Queensland halfback Cooper Cronk is in doubt for State of Origin II after injuring his knee in Melbourne’s 20-0 NRL win over Penrith at Pepper Stadium on Saturday night.
Cronk left the field and did not return for the final quarter of the game and while the injury is not believed to be serious, his prognosis will not be known until he has scans on Sunday.
He injured his right knee in the second half while chasing down a Blake Green grubber in goal, jarring his knee when he changed direction.
Cronk received attention on the sideline early in the second half before returning to make a try-saving tackle on Tyrone Peachey, however he left the field soon after.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said it was not initially clear what was wrong with Cronk’s knee however it was not believed to be serious.
However he could not say if Cronk would be fit for Origin II in Melbourne on June 17 and his fitness would depends on his scan results.
“I’m not quite sure what they think at the moment,” Bellamy said.
“The doctor and physio just had a look at him there. They don’t think it’s too serious but they’re not quite sure what it is or how bad it is.”
While Queensland coach Mal Meninga holds his breath on Cronk’s fitness, Bellamy said fullback Billy Slater would definitely line up for Origin II.
Slater was rested because of an ongoing shoulder injury the last two games however Bellamy said he was in no doubt to run out for the Maroons at the MCG.
Despite Slater’s absence the Storm were solid as they rebounded from their heavy loss to the Sydney Roosters just five days earlier and consolidated their spot in the top four.
The Storm got on the front foot early through Blake Green when he picked up the crumbs after a Cronk kick cannoned off the head of former Melbourne player Sika Manu.
Slater’s replacement Cameron Munster was a standout at the back, producing a powerful fend on Peter Wallace for Melbourne’s second try, while up the other end he came up with an important try-saving tackle on Waqa Blake and a memorable hit on David Simmons.
Penrith were muted in the first half and when Melbourne caught the Penrith defence short on the left edge, Green strolled over for his second for an 18-0 Storm halftime lead.
Green was excellent for Melbourne, looking dangerous when he took on the line and consistently found grass with the boot.
A Cameron Smith penalty goal was the only points of the second half as the Storm ran out easy winners.
The Panthers missed the kicking game and leadership of playmaker Jamie Soward, out with a shoulder injury.
However, they were their own worst enemies with poor handling – making an error in each of their first three sets of the second half – and ill discipline.
The Panthers completed just 19 of their 37 sets, missed 27 tackles to Melbourne’s nine, made 18 handling errors and gave away seven penalties.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said his side couldn’t use their injured list, which also included Matt Moylan, Josh Mansour and Brent Kite, as an excuse even though they were finding it hard to build combinations.
“It doesn’t surprise me really, it was going to come out at some point against a good side that was very motivated,” Cleary said.
“In slippery conditions it was a totally disjointed effort.
“In the end it was a matter of trying too hard and trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat.”
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