Fresh off a premiership triumph with the Storm, Cooper Cronk has made the move to the Roosters. Here are my five takeaways from CC’s decision.
1. Despite the Roosters’ success, their culture remains cloudy – and that is why Cronk is there
Despite having been the most successful side over the past five years, aside from the Storm, you could make a strong argument that the Roosters have underachieved to some extent.
Perhaps underachieved is the wrong word, but it might not be in the eyes of Nick Politis and Trent Robinson, the men in power at Bondi, and that is all that matters here. With three Minor Premierships and a second place finish over the past five seasons, just one Premiership title back in 2013 seems a light return from what it potentially could have been.
Despite winning a lot of football games, the Roosters have struggled in some of the big matches. In fact their three preliminary final losses to the Rabbitohs, Broncos and Cowboys have been borderline embarrassing.
During this period, the Roosters always seem to have had their fair share of off-field drama and turmoil. Signing Cooper Cronk for two years is not just a statement of intent on the field, it’s a wake-up call to a playing group that is perhaps too comfortable. Nick Politis and Trent Robinson are wanting a highly influential senior player that can help drive cultural change.
Cooper Cronk is one of the only players in the game capable of offering this, with his unblemished professionalism, highly driven and intelligent mind, and strong leadership qualities.
While Cronk was quoted as saying he is not the sort of player to jump into an organisation and start driving standards, I think behind closed doors that’s exactly what is expected of him, and what he will be doing.
The Roosters’ players are well known for going off the rails a bit, with their “big summers” and party culture while living in a trendy area of Sydney. While that statement might seem a bit sweeping and harsh, there wouldn’t be too many clubs with more blemishes off the field in recent years, despite their success.
I get the feeling in 2013 Sonny Bill Williams played a large role in helping create a greater professionalism at the Club and, when he left standards quickly slipped. The Roosters have now gone four years since winning a Premiership, with a side that arguably has had the potential to win every season outside of 2016, which was a complete debacle for the Club.
That’s why Cronk is there, because Politis and Robinson believe they are lacking a senior player who can get the whole Club focussed and win the clutch moments in the big games.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
2. Cronk was right not to retire
While there has been outrage and some resentment at Cronk’s move to Bondi, I think it adds a fascinating sub-plot to the 2018 season. I think it is great he is not riding off into the sunset after a grand final win at Melbourne.
He is taking a risk here, even thought he is going to another powerhouse roster. While perhaps it would have been better for the equality of the competition if he ended up at a Souths or fringe Sydney side, it adds spice to the heavyweight clashes next season.
For one, I’m really looking forward to the Roosters coming up against the Storm during the regular season and, hopefully, during the finals next season. The master in Cronk, up against his apprentice in Brodie Croft.
Will Craig Bellamy find a game plan that can shut down Cooper, or will Cronk be able to unlock some of the Storm’s secrets to help put the Roosters on top? These will be fascinating contests.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Cronk is clearly a highly motivated individual and, deep down, will be desperate to win another title outside a system that he has played a part in for close to fifteen years. The move to sign a two-year deal shows this is no last hurrah season, but rather a serious quest at elevating his legacy further as a player.
At Melbourne and at Queensland, while Cronk has been considered a great player, he has never been talked about in the same breath as Cameron Smith and Billy Slater. Even at Queensland level it’s Johnathan Thurston, Smith and Slater who are considered the future immortals.
The risk for Cronk is high; however the reward is what must be driving him to play on, plus the money on offer. If Cronk flops, and the Roosters don’t challenge or win a title in his two years, his legacy will have a slight chink in it, or doubts will surface about how Bellamy and Smith made him a great player.
A Roosters versus Storm grand final in 2018 is a long way away; however, that truly would be a mouth-watering prospect.
3. Make no mistake – the Roosters need to win a title in the next two years or this move is a failure
In recent memory, I can’t remember a side with such pressure and expectation as the Roosters will have on them next season.
Anything less than a premiership will be considered a failure for this team, as harsh as that sounds. Having added James Tedesco and Cooper Cronk to a side with an already star-studded roster that has made three of the past four preliminary finals, really ought to make them a prohibitive favourite.
