@ said:From The Guardian
Premiership is Roosters' to lose after flourish of Cooper Cronk’s pen.
With the addition of the NRL great, the Bondi club has the final piece of the puzzle – the leader and organiser they have longed for
Nick Tedeschi Nick Tedeschi
Tuesday 31 October 2017 04.00 AEDT Last modified on Tuesday 31 October 2017 08.54 AEDT
The Sydney Roosters rarely miss their man. And despite having the NSW halfback and not being mentioned as even an outside contender for the long and drawn out decision, the Roosters have once again outbid, outmanoeuvred and outhustled all other rivals to land Australian halfback Cooper Cronk.
After winning the signature of arguably the game’s most dynamic custodian in James Tedesco, they have added four-time grand final winner Cronk.
Cronk is rightly revered as one of the game’s greatest winners, a player who has succeeded at every level of the game, winning premierships, Origins and World Cups as well as being a two-time Dally M medal winner.
He joins a team that finished second on the ladder in 2017 and reached the preliminary final. It is a team that includes NSW Origin captain Boyd Cordner, international Blake Ferguson, rising star Latrell Mitchell and hard-nosed props Dylan Napa and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. Coach Trent Robinson is one of the most astute mentors in the games, measured and thoughtful in a profession filled with linear thinking and unrestrained emotion.
Cronk is the final piece to the jigsaw puzzle at Bondi, the leader and organiser the club has longed for.
His signature seems certain to force incumbent No7 Mitchell Pearce out of the club but it is a price the Roosters are clearly prepared to pay.
Robinson has stated he wants Pearce to stay but with negotiations ongoing with five-eighth Luke Keary and Jake Friend locked in as the starting hooker, a role as the super-sub seems the only option for the long-time Roosters No7.
It is a role he is unlikely to embrace. A sensitive personality, Pearce is believed to be hurt by the Roosters’ pursuit of Cronk and sees the signing as not only a demotion but a clear indication that the club lacks confidence in his ability to take the Roosters to the promised land.
Pearce won a premiership with the Roosters in 2013 but it was James Maloney, a more domineering personality, who was given credit as leading the team.
While Pearce is a player with a classy touch and great skill, his long history of failing to perform under supreme pressure has hurt his reputation to the point that even those at the club he has served for over a decade seem to be concerned by it.
Cronk’s signature though is not about Pearce. He is merely collateral damage. Cronk’s recruitment is about winning. It is about culture. It is about taking the Roosters to the next level.
To not pursue Cronk would have been negligent. Clubs who didn’t at least ask the question were not doing right by their fans or their players.
Few players in the history of the game have enjoyed the success Cronk has. He has been blessed to play with Cameron Smith and Billy Slater and to be coached by Craig Bellamy but they were equally blessed to have Cronk. Such was his standing at the Storm it was his voice that rang the loudest, his commands that came with the most authority.
Players who leave Melbourne rarely enjoy anywhere near the same success. That is because the players that moved were merely cogs in the machine. Cronk is the mechanic. He will find success anywhere he goes because not only is he an elite half and one of the game’s finest players, he is one of the few in the game that has worked to understand what brings success.
A thorough professional, Cronk knows that rugby league games are won and lost well before the opening whistle. Few players prepare with the thoroughness of Cronk, from the first pre-season run to the last video session. He knows that the sport is not a one-man game and that the key to success is making those around you better.
It is a level of dedication that will serve the talented yet sometimes flighty Roosters well.
Since Maloney left the Roosters, Robinson’s team has finished in the top two in three of the four seasons yet have been bundled out in the second last week on each occasion. The club has lost its hard edge. Maloney is a very different player to Cronk but they both bring a level of competitiveness that is hard to define but easy to spot.
The Roosters were on their way to a strong 2018 before Cronk arrived. Now the premiership is theirs to lose. Cronk in. Pearce potentially out. It’s a no-brainer. Greats don’t come along every day.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/oct/31/premiership-is-roosters-to-lose-after-flourish-of-cooper-cronks-pen
Who is this wanker???
:roll
