Hamilton key forward Hamish Cook is looking at the Hampden league's interleague fixture as a major learning opportunity.
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Cook, 19, said he was excited to be included in the initial 34-player squad in the running to represent the Bottle Greens in Saturday's under 23 interleague clash against Ballarat, in large part due to the chance to work alongside several of the league's top football minds, including Chris McLaren, Leigh McCluskey, Dan O'Keefe and Nathan Vardy, as well as head coach and former AFL star forward Jonathan Brown.
"It's pretty good to just learn, even if you don't make the team, just to get the opportunity to train with these type of blokes (coaches), is pretty awesome," Cook told The Standard. "Just to soak as much in as I can in... and just learn as much as I can."
Heading into the 2023 home-and-away season, Cook said his aim was to kick as many goals as he could for the Kangaroos and felt inclusion in the interleague squad was reward for effort.
The third-year apprentice electrician has slotted 19 goals from nine senior appearances this year, including a season-best five majors against Camperdown in round nine.
It's good to get the spotlight on some of the talent we've got here in our district.
- Hamish Cook
Cook, who was a member of Hamilton's under 18.5 premiership last year, has enjoyed the opportunity to step up to senior football full-time this year, working in tandem with fellow forward Darcy Russell.
"It's good to get the opportunity up forward and play with Darcy and learning heaps off him," he said.
Joining Cook in the interleague squad is Hamilton teammate Rory Gill, with the opportunity to meet and work alongside new players also appealing to the teenager.
"You play against all of them, there are familiar faces but it's good to meet new people and get some lifelong mates (out of it)," he said.
Cook said he was unsure about what to expect come game day.
"It would be good to play on Mars Stadium because it's pretty much an AFL ground," he said. "But yeah, I don't know... it's just another footy game. It's good to get the spotlight on some of the talent we've got here in our district."
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Meg Saultry
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
