbury rugby league team coaches
- Hornby Panthers players
- 1934 births
- New Zealand national rugby league team captains
- South Island rugby league team players
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