In an emotion-charged NRL grand final last night, Storm skipper Cameron Smith failed to mention Cooper Cronk’s last game for the club.
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Having congratulated the Cowboys for the courageous way they reached the decider and thanked the NRL, major sponsor Telstra. and the Storm fans, it was obvious Smith was leaving Cronk’s departure until last after his 324 games for the Storm.
The ‘big three’ – Smith, Cronk, and Billy Slater – had just played their last game together after 14 seasons.
The farewell never happened.
Smith never makes that sort of mistake, he carefully covers all bases.
Was he in a state of shock after Slater was awarded the coveted Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground in the grand final?
Smith was the popular pick to join Peter Sterling (1986) and Johnathan Thurston (2015) as the only rugby league players to win the Dally M, the premiership, and the Clive Churchill in the same year.
But Smith did achieve a milestone last night with his five conversions taking his career points to 2185 to move into second place above Andrew Johns’ 2176, chasing record holder Hazem El Masri’s 2419.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Slater’s try took his career tally to 182, moving him further ahead of Steve Menzies’ 180, but Slater is still 30 behind the pace-setter Kenny Irvine’s 212.
And Slater is still undecided about his playing future, but if he continues it will definitely be at the Storm.
Cronk is also undecided about his future, but if he continues it won’t be with the Storm as he’s moving to Sydney to be with his fiancee Tara Rushton who works at Fox.
And that’s where I expect Cronk to be full-time, he has the makings of a first class league expert.
And while the NRL is continually under fire on many fronts, fans keep voting with their feet.
In the history of the NRL, there have only been three deciders with both teams out of Sydney.
Yet the crowds are been big.
The 2006 grand final between the Broncos and the Storm at ANZ attracted 79,609.
When the Cowboys beat the Broncos in 2015 in extra time there were 82,758.
And last night there were 79,722 on hand to watch the Storm take care of business over the Cowboys 34-6.
By any standards, those are top-shelf figures.
But nothing could hide the disappointment of the trail-blazing Cowboys, who lost Shaun Fensom with a broken leg just three minutes into the game.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Having fallen into the eight when the beleaguered Bulldogs beat the Dragons in the last round, the Cowboys surprised everyone but themselves to down the defending champion Sharks, Parramatta, and the Roosters to reach the big one.
And for so many games this season the Cowboys have been without their co-captains Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott, two of the world’s best footballers.
But last night saw just how clinically professional the Storm are when push turns to shove.
Not that the Cowboys waved a white flag, far from it – they were simply out-gunned.
Chief playmaker Michael Morgan, born and raised in Townsville, and the master-mind of the finals surge, said he was embarrassed.
“It feels like the waste of a season, to be honest.”
“That scoreline doesn’t reflect all the effort we put in this year”.
Unfortunately there can only be one winner, but the Cowboys can hold their heads high.
They played above themselves in those three wins en route to last night.
Now the new boys on the block know how high the performance bar is to lift the trophy.
NAW
Guest
Homework clearly states the two lowest Grand Final crowds at Homebush were games involving non-sydney teams. It's irrelevant how long it takes from one teams home base to another yet somehow you quote this as justification for your myth of an article. Bored with Lord
David Lord
Expert
Suggest you do your homework NAW before you make a goose of yourself. For the first time in the NRL's history the grand final was between the two extremities of the competition - over 2400 kilometres apart on a neutral ground. if you drove from one to the other it would take you 28-plus hours, and to make it even more difficult, the greedy airlines bumped up their fares for the occasion. The airlines were as inept as you NAW, yet there were still 79,722 in attendance.
David Lord
Expert
soc, you claim the NRL handed out 44,000-odd free tickets, they wouldn't have had the man-power to achieve that feat in a week. Suggest you change your medication, you're hallucinating.
soc
Guest
umm they only got to 79,000 due to all the free tickets the NRL put out there...Syd Olympic Park was handing them out all week to those in the Precinct....in reality, there wouldve been only 35,000-odd paying customers tops.
David Lord
Expert
Obviously Mitcher snd CP have never played a team sport of any note. When you've played over 300 NRL games with a world class footballer, and he's played his last game for the club, the perfect timing to recognise his stellar career would be on the biggest stage of all, the NRL grand final with a tick under 80,000 in the stand, most of them Storm fans, and multi-millions of television viewers around the world. To totally ignore that opportunity beggars belief. Cameron Smith is effectively the head of the Storm family, and when a senior and very successful member of the family calls it quits, he deserves a public salute and farewell from the top man. Cameron Smith, who is an ornament to rugby league, and an Immortal-in-waiting, will regret not taking that opportunity that's now gone forever.. As for you CP, if you really want to greet a genuine goon, just look in the mirror.
NAW
Guest
Top Shelf crowd figures by any standard???? Lowest crowd since the 2006 grand final Yeah those non sydney grand finals are big David Do you even care about being so inept?
Dean N
Guest
Agree with Mike. Billy will ales be the best player the Storm have ever had. Not just scoring tries but defending against them being scored. Also agree that Billys organisational skills are second to the. A true champion and a Storm living legends. I've followed the Storm since their birth and I can still remember Billys arrival and how he really came of ago in his first origin game. I can't for the life of me think of any player who has been loved as much as Billy. Not even Cameron or Cooper.
Pickett
Guest
I got the impression Smith was shellshocked at not being awarded the CCM. And he had every right to be.
Dean
Guest
Very short read. What's up? -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Cynical Play
Guest
Lord leads with gossip as always. Goon.
Mitcher
Guest
Look forward to the eds dropping back in the couple of paragraphs they must have accidentally dropped where this goon clarifies the absurd implications leading the article.
Mike Huber
Roar Pro
Yes it was a bit weird Smith not mentioning Cronk's departure . Presumably he was happy with Billy's emotional speech dedicated to the half back . Smith was clearly BOG however , Slater was a close second and as Bellamy noted , no one deserved it more than Billy Slater . Quite simply he puts The Storm on another level and they are a very different beast with Slater calling the shots and executing plays. If Slater had not missed two years due to injury he would of well surpassed Ken Irvines record - maybe he still can as he is playing as good as ever . Indeed , I would argue Billy is at his best and most valuable now due to the experience of being on the sidelines for an extended period and studying and coaching under Craig Bellamy's tutelage. Slater has Coach written all over him and I expect him to play on for one more year then take up an assistants position within The Storm. I rate him the greatest Storm player of all time simply because he is a unrelenting try scoring machine . If he is not scoring from anywhere on the field, he is setting them up for others and without him , The Storm would not have won multiply Premierships , period.