Matt Cooper was a notable absentee from the Dragons' 2010 premiership reunion at Randwick, and the former centre was happy to divulge why.
The Red V's superstars that lifted the 2010 NRL premiership trophy reunited on Saturday for a race meet, and more importantly, the 10-year anniversary of their famous Grand Final victory.
Well, 12 years, however COVID threw a spanner in the works of their planned 2020 reunion, delaying the celebration until the weekend just gone.
While racegoers would've been quick to notice faces like Brett Morris, Wayne Bennett, Jamie Soward, Jason Nightingale, Ben Creagh and many more, one star was missing from it all - Matt Cooper.
The former Kangaroos and Blues centre took to social media on Saturday morning to apologise to his ex-teammates, and reveal cryptic clues as to why the premiership-winner wouldn't be suiting up that day.
"I want to apologise to my 2010 premiership team for not attending the 10-12year reunion.
The reason why I did not attend, was I didn't want to make a scene and ruin a special occasion! Knowing former CEO and a player who did not even play in the game were going to be there."
The 'former CEO' in question is Peter Doust, however it's unclear which ex-player Cooper was referring to in his initial tweet.
One fan questioned why Cooper didn't show up and simply ignore those in question to be the bigger man, however the 43 year-old's response was short and simple.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to a number of anonymous attending players, who revealed their disappointment in Cooper missing the event, while others were confused over the ordeal.
“It was noticed that ‘Coops' wasn't there. We were a bit shocked but more saddened," one ex-player told the publication.
“He obviously has his issues with Doust. I'm not sure which player he was referring to in his tweet.
“There were a few players there that played with us that season but didn't play in the grand final.”
While Darius Boyd, Dean Young and Neville Costigan couldn't attend due to personal commitments, other players that were at Randwick were vocally surprised by it all.
“It was just a shame he wasn't there,” one player told the publication.
The 43 year-old Cooper has been vocal over the club's struggles in recent times, also taking to social media when just three of the Red V's top 30 attended the end of season awards night.