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Cooper seemed very skinny from memory, I'd guess he was about 6'1" and about 72kgs
He was skinny, that pencil thin his body couldn't throw a shadow on the ground. His marking was spectacular. He had very strong hands, for such a fragile looking bloke. Once his hands gripped the ball in a marking contest, the ball stuck there.
If I recollect correctly his nickname was chooka.................. had a head like a chook, not the most handsome fellow going around.
You'll read plenty about the Saints' curse - career-ending knee injuries - on this thread but Ian Cooper was an absolute star. He succumbed to the effects of rheumatic fever. He came back, a much heavier version of his former self, playing full forward for Sandy in the early '70's and was absolutely sensational with his big marks and huge bags of goals.
In what could become another thread - Ian Cooper was easily the best big-game (read: FINALS) player for the Saints ever. If you are in doubt, have a look at the entire '66 GF. The way we are travelling at the moment it is likely the best GF you'll see our boys play for quite a while!
Trev from the Bush wrote:...In what could become another thread - Ian Cooper was easily the best big-game (read: FINALS) player for the Saints ever. If you are in doubt, have a look at the entire '66 GF. The way we are travelling at the moment it is likely the best GF you'll see our boys play for quite a while!
Yep he was very good - so hard to match up with his height and pace. Ian Stewart was very good in that game too, and Lenny's game in GF1 was definitely the triumph of will over exhaustion. Stuart Trott was on course for a BOG beauty in 1971 when he was cleaned up in the third quarter by Leigh Matthews and our run disappeared. In 1997, Aussie Jones stood out but ran out of gas when the team ran out of luck.
His marking was spectacular. He had very strong hands, for such a fragile looking bloke. Once his hands gripped the ball in a marking contest, the ball stuck there.
