Melville Lance Cooke (30 May 1934 – 5 September 2013) was a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

twenty three times between 1959 and 1964.

Playing career

Cooke was a member of the Hornby club in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition. He was the

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

when Hornby made the national tournament finals in 1962 and 1964 and when they won the

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield is a rugby league football trophy awarded on an annual basis to the winner of a match between the champion clubs of the Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League. History The shield was donated by Dr Henry Thacker in 1 ...

in 1964. A

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

representative, in 1962 Cooke was captain of the first Canterbury team to win the

Northern Union Cup The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup. It is the oldest rugby league competition in New Zealand. Histo ...

from Auckland at the

Addington Showgrounds Orangetheory Stadium is a rugby football stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was formerly called AMI Stadium, and before that, the Addington Showgrounds. History The park is part of a complex with Christchurch Arena and Addington Raceway a ...

. Cooke played in 23 games for

, including at the

1960 World Cup The 1960 Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first Rugby League World Cup to be held in Great Britain. The same format as used in 1957 was used, with a group stage leading to a final table. The 1960 World Cup ...

. He played in eighteen consecutive tests between 1960 and 1964.Significant Results in Canterbury Rugby League 1912-2009
/ref> Cooke was the captain for the last three seasons before accepting a

position in Canberra in 1965.

Coaching career

Cooke took up a

position with Monaro in 1965. While there he captained the side against the 1966 British Lions and was selected for New South Wales Country. In 1969 Cooke returned to Hornby as coach. He was a Canterbury selector and coach in 1971 and again coached Hornby in 1978.

Legacy

Cooke was named one of New Zealand Rugby League's "Legends of League" in 1995. In 2009 Cooke was named in the NZRL's team of the century. Cooke died in September 2013, aged 79.League world mourns Kiwi legend
''nzherald.co.nz'', 15 September 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Mel 1934 births 2013 deaths New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players Canterbury rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches Country New South Wales rugby league team players Canterbury rugby league team coaches Hornby Panthers players New Zealand national rugby league team captains South Island rugby league team players Rugby league locks Rugby league halfbacks