He's not winding me up.

At the end of the day hes a bloody good player worth a chance if he blows it sack him simple

He's the poster boy for those who think professional sportsmen should be banned from social media.

Somone that you and I both know had an e mail from him today Al

Don't be surprised if it happens folks, his agent has been in talks for several weeks. I'm a mate of his so am bound to stick up for him but putting off field misdemeanours aside he's a very good rugby league player who will difinitely add to our squad. I'm pretty certain that the deal will include a clause of if you mess up even just ever so slightly once then you're gone.

How do you work that out?



Cas, Wakefield and Quins spoke to David Howes

As a Wakey fan living in Beverley, I am not best pleased at us taking a failed Hull coach and a scallywag with bad attitude from Hull KR. If Cockayne has joined us I view this as a very bad move.

How many of us know people in our own circles who have behaved similar to Ben at some point in their lives? I would say most of us. Judge him on the rugby pitch and how he behaves when in the club employ, if it happens.



I am not sure how being nearer home will help though. I'm pretty sure his trangressions have happened on home soil, so to speak. I'm sure he's not intentionally bad. He just needs to keep off the ale, and Agar is purportedly good at sorting out that kind of thing.

Exactly Slugger. Like with Agar its a completely clean slate but for differing reasons. Bens a nice kid whos had a few rushes of blood to the head after a few pints. Its happened to many others and many have done far worse too. On the pitch he's matured and is a lot less 'niggly', he does all the small things right which lead to him impressing virtually every time he takes to the field. He will give 100% 100% of the time even if hes having an off day, some players bury their head in the sand, Bens the type to get the ball in his hands and try and do something positive and if it goes wrong again he's back for more.



If he signs with us which I believe is quite likely then he comes with baggage yes but none gained whilst in employment of wakefield trinity wildcats. He knows its last chance saloon and I wouldn't expect him to mess things up he's not as daft as you think.

By the way nothing has been signed yet and thats from the horses mouth

I agree with your assessment of him as a player. I've known plenty of six-pint hotheads in my time, and I've no problem with the ones I've known.

Exactly Slugger and the stories of the video incident were a very one eyed view of things. Now I'm not saying I agree with the action he eventually took but there was more to the story than just Bens mate being ko'd by the lad he got in to trouble with

And how about the racist abuse on Facebook?

That was extremely silly and misguided. i know for a fact hes not racist, he mixes with friends from all ethnicities including asians.

Edited for inevitable accuracy

How is racial abuse 'silly and misguided?'

very good signing but do not try to claim him as a Saint. The lad is was and always will be a muppet. The fact he signs for you or anyone else should not cloud your judgement of him as a person.



newsflash, a lot of rugby players are prats and not very nice people when they have a drink, the sad fact is he is one of the worst of the bunch currently knocking about.



To claim he is simple is offence to simpletons.

he is signing for you he told me last night after the cas game we loved him here he always gave 100% he had a bit of bother but he always did the business on the pitch

If he does the business on the pitch and can add to the team great he will be welcomed.



Will be his chance/lifeline to re-enter top level rl. Hope he knuckles down and gives his all if he signs.

Oh great, there's only really 3 players I detest in RL and he's one of them.

What is with us Wakey fans why will we never give a bad boy a chance this kid must know he has to grow up or hes finished give him a chance i say i can think of a good number over the last 30 odd years that have worked out

Danny Brough was one with problems over the years, came to wakey and seemed to sort himself out then went to shudds

Could not agree more, the people who use terms like scum bag etc really don't get the mentality of sport at this level. For every David Beckham there is a Joey Barton and for every Paul Sculthorpe there is a Danny! People are people and the attempts to make them all saintly is pathetic IMO. RL is a tough game and as such attract it's fair share of thugs, loons and morons - some of those end up being it's finest players.



If we judged players based on their personalities we'd have very few legends in the game. Neil Fox is a genuine legend of the game and his reputation is beyond reproach. Derek Turner is also a legend but he has been airbrushed into respectability. In reality and even by the standards of the day he was border line psychotic , yet a great player and from what I gather far more of a force in the dressing room than Fox. He reamains rightly so a Trinity legend and hero. Again from what I'm told Turner was not a guy you wanted as a friend you just wanted him on your team and not theirs - even then you were not safe from him. Maybe as a family man he was great, maybe out of RL he was OK I don't know but as a RL player he was a bad man.



Turner is an old man now and never ever attends any reunions despite always being asked. My theory is because he enjoyed being the hard and enforcer, put simply he liked scaring people - he can't do that now. Yet despite that not being a great advert for him as a person you'd have a young Turner in a Trinity shirt any day.



What saved Turner and most of the other old time RL players from becoming trouble off the field was society at the time and the fact that they all needed a job outside the game. What would Rocky be like now in the modern game, assuming he'd even get a game - all that money and all that time.



The game will always attract a cross section of society and the nature of the game means that some of it's least likeable players will be some of it's best - reality check folks. Having heard some of the stories about players through the years Cockaynes biggest offence as far as I can tell is getting caught because he's far from the worst in the game.



I'd have Cockayne play for my team any day but I wouldn't ever invite him home for tea. All this moralising about players and them being role models makes me laugh - don't get me wrong we want role models but we have to accept that not all good players are or ever will be.

.

I remember Brough taking the club bus for a ride and leaving Wakey under a cloud, Cockayne is a hothead no doubt, but he is also a decent rugby player, if his aggression can be channelled he would be a great team player, I for 1 am willing to give him a go, he is no worse than Bailey, Latu or Chase

There are worse players than both of those out there - the mark of a real thug IMO is their ability not to get caught. Not even attempting to defend Cockayne's action off the field, I just reackon he's dumber than most of his type