It was supposed to be your week, Cooper Cronk. Your week.
It was the best narrative of the season. One of the greatest halfbacks of the modern era announces his retirement and the plaudits flow.
Because of course. Because of all the things I have hated in years of hating Melbourne and Queensland, you can’t hate Cooper Cronk.
The man is a class act – every sinew in his body.
But after making his name catching the ball from one Immortal and passing it to another Immortal, Cronk wasn’t wearing purple when he said he was hanging up the boots.
He was a Rooster – and the dude who got booted to accommodate him at Bondi is now a Knight.
So Cronk says he’s quitting and four days later he faces off against Mitchell Pearce.
How good!
Except then it was decided Cronk needed to be ‘rested’.
How shit.
Seriously, what a massive middle finger to the opposition – basically saying this game isn’t worthy of our champion halfback’s time (if you’d like to read more of me being offended on behalf of my home town, I’ve basically made a career out of it).
Thus, rather than seeing Pearce take on the fella who replaced him at the Roosters, it was instead Pearce taking on the bloke he replaced in the Hunter.
Poor, poor Brock Lamb.
Two years ago, the Maitland junior was touted as the future of his home club. He had to weather the shit storm that was 2016, making his first-grade debut (as fate would have it) against the Roosters, in a 38-0 shellacking – a game in which one M. Pearce starred for Trent Robinson’s team.
Yet by the end of 2017, Lamb was pulling the strings as the red and blue bulldozed a Parramatta side that ended the season in the top four.
He wasn’t the finished product by any means, but the talent was there. He just needed time.
Then Cronk made his move to the Harbour City, Pearce decided it was time to move on, and Tanya Brown’s famous butter chicken landed the Knights yet another superstar (seriously, the woman’s culinary skills are better than any third-party agreement).
Nevertheless, I was a bit miffed by it all. We’d invested all this time into a local junior and now we were ready to chuck it out in favour of Junior’s Junior?
So I did what anyone with half a brain should do: consulted someone far wiser.
Over a few beers, I asked Naggy – yes, I know Naggy from The Joust (I own many leather-bound books) – what he made of it.
His explanation was pretty straightforward. Brock Lamb showed plenty of promise, but Mitchell Pearce was (and is) a premiership winner and representative player.
Newcastle could hang around for a few years, hoping Lamb might become a week in, week out match winner, or we could just have one now.
Fast-forward to May 24, 2019 and wow.
Pearcey turned in his fifth-straight man of the match performance, while Lamb had a club debut to forget.
In the younger man’s defence, it wasn’t supposed to go down like that. Lamb was fed to the wolves (sorry, sorry, but I had to).
Easts were swiftly made to regret their decision to rest Cronk – presumably so he’d be fresh to steer them through the Origin period when Luke Keary was surely set to be called up by Brad Fittler – when Keary was taken off after a Daniel Saifiti bone-rattler just eight minutes in.
Suddenly, Lamb went from having the role of impact player to being the guy calling the shots.
Yeah…he needs more time. He’s 22, that’s not unreasonable.
But Mitchell Pearce? Um, again, wow.
Junior is playing out of his skin.
And didn’t Pearce send a message when he crashed over on the stroke of halftime, leaping to his feet and kissing the Knights emblem on his jersey?
“Oh, Cooper Cronk is the best team player you’ve ever had, Trent? Cool, cool. Where’s he at the moment?”
About as subtle as a sledgehammer, which is just the way rugby league fans like it. Hands down, the second-best moment of the night.
Number one? That’d be the aftermath of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves apparently doing absolutely nothing wrong when he wasn’t standing square at marker, tackled Kalyn Ponga late and drove his shoulder into the fullback’s head.
The Novocastrians came racing in to make their opinion on the matter clear.
David Klemmer was off the field at the time, but the camera showed him peddling away on an exercise bike. I thought he was going to tear the handlebars off – he was ready to kill his opposite number.
Brilliant.
As an aside, Ben Cummins saying “there’s nothing wrong with that” before giving the Roosters the ball following Waerea-Hargreaves’ thug act is an incorrect call the magnitude of which should see someone relegated to reserve grade next week.
It didn’t matter though. As if – at 30-6 – the game wasn’t already decided, Pearce sealed the deal shortly after with a flat bullet ball to Edrick Lee, who crashed over in the corner.
(Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)
This was Mitchell Pearce’s night and these are Mitchell Pearce’s Knights.
To be honest, I hope he doesn’t get picked for Origin – a purple patch like this makes more sense, if only from a chromatic perspective, if he’s wearing red and blue.
(Honesty sesh here, I wrote the bulk of this on Saturday morning, before bloody everyone who was supposed to be NSW’s halves went down injured – I’ve tried to update it, but it’s Saturday night now and at a certain point I’ve just gotta file my story.)