I understand they have moved on the likes of Shaun Kenny Dowall, Aidan Guerra, Kane Evans, Liam Knight, Paul Carter, Connor Watson, Dale Copley, and Jackson Hastings this year. However, looking at this clinically, perhaps Connor Watson was the only player really on the up, and that they would have been disappointed to lose.
The rest are either fringe players, or players at the back end of their careers.
Trent Robinson has a great reputation as a coach, and rightly so. However, if the Chooks fail to claim a title in the next two seasons, with Cronk at halfback, the knives could be out, as harsh as that seems.
One thing about the Roosters is they are not a club that settles for second best, as can be seen over the years through their recruitment and through the firing of coaches that won Premierships like Graham Murray and Ricky Stuart.
Brian Smith made it to a grand final but was gone one season later. Nick Politis holds all the power at this Club, and he will be expecting silverware in the near future.
4. Where to now for Mitchell Pearce? Should he stay or leave?
I have already said I think Mitchell Pearce needs to move on from the Roosters. This is a guy who has been a first grade halfback for 11 seasons, played 242 games and 17 Origins. You don’t hang around to play ‘super sub’ at the age of 28, in the prime of your career.
Pearce might consider moving to the Number 6 role, or the hooking role; however, it still does essentially involve handing the key to the team over to Cooper Cronk.
Whether you are a Mitchell Pearce fan or not, this is a huge slap in the face for a guy who has played a large part in the Roosters’ relative success over the past decade. While he has often been maligned for his Origin performances, and perhaps rightly so, Pearce remains one of the most consistent and reliable halfbacks in the NRL.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Very good halfbacks are not easy to find these days, considering Ben Hunt was valued at $1 million a season. No disrespect to him, however I would consider Mitchell Pearce a better player than Hunt.
Pearce could leave the Roosters and immediately be earning better money and be given the keys to a new team. That should prove very hard to resist on both fronts.
Pearce rarely gets injured, is considered a real “footy head” with his knowledge of the game and ability to control a side, and is in the peak of his playing career.
I think there are a number of clubs that would be very interested in accommodating him. I would love to see him go to a battling club like the Knights, Tigers or Warriors, where he could really hold the keys to the team.
Fans of those clubs would love a player of that quality, and he could perhaps get away from the pressure cooker of the Roosters.
He would also be a dominant playmaker at a Club like the Sharks, Storm or Broncos, with those clubs in contention to win Premierships, and really serve up some revenge cold to the Roosters.
Whatever happens, all eyes will be on Pearce next season, whether he remains at Bondi or moves clubs.
5. Will this move make the Roosters stronger?
We can’t fully attempt to answer this question yet as the future of Mitchell Pearce remains up in the air.
If Pearce swallows his pride and stays, then the Roosters will have by far and away the most talent in the competition. However, it will still be a task in itself to keep everyone happy.
More likely, I think, is that he leaves, and that for me doesn’t make the Roosters weaker, but I wouldn’t say it makes them instantly stronger.
I considered them equal favourites for the title next season, before the news about Cronk broke, and I would consider them roughly the same chance if Pearce were to depart.
While you would have to say Cooper Cronk is an upgrade on Mitchell Pearce, based on his record in big games and trophy haul, the answer to this question will not solely lie in the quality of the two players, but rather how the Roosters’ players react to this seismic change.
Mitchell Pearce is a hugely popular senior player in that organisation and, if this move upsets their harmony, then this could backfire spectacularly.
Cooper Cronk is a great player in his own right, however he has been the beneficiary of having Cameron Smith feeding him the ball for fifteen years, in a playing style and system that he knows like the back of his hand.
The Melbourne media let that team and players go about their business very quietly, which is exactly the opposite of what Cronk will get in Sydney.
I do like the fact the deal for Cronk is for two years, because a one-year move would hardly be worth shifting Mitchell Pearce. I have expressed doubt, purely on the field, that Cronk would be an upgrade on Pearce, who has run the Roosters’ offence and knows their up-tempo system better than anyone.
Cronk has never been the fastest player; however he can command a game plan better than anyone. He also knows how to win clutch moments and big games, with a number of game winning field goals and commanding performances in Origin deciders and grand finals.
Roosters’ fans I have spoken to are split down the middle on the move. Whether that is somewhat heart over head in their loyalty to Pearce is perhaps a factor.
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