The South Sydney Rabbitohs will officially begin life after Wayne Bennett on Friday evening when they take on the Brisbane Broncos in Round 1.
The master coach, who has taken up a contract to become the inaugural boss of the Dolphins in 2023, had handed the reins over to Jason Demetriou at Redfern.
Demetriou has served a long apprenticeship not only under Bennett, but in the New South Wales Cup system and has been touted as the man to take over at the Rabbitohs for some time.
Adding to the new era for the cardinal and myrtle is the departure of star halfback Adam Reynolds to the Broncos, and experienced State of Origin centre Dane Gagai, who has shifted away to the Newcastle Knights.
DOWNLOAD NOW: Zero Tackle 2022 NRL Season Guide
Despite the upheaval over the summer though, Cook told the media on Tuesday that it has been a smooth transition for the club in beginning life under Demetriou.
“He has been doing a lot of coaching for the last few years,” Cook said.
“Obviously Wayne puts the right people around him and trusts them to do their job, and that’s what JD (Jason Demetriou) has been doing.
“It’s been a real smooth transition for our coaches and he is energetic and excited about the journey ahead of him.”
Cook also revealed that he is set to take more responsibility in the team with the departure of Reynolds.
He stopped short of suggesting he would be the main voice on field however, saying that he would “help Cody”, with Cody Walker set to take over the senior half position at the club.
“He’s a young halfback and I’ve got all the confidence in the world with Lachy. I think he’s going to do a great job,” Cook said.
“The more games he plays, he is just going to get better and better.
“For me, we had a real experienced one (halfback) last year, so I think I need to take a bit more responsibility, not off him, but take the pressure off him a little bit, let him play his natural game and it’ll lift my game a little bit to help Cody get the team around.
“Slowly, Lachy will build into it and become a star player, which I definitely think he will be.”
The Rabbitohs clash with the Broncos kicks off at 8:05pm (AEDT) - 7:05pm (local time) on Friday evening.
