Cook to play GF with frontline mum on mind

Damien Cook will play Sunday's NRL grand final picturing the one person COVID-19 has denied being in the Suncorp Stadium crowd to watch him take on Penrith. South Sydney's second grand final in 50 years will be Cook's first, some 900km from their regular home at Stadium Australia. By chance, Cook's parents Anne and Graham happened to be on a caravanning trip when Sydney's COVID-19 outbreak began in June. It landed them in Queensland in time for the NRL's move north, and they stayed with family in Brisbane to watch the rest of the South Sydney hooker's season. "She's hardly missed a game," Cook said. "There's a lot (of motivations). As a young kid you look to yourself first, you want to win one and then your teammates and family members. "Some (of those family members) are up here that have sacrificed a lot to leave their life behind to be here. "For me it's been great to have them here, but some are back home. Mum had to go back and work on the frontline as a nurse." "It was pretty loud so I couldn't really hear what she was saying," Cook said. "She's doing alright. "She's been busy, she left dad up here to get to the footy and I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting his time." Cook's grand final has been a long time coming.