Besides, Brad Fittler was apparently always going to stick with Nathan Cleary.
But if Freddy was to pick purely on form, Pearce would be the first bloke on his team sheet.
As for Cooper Cronk? Kevvie Walters would kill to have him in maroon come Wednesday week, but he’s retired from rep footy – so I guess the Knights can take his absence as a compliment?
But, really, not turning up on Friday night? Well, it goes from your week to you’re weak.
db
Guest
The Knights didn't even have the decency to use lube.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Dutski, if Cronk is retired from rep football what relevance is it that Origin is coming up? The same now applies to Cam Smith. There is NO need to rest them, surely?
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
"what a massive middle finger to the opposition" That's OK Joe. The opposition gave the Roosters the same finger right back. John Hopoate style! LOL
Superspud
Roar Rookie
It was a strange decision given Cooper has already had some time off this year but we shall see where it all ends up. It was a great Robbo response when asked about this being seen as a sign of disrespect when he said "no it was a sign of respect to our players". Having said that Cooper Cronk would not of changed that game. Roosters have a major problem at 9 right now. The real sign of disrespect is thinking that you can just throw anyone into dummy half. Radley is a good player but he's not a dummy half. He seems to be escaping the media glare but his service is awful. One more thing. Someone on here not long ago said they were giving back their Knights membership and burning their supporter gear. Might be an expensive season for him buying it all back.
Bryce Burgess
Guest
I think Cronk probably has a niggle and was rested to get him right for the origin period when the Roosters will be missing a few players. As a Knights fan I’m happy with the way it played out. 5 wins on the trot, 4th on the ladder, Pearce won’t be picked for origin and we get two weeks off over the bye for Pearce to get his groin right before we face the Rabbitohs and Storm. NSW as usual won’t be able to field their best possible halves combination for more than one series.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Players don’t get rested for no reason. Are we really at a point where media driven narratives surpass player welfare in importance? Or are journos just getting sensitive about all their manufactured storylines falling flat this season? I really wish we could get back to a point where the media would spend most of its time discussing the games that had been played rather then trying to oversell upcoming games for their affiliated broadcaster.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Cronk is probably carrying a niggling injury and with the bye coming up, that gives him two weeks to fix it. Also, they weren't to know Keary would go down ten minutes into the game. The coach also probably thought it would be good to give Brock Lamb a game against his former club. Besides, Cronk was behind on Game of Thrones and had a Friday night Marathon to catch up on it.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I agree. There would be a good reason for Cronk to be rested. Maybe he is carrying an injury or has some other problem. Robinson has had the luxury of a great roster but he isn't lacking insight in how to run a team.
Steve
Guest
Has to be the most arrogant decisions by a coach in recent memory. Basically he is telling the other side "We are that good we don't need our star HB to beat you lot....we'll win in a canter." Nah...that won't fire the other side up lol.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Picking teams purely on form is another one of these myths that keeps on raising its head. If Ponga was down on form a bit, like he was in the early rounds, do you pick someone else for QLD at fullback? The pathetic actions of Hargreaves illustrates another interesting facet of the game. It's amazing how many saw his actions as perfectly fine. I can largely put it down to the ref not even penalising him and punters forming their opinions based on that. I thought he should have been sent off. He hit him late , he knew he didn't have the ball and he tried to maul him using his head as a weapon. I'm stunned that so many saw anything else. I seem to recall the author ( could be wrong) penning an article a season or two back being very despondent about the Knights future. I was pleased to report at the time that they were on track. It's never a massive step from the doldrums in the NRL to competing for a title if you assemble the right roster. Ponga , Pearce and Klemmer have been assembled.
Dutski
Roar Guru
You know Joe I was with you right up until the last line. Sure it was for literary effect and on that level it worked really well. But seriously calling the bloke who won a grand final on one arm weak? Cut the beers, mate. Seriously. If you’ve observed anything about Cronk you would know that he will do anything, anything for the team. You also know there’s nobody more strategic in the game, saving misters Bellamy, Bennett, Robinson and possibly Smith. So if the esteemed Robbo comes up and says “Cooper, I know it’s your big week but there’s Origin coming up and... well, you know Joe will write it all up for The Roar etc” you know Cronk would put aside the personal accolades and chance to prove himself the better choice (as if he needs to- look in the trophy cabinet) for the strategic good of the team. Weak? No. Calculated risk that backfired spectacularly because of a head knock and Lamb being too big a step down and Mitchell looking generally disinterested in playing in the halves and some forwards who need more time playing off the bench or even a spell back in the reserves because most of the Knights tries were off the back of tired or lazy defence up the middle. But no, disregard all that because there’s a throwaway pun to have. Spot on with your analysis of the game. Analysis of the man? Try again champ.