Career
A utility player, 1.89 metres (62 ft) tall and weighing 93 kilograms (210 lb), Rooke"s versatility allowed him to play as a forward, defender, and midfielder. He went on to become a dual premiership player with the club, playing key roles in both the 2007 and 2009 Grand Final victories. Rooke is currently serving as a development coach with the Geelong Football Club.
Rooke was recruited from Casterton in 2001, and made his debut in the second round of 2002.
He was a regular senior player until a shin injury forced him to miss the second half of 2004, including the finals series, but recovered to play all but one game in 2005. His lack of pace against small forwards was exposed in Round 20, 2005 when Melbourne"s Russell Robertson kicked seven goals against him.
This prompted coach Mark Thompson to move him into the midfield the following week. In Geelong"s close loss to the Sydney Swans in the Elimination Finals, Rooke amassed a remarkable fifteen tackles.
Rooke missed out on most of the 2007 season after suffering a potential season-ending 7 cm hamstring tear in Round 13.
On 12 July, Geelong spent $20,000 on Rooke to receive treatment by soft-tissue expert Doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfarth in Germany. On 13 October 2010, Rooke announced his retirement from American Federation of Labor-Congress football. He cited an acute knee injury which kept him out for most of the 2010 Home and Away season.
Rooke returned to the Geelong Football Club in 2011 as the Development Coach.
