Ruckman to rejoin Tigers

BRETT Cook says the desire to right the wrong of walking out on Kyneton during the All Seasons Bendigo Football League season last year is one of the main reasons fuelling his passion to return to the club in 2007.Cook, one of the Tigers' co-captains in 2006, created one of the stories of the BFL last year when he lodged a clearance to join St Bernards in the Victorian Amateur Football Association on June 30 - the day VCFL clearances closed.He cited a number of reasons for his shock departure, among them saying: "Maybe I'm asking too much, but there just wasn't enough blokes preparing themselves to play good footy consistently, and that was my biggest beef."However, the 33-year-old ruckman also acknowledged it was a decision he would "regret for a long time because it's a sh.. thing to do."Seven months on, Cook, who joined the Tigers in 2005, says he is confident the issues that led to his mid-season departure have been resolved and he is ready to return to the Kyneton Showgrounds."Basically, the things that were annoying me have been fixed - it's as simple as that," Cook told The Advertiser yesterday."But as well, there is probably an element of guilt from myself for heading off in the first place."Having said that, if I had to make the decision 100 times again, I would make the same one every time because it had to be done, but also, that doesn't mean you don't come back and try to rectify things."I'm quite happy to go back and have another dash at it."Cook trained with the Tigers before Christmas and hs kept regular contact with coach Neville Massina and several of the club's experienced players.``There is a generation gap at Kyneton where you have guys like Wayne Eve, Darren Chambers, Steven Reaper and David Nolte who were starting their senior footy when the club was really successful,'' said Cook, who has also played AFL football with Fitzroy and St Kilda.``They are all quality blokes and quality players who prepare themselves to play footy the way I think you should.``Then, there's none of that 24-28 age-group who have taken up the reins.``Because I haven't been at the club for a long time, I don't know whether those players have left, or because the club has been ordinary on-field for the past five or six years, maybe they just haven't come to the fore.``It was those blokes (in the 24-28 age-group) who I think had been in a losing situation for such a long time that they accepted it, and because they were in such a rut of getting used to being kicked off the park every time they were challenged, whether it be during a game or during the course of the year as far as having a few hard weeks, they just accepted it.``That was a part that really hurt me -I didn't understand it then and I don't understand i now,'' he said.``But the club has rectified that middle group of players, so the guys who were getting games over the past few years and unfortunately, have that culture of losing imbedded in them either won't get games, or secondly, are going to have to change to get a game this year, and the young players coming through are terrific.``So all of a sudden it puts a different spin on where the club is at.''Kyneton has been the most active club on the BFL's transfer list, which opened on Thursday.Kyneton has lodged clearances for five players to join the club, among them ex-Tigers' midfielder Sam Young, who returns from Ballarat Football League club Sunbury.Also lodging clearances to join the Tigers are Guy Sultan (from Roopena), Nick Dodd (Lancefield), Dean Funston (Merrivale) and Jacent Bowen (Woodend).Among the other clearances lodged are Tyson Findlay seeking a move of BFL clubs fom Eaglehawk to Sandhurst.