Cooper Johns

You played, I think, 40 games in two years there.

Yeah.

Did you have to leave because was it Matt Cooper and Mark Gasnier as the centers?

And was one of them injured when you went in?

You talk about like –

People speak about going into a good system or having a really good coach, but I think it's equally as important to have an experienced, elite, older player in your position at the club that you first come into when you're a young first grader.

Yeah.

Especially in the modern game, the center is the most important part.

Don't tell James Graham that.

No, no, no.

The center is, in terms of edge defense, I won't take it to the ruck defense, but the center is the hardest place to defend on the field because when people become attacking shapes, that's where all the decision basically is on the center.

If they go deep, whether they jam the fullback out the back, but you also, if you jam too early and they catch you out with a pass.

you just try and toy with them a little bit but also not give them the cue at the same time they'd have to come up with a good play to beat you and then if they did that you gave fair play to you yeah yeah this um now going to you only had two seasons with the sharks obviously you spent majority of your career well one and two games okay was it one and two games and two games yeah what was what was your experience like that what was first of all why the move to canola

Yeah.

The Shark, was there still – I know it was a few years before you went there, but –

Was there still a little bit of a stigma around the club with the whole peptide scandal?

I heard the edge v. edge when it was left edge on right edge back then, particularly when they were winning comps, was ridiculously competitive.

You wouldn't be surprised.

It was Latrell versus Joey.

So did you come in and take Luttrell's left centre spot?