Talking to English born, Wanneroo number eight Mark Cornell you could clearly tell that Saturday’s game against Wests Scarborough was going to be more than just your average early season home and away match.
For Cornell this one was special, playing against his old club for his 100th Premier Grade cap, a feat not made by many Premier Grade players.
“It’s the club culture down at Wanneroo that’s made it so easy to come back year after year and play, Cornell said.”
“It’s really easy to come down to training and stay involved when you see all the young guys so invested, sticking around the club after the session is over.”
“It stems from Kingy (Andrew King) and how he has transformed the culture of this club, along with the help of a lot of the other senior guys.”
Since their Championship Division win in 2018, Wanneroo have only seen improvement as a club and the likes of Cornell, King and the Senior leadership group are to thank for that.
However, it was the buy in from the young guys that made playing at Wanneroo easy, one of the key reasons Cornell stayed at the club over the last three years.
“It’s been a privilege to have been able to play 100 caps for this great club, Cornell Said.”
“To be able to play your milestone game against your old club at home is really special.”
Despite the situation Mark Cornell has found himself at Wanneroo leading into his 100th cap it was his brother Scott, who last year shared the same honour he has to thank for his achievement with Mark admitting that his brother was the cause of him getting back into the game.
“I lost the love for the game a bit, Mark explained.”
“I stopped playing for a stint of time and it wasn’t until Scott convinced me to come to Wanneroo that I got excited about lacing up the boots again.”
Originally coming from Wests Subiaco, a team now known under the mantra of the Wests Scarborough Boars, it seemed the stars had aligned for Cornell coming full circle to play his old team for his 100th game.
Despite not coming away with the win the matchup was a hard-fought contested a style of game Cornell doesn’t shy away from.
Laying down some big tackles Cornell was solid all around the field and was a key part of keeping Wanneroo in the fray against a young and hungry Wests sides.
The final score may have been 21-34 however this Aranmore local and Premier Grade debutant at the age of sixteen years definitely gave it his all and won’t rest until Wanneroo find success heading into the future.
