‘Rewrite some history’: Jack Cogger impresses in Newcastle return, hopes for more success after horror first stint

Newcastle recruit Jack Cogger says the competition for the five-eighth jersey “can only be a good thing” at the Knights as the premiership winner looks to right some wrongs from his first stint with the club.

Cogger came off the bench during Saturday’s pre-season challenge win over Cronulla and made an immediate impact with a 40/20 and a try, but he’s still fighting it out with Tyson Gamble for the right to partner Jackson Hastings.

Gamble and Hastings took Newcastle to the finals in 2023, with Saturday’s trial against the Storm in Fiji likely to decide who gets the nod for the round one rematch with the Raiders.

“We’ve had a few chats, but look, there’s so much competition in this squad,” Cogger said.

“That’s probably one thing I’ve noticed from the last time I was here. You look across the squad, and yes the halves that’s probably the clear one for me, but across the whole 13 there’s a lot of competition.

“There’s probably a few pencilled in but I doubt he’s got that many ready to go.

“I think next week will be real important for everyone across the squad to play well to get that round one selection. That can only be a good thing for the team moving forward.”

The 26-year-old is back at the club following stints with Canterbury, Huddersfield and Penrith, where he won the title coming off the bench last year.

It’s a far cry from his first few seasons in Newcastle where he won just three of 20 games over a three-year stretch.

“I’m not looking at it like I’m coming to prove a point or anything like that, but it would be nice to rewrite some history from the last time I was here,” he said.

“Just finish higher up the ladder and win some more games, and just be happy with my own footy.

“And hopefully the community of Newcastle and the Hunter is proud of that.

“You can see when they really get behind the team like they did last year, how important it is to the town.

“It was pretty cool (to put this jersey on again).

“That was the main reason coming back, I wanted to be a Knight again.”

Cogger has signed a three-year deal with the Knights and says he’s come a long way since 2016 when he was a teenager struggling to fit into a team that couldn’t match it with the rest of the NRL.

“If you don’t get better as a player, you end up out the back door pretty quick,” he said, noticing some similarities between the Knights and the all-conquering Panthers.

“If you look at any player over the past five years, if they’re still in the NRL they’re a better player than what they were and that’s the same with me.

“Hopefully my best footy is in front of me.”

Meanwhile, Hastings looked sensational with three try assists, with the halfback revealing he “pretty much had to learn how to walk again” after he suffered another serious lower-leg injury late last year.

The halfback broke his ankle as a result of a hip-drop tackle in 2022, but that never healed properly.

“I had a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of fights with myself about whether I was going to be right or if it was ever going to heal. There were points there where I was just thinking this is never going to feel the same, but I worked extremely hard,” he said.

“A lot of credit has to go to the club because they’ve put a lot of time and effort into me, and I’ve put a lot of time and effort into myself too, so I’m just grateful to be able to run back out there and play footy again.

“I was laying there watching the semi-final, which was heartbreaking, and obviously to break your leg twice is no good so touch wood, this year I can get through unscathed and play the whole year.

“I’d like to think I’m pretty mentally resilient by now. I’ve been through a little bit.

“The injury stuff is always a bit scary – obviously when you come back from injury, you don’t want it to happen again – so just to get through the contact, and get through the game is important.”