He's only played four games in the green and gold, but Damien Cook isn't ready to surrender his Kangaroos jersey in the lead-up to this year's Rugby League World Cup.
Cook made his international debut in late 2018 on the back of his breakout season, playing all four matches for Australia since that day, however, the emergence of some superstars out of dummy-half has applied pressure for the New South Welshman to retain his spot.
The South Sydney speedster lost his starting role for the Blues this season, demoted to bench utility in favour of Apisai Koroisau in the second and third games of the series, while the tandem Maroons duo of Harry Grant and Ben Hunt continue to rear their head.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has listed five candidates to fill just two hooker spots in his 24-man squad, Reece Robson the biggest bolter of the five alongside Koroisau, Cook, Grant and Hunt.
Despite his four appearances in the jersey, Damien has never played any form of tournament for Australia, just standalone tests, and believes he would relish the chance to travel at season's end.
“I would love to go over to England, it would be a dream come true to play in the World Cup,” Cook told the NRL website.
“Obviously, we have got a bit of footy to play before it starts. But that is one goal I would love to tick off. It has been on my list for a long time.
“It has been great so far so hopefully I can continue to play some great footy and if I get selected to go over there it would be a dream come true to represent Australia in a World Cup. There is no bigger stage.”
It's hard to see which rake gets cut from the squad, with the incumbent's form a little shaky throughout the season, while one of Queensland's biggest winning factors in 2022 was the combination of Hunt and Grant through the ruck.
Cook has no dramas sharing the role with one of his State of Origin rivals, despite being firmly an 80-minute hooker at club level.
“I don’t mind sharing it at all. There have been plenty of games where I have played the whole game myself, and Api is obviously playing some great footy as well.
“That is the way we went this year in the Origin series and it worked pretty well.”
Despite the representative chatter, the recently crowned Phillips Sports Dad of the Year has his eyes solely focused on this weekend's elimination final against the Sydney Roosters, the hooker set to play his first game after an enforced two-week spell due to COVID.
