Two Cougars Legends set to join the 50 game mark

As the Cougars line up on Grand Final Day, the club will see 2 of its long serving stalwarts play their 50th game.

Tony “Coops” Coopers



In his 5 years with the Cougars, Coops has proven himself time and time again that he is one of toughest and most rugged defenders to have ever pulled on the red and blue. Quite often referred to as “the Rubber Man” Coops has shown an amazing ability to dive into packs, get knocked down and then miraculously be standing up, still fighting for the ball. He also has a pair of the biggest hands you will ever see, often managing to dribble the ball along the ground as if he had it on a string.

Given his quiet persona, Coops has never been the one to seek out the type of publicity that other high profile Cougars have garnered, but he has nevertheless been a true champion of the club for 5 years.



Coops ability to blanket his opponents and force the ball back up the ground, deservingly won him back-to-back Cougars B&F awards in his first 2 seasons with the Cougars. Over the years he has played his best footy in just about every backline position on the field and his play in 2006 shows no signs of waning.

When the Presidency became vacant in 2004, Coops snapped it up and has been “the quiet achiever” behind the scenes for the club ever since, giving up a lot of personal hours to ensure the success of footy in BC. His Presidency has seen a number of sweeping changes including the expansion of BCFooty to include the Burnaby Eagles and the team’s entry into the US Nationals.



Well done Coops on reaching 50 games with the Cougars.

Cougars Career Highlights
First played – April 2002
Games – 49
Goals – 6
Awards – Best and Fairest Winner 2002 & 2003; Cougars Vice-Captain 2002; Triple Premiership Player; Cougars President 2004-06.

Peter “Phantom” Campion



One of 3 remaining players from the inaugural 2001 season, Campo is definitely one of the characters of the club. On the field he has regularly played the role of “impact” player who has lined up in just about every position on the ground. On his day he can be a dogged defender, a speedy centreman (for the first few yards anyway), or an attacking forward (who always whinges that he never gets credit for all his goals).



It is not well known that Campo could have reached 50 games a lot earlier but for the fact that he has always been one of the first to volunteer to play for opposition clubs or to pitch in and Umpire when we were short to facilitate a better game - a feat that is not often recognised sufficiently.

Due to this, controversially Campo is the only player to have played in the Premiership team for the first 4 years of the NWPAFL (in 2003 he defected over to Seattle to play for their team that ultimately won a tight final match over the Cougars).



For the past few years Campo has been an active behind-the-scenes member of the Cougars. He was the driving force in securing the first Canadian team berth in the US Nationals as well as securing significant team sponsorship over the years. He’s also the current Commissioner of BCFooty (no easy task when you have to deal and negotiate on club issues with the likes of Grills and Hilton). Who could also forget his classic commentary from the booth at Thunderbird Stadium?

Congrats Campo on 50 great games.

Cougars Career Highlights
First played – May 2001
Games – 49
Goals – 16
Awards – 4-time Premiership Player, BC Footy Commissioner 2006.