'Do him proud': Queanbeyan Blues rookie Cooper Lasscock following dad's Jay's footsteps

Twelve years later, he is still following in his footsteps.

Lasscock was his old man's shadow at every Queanbeyan Blues training session and every Canberra Raiders Cup game, with bright blonde hair and a beaming smile to match his dad's.

That was until Jay's untimely death broke the hearts of so many in September 2012.

Which is why this first grade debut meant a little more than any other.

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Not because 17-year-old Lasscock was "the youngest guy to step onto the field" for the Blues this year, but because of the old man he is doing proud.

"I just remember I used to go to training and watch him train pretty much every week. I used to go to all the games," Lasscock said.

"Mum said to me once we got to the game, she wouldn't see me until the end. I'd always be in and around the team. It is really special to get a crack and pull on the same jersey that dad did.

"I try to model myself off my old man a lot. Obviously the goal is to put my best foot forward and do him proud. If I'm doing that, that's the main thing to me."

Outgoing Blues first grade coach Simon Woolford reckons you'd struggle to fit the trials and tribulations of this season into a book.

The club boasting a record 26 first grade premierships in Canberra's premier rugby league competition since their inception in 1928 was forced to forfeit a first grade game. They couldn't field a reserve grade team at all. Three players tore anterior cruciate ligaments in the space of one month and others left town.

But if you were to write a book about this year, perhaps this is a fairytale ending.

Lasscock made his Canberra Raiders Cup first grade debut for the Blues against Goulburn late in the season and backed up a week later to cap off a whirlwind fortnight for the under-17s prospect.

The first instinct is to draw comparisons between Lasscock and his old man.

So we turn to Jeremy Braun - Jay's former teammate and Cooper's under-19s coach - for a word as he prepares to take the Blues' first grade coaching job next year.

"He's a miniature version of his dad, and when he fills out like his dad did, he's going to be a hell of a player, that's for sure," Braun said.

"I played with Jay, even as a young bloke Jay was a hard-nosed front-rower. Cooper is not quite there with that style, but I can see Coops ending up a little like Jay, but I think he might play a little bit more back-row in the lead-up.

"There are definitely similarities in the way they carry themselves, and they're both very polite men, so there are similarities right through. If you ask him to do a job, he'll just say yes because he's too polite to say anything else.

"He's so coachable. When you get kids like that, with his ability and the size he's going to get to, there's no telling where he'll end up. The ceiling could be anywhere.

"I was only telling him on the weekend not to be in a hurry to get to where he wants to get to, because it's all going to happen for him. He's got a very high ceiling if he keeps travelling the way he is travelling."

While Lassock was preparing for an under-17s grand final on Friday night, two first grade sides were turning their attention to a Canberra Raiders Cup preliminary final.

The Queanbeyan Kangaroos face the Belconnen United Sharks at Kippax Oval on Sunday, with the Tuggeranong Bushrangers awaiting the victor in next week's grand final.

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