Career
He joined Collingwood in 1983, although he would occasionally miss games due to his army commitments. Collingwood"s secretary, John Birt, described Cooper as a "mini Rene Kink". During this time, Cooper struggled with heroin addiction.
He first became addicted in 1979 before getting clean, but he became addicted again in late 1983.
In 1984, he was sentenced to one year in prison for burglaries committed to support his habit. He got clean again while in prison, and returned to play VFA football.
He played with Preston in 1986, was cleared to Box Hill at the start of 1987, and was cleared to Brunswick in July 1988.
