One club
Cockburn Cobras’ Andrew Pearce speaks to Cameron Palmer
For a club that prided itself on being inclusive and all in together with a culture that focused heavily on a one club approach, the Cockburn Cobras Football Club could not have imagined how important that mentality would be as their 2017 season was coming to an unexpected conclusion.
The Cobras, after being banned from the 2017 and 2018 C4 Finals as well as the 2017 C4 Reserves Finals for breaching the League’s amateur rules, could have been forgiven if they had battled to continue to operate as a club and field a competitive on-field team. Yet, in the darkest times of the club, it was that motto that the club had been built on, one club could overcome all odds.
Cobras Club President Andrew Pearce knew the club was going to have difficult times as they headed towards the 2018 Perth Football League season, but always remained confident the club had the right attitude and right characters involved to overcome severe adversity.
“That created even more of a bond for our football club, what we went through and enhanced that we stick together, we never give up attitude, that’s always been with us at the Cobras,” Pearce said.
“It was a hard effort keeping three sides, full credit to everyone, coaches, supporters, sponsors, everyone got on board, we stayed together.”
Indeed, despite the Cobras C4 side playing simply for pride in 2018, they recorded five wins and finished a respectable eighth in an eleven team competition. Buoyed by a one club approach, Cobras C4 Reserves were able to squeeze into finals finishing the home and away season in fifth place. They would catch fire during finals, progressing to the C4 Reserves Grand Final and ultimately winning an unlikely premiership, beating a previously unbeaten Jandakot side in the Grand Final.
While there was a sense of redemption with this Reserve’s Grand Final win, Cobras headed to the 2019 season, with an even stronger sense of unfinished business in the C4 competition.
“A lot of the league guys they were ready, focused and prepared to do what they needed to do to get the job done,” Pearce said.
“The guys were hungry, they wanted that revenge to get what was taken from them.”
Cobras alongside Piara Waters would be the standout sides of the 2019 C4 home and away season. Both would lose just one game, with Cobras claiming the minor premiership due to a superior percentage. Eight years after entering the Perth Football League and after two years of leaning on a one club approach and battling to get back to a position they had strived to be in, Cobras would not make any mistakes in the 2019 C4 finals.
First, Cobras accounted for Piara Waters in the second semi final, before two weeks later they faced an unlikely Grand Final foe in local rivals Cockburn Lakes who had stormed to a Grand Final berth. The 2019 C4 Grand Final would be the final part of the Cobras redemption story, comfortably winning the club’s first league premiership in the Perth Football League and winning promotion for the first time.
“Fantastic we won, we celebrated there at the ground, back to the clubhouse, it was probably the biggest we’ve ever had after a Grand Final,” Pearce said.
“It flew by the celebrations, obviously with what we had previously been through we were probably more excited that we got what we lost in 2017.”
Cobras, as one club, as it has always been, redeemed.
