There is no doubt the Hull-born stand off is one of those players capable of unlocking a game in an instant.
Cooke isn't the quickest player, and he isn't blessed with the electric footwork of a Danny McGuire or a Kyle Eastmond, but he does have the kind of vision and intelligence you don't see too often.
Unfortunately, his brain doesn't seem quite as focused when he steps off the field of play.
Having alienated half the population of Hull by engineering his move from FC to KR last year, a process that looked as devious as it was ultimately effective, he now seems intent on upsetting the other 50 per cent after making himself persona non grata at New Craven Park.
Once the initial infatuation faded, perhaps it was inevitable that Cooke, with a colourful lifestyle that has landed him in hot water on more than one occasion, and Rovers boss Justin Morgan, a graduate of the Brian Smith school of coaching who always gives the impression that he is just as intensely disciplined as his former mentor, would rub each other up the wrong way.
There are plenty of rumours aluding to why Cooke has not been considered fit for selection by Morgan over the last few weeks, rumours that may or may not be correct.
And by the time this column goes to press, Rovers may have recouped their no doubt considerable investment in Cooke by offloading him to another Super League club, with Wakefield, where his former Hull mentor John Kear is coach, considered the most likely, perhaps the only, potential suitors.
Kear has made something of a name for himself over the last 18 months as a saver of souls, having dragged the career of another prodigy gone wrong, prop Richard Moore, out of the gutter.
Moore has gone from being practically unemployable to a possible World Cup bolter in what amounts to the blink of an eye.
Kear clearly thinks, with some justification, he can do the same with Cooke.
And who would bet against him?

TALKING of trouble, Canterbury's AWOL Kiwi Sonny Bill Williams' travel documentation has finally allowed him to hop over the channel and complete his multi-million dollar switch to Toulon.
The saga is unlikely to end there, with the arguments set to run and run, keeping a whole battallion of Australian journalists in employment writing '(insert name of player here) says he is/isn't interested in following Williams to France' stories.
But personally, I'm more intrigued to see how Williams fares in his new code.
Ever since he burst onto the NRL stage as an 18-year-old, Williams has, for me, been someone who reminds you why want to watch the game in the first place.
So while rugby league forwards traditionally struggle to adapt to the rucks, mauls and interminable scrummages, it seems probable Sonny Bill's breathtaking combination of speed, skill and physicality will make him just as much of a handful in union.
I bet the All Blacks are rubbing their hands together with glee.