‘It’s not what he wanted’: Damien Cook could still give Souths one parting gift before he leaves for the Dragons

South Sydney interim coach Ben Hornby says Damien Cook’s decision to sign with the Dragons is one of the harsh realities of the NRL salary cap, but he is very confident that young gun Peter Mamouzelos has what it takes to step up as the club’s long-term hooker.

Cook had another season to run on his Rabbitohs deal but it emerged earlier in the week that the 32-year-old had signed with the Red V where he’ll likely finish his decorated career.

The former rep star played two games for the Dragons in his debut season in 2013 before he moved to the Bulldogs and then Souths where he’s become one of the best hookers in the game.

While he’s a big loss, it will free up some cash for Wayne Bennett when he returns as coach next year, with Mamouzelos an option to take over after the local junior inked an extension a few months ago.

“I can’t (explain the decision) because I’m just concentrating on this year,” Hornby said, with Souths missing out on Jeremy Marshall-King after he signed a new deal with the Dolphins.

“The recruitment squad have got their job and they’re looking forward to next year, but I’m looking to right now.

“We’ve got Pete Mamouzelos and he’s played pretty much every game this year so he’s ready to go. He probably hasn’t had the game time that he’d like, but it might be coming.

“He’s a great attacking player, he’s got great instincts around the ball and he’s a solid enough defender and he’s still young, so he’s got plenty of improvement.”

Hornby has spoken with Cook about his decision to leave, with the Rabbitohs unable to offer the multi-year security that the Dragons were prepared to give him.

“That’s the tough part about rugby league at the moment. The reality is that the salary cap is what it is so you have to try to fit the pieces in as best you can,” he said.

“For ‘Cookie’, it’s not what he wanted, but he’s made the decision now and he’s happy with it. We’re looking forward as a club and he’s looking forward to the same. This year is the most important thing for us at the moment.

“I’ve spoken to Cookie. We had a chat earlier in the week and he informed me of what was going down. He’s been great, so there’s no reason why he won’t continue to be great at the end of this year and going forward.”

The Rabbitohs will need him to continue being great for the next few months if they are to push for an unlikely finals berth that looked impossible a couple of weeks ago.

Souths were last and sacked their coach, but they’ve won three on the trot and are just five points out of the top eight, with only seven of the previous 91 teams in the NRL era going on to make the finals after winning no more than four of their first 13 games.

“We can do anything if we put our minds to it, but at the moment, we’ve got to concentrate on this week,” Hornby said ahead of the game against Manly.

“There’s no point thinking about the finals because this week is the most important week for us.”