DAMIEN COOK has revealed that he held a conversation with Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess about potentially joining the club.
Former Australia international hooker Cook will link up with Castleford Tigers on a two-year deal following over a decade in the NRL with Canterbury Bulldogs, South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George Illawarra Dragons.
After learning that he would no longer be kept on by St George, Cook began to look overseas.
And with the 35-year-old enjoying a great relationship with Burgess – when the two men played at the Rabbitohs – Warrington was his first port of call.
Speaking on the UNSCRIPTED Podcast with ex-NRL winger Josh Mansour, Cook said: “I rang Sam first, obviously with the relationship we have.
“I said, ‘I’m looking at the Super League, are you interested?’
“He’s got a great young hooker there, and he’s just signed him on a good deal.
“I was just letting Sam know that I was looking around there, because I didn’t want to sign somewhere and him not know. I just gave him that respect.”
Cook instead signed with another coach he knows well in Ryan Carr, who was an assistant coach at St George before taking the top job at Castleford.
However, Carr departed the Tigers in August, with the club still searching for a new head coach.
“He told me a lot about the club,” Cook said of Cook. “Everyone over there will tell you how proud the Castleford fans are of their club.
“I just felt the passion from him, and I felt some of the signings he was bringing in and his vision that he had for the club.
“I haven’t really got to the bottom of (why Carr left). Also, I didn’t want to get too involved in it as well.
“I was more just checking in on ‘Carry’, making sure he was all good. He’s doing much better now.
“It’s obviously tough for him because he invested so much time into the club. It’s disappointing he’s not going to be there.”
In terms of what the Tigers can achieve, Cook said: “I saw the vision of the club, the passion and what rugby league means to that town.
“I understand they should be a lot further up the ladder than where they are (finishing 13th this year), and with some of the signings coming in, I wanted to be a part of that.
“I’m looking forward to getting over there to Castleford and getting amongst the town and doing my part to hopefully get them back up into the play-offs next year, which will definitely be a goal with the boys we got signed there, and a couple more to come.”