The best nicknames are often the ones that have stood the test of time, marinating over the decades like porterhouse steak and superseding a given name.
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Roosters back-rower Kyle Cochrane, who seems to visualise opponents as crash-test dummies at the end of his sharp shoulder blades, is the bearer of such a moniker – called Yum Yum as an infant by his mother because of his ample appetite.
Following the undefeated Roosters’ 66-18 home win over Dungowan on Saturday, it is apparent that while the little tacker has grown into a man, the big appetite is still there – only now he is hungry for more premierships.
Back in Group 4 after an unhappy season with the Scone Thoroughbreds in Group 21, the former West Lions premiership player wants more trophies before retiring, and he believes that Kootingal-Moonbi have the firepower to make this year's grand final. The Roosters signed seven former Lions players for this season.
“I’ll have a few more years first [before retiring],” he said. “I’ve got to win a couple more grand finals, or try to, before I hang my boots up.”
A tough pre-season under new Kooty coach Geoff Sharpe, a renowned training taskmaster, has Cochrane believing he has turned back the clock fitness wise. He produced another fine performance on Saturday, securing three best and fairest points while playing about 70 minutes, scoring a runaway first-half try and continually looking to inflict pain in defence. At the same time, he motivated his teammates to do likewise – a fact that would have pleased Sharpe no end.
The pall that enveloped the 30-year-old at the Thoroughbreds, the result of the many hours he spent on the road travelling to and from training and games, which affected his enthusiasm and fitness, has lifted.
Commenting on his reputation as a big-hit merchant, he said: “I just try to spark all my other teammates up and get them pumped up off what I do.”
“This would be the fittest I’ve been for the last eight years, so I’m pretty happy with the performance I’ve been putting in every week, and the coach is [too],” he added. “So I can’t complain about nothin’.”
Apart from the latter stages of the first half, when the Cowboys scored two tries to leave them trailing 34-14 at halftime, the Roosters were, as the scoreline suggests, in complete control.
Any thoughts Dungowan may have had about parlaying their strong end to the first half into a second-half surge were quickly snuffed out by two Roosters tries in the first five minutes after the break.
The first try was a slick effort sparked by dangerous No.1 Mitch Doring attacking the left edge about 40 metres out from the Cowboys’ tryline and then passing to five-eighth Jordan Sharpe, with quick hands spending winger Aaron Hall over in the corner.
The second try came when tireless, hard-running prop Phil Beaton stormed on to a short ball from halfback and captain Sam Taylor 10m out from Dungowan’s tryline and scored next to the left upright. Taylor’s conversion made it 46-14. And although there were 35 minutes left in the match, there was little fight left in the Cowboys.
Kootingal-Moonbi 66 (Aaron Hall 2, Sam Taylor 2, Ryan Martin 2, Mitch Doring, Jordan Sharpe, Phil Beaton, Jake McLoughlin, Kyle Cochrane, Jordan Graf tries; Taylor 9 goals) d Dungowan 18 (Jack Rumsby, Ethan Collins, Liam Hatch, Fraser Evans tries; Dylan O’Brien goal).
North West Farm Machinery AGCO best and fairest award: Cochrane 3 points, Martin 2 points, Matt Wilson one point.
