Why Josh Papalii is stopping Cooper Cronk from getting sentimental ahead of his last ever match
If Cooper Cronk starts getting wistful or sentimental about his final ever NRL game, all he needs to do is remember there’s a not-so-jolly green giant looking to take his head off.
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If Sydney Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk starts getting sentimental ahead of his final game, he has a big green solution to snap him out of it.
“There will be some times when I might be a little bit emotional and nostalgic about things, but I tell you what, I’ll go watch some clips of Josh Papalii and that’ll straighten me right up,” Cronk said about his former Queensland Origin teammate.
The grand final against Canberra on Sunday will mark the 375th and final time the champion playmaker takes the field.
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It will be the final of nine deciders — a feat achieved more often than missed over 16 decorated seasons with Melbourne and the Roosters.
And the final time he compartmentalises his emotions to ensure such an occasion does not get the better of him.
“It’s just about putting it in its right box,” Cronk said.
“If you let it overwhelm you, it might be a good thing or a bad thing. Emotion can play that part where it might help you or might hinder you.
“But I know exactly the place to put it, and time will tell if it works on Sunday.”
But along with the lasts, Sunday will also bring firsts.
Most notably, Cronk’s inauguration as the first NRL-era player to play in nine grand finals.
And the first to do it in almost half a century, since South Sydney and Roosters great Ron Coote in 1975. Only St George legends Norm Provan and Brian “Poppa” Clay have made it to 10.
At ANZ Stadium, Cronk, 35, will equal Coote and another Dragons stalwart Eddie Lumsden on nine.
Beat the Raiders and he will have won six of them, although two of the Storm’s titles were stripped.
“The players in the Dragons era of the ’50s and ’60s,” Cronk said. “I look back on guys who played those 10 out of 11, they were the pioneers for football today. The success they had, the players they had, the way they set up football back in those days allows us to do what we do today.
“I’m a result of the people, teams, cultures I’ve been part of. (The key) to playing well on Sunday is to deal with the week and compete with every inch you’ve got, for the last time.”
Originally published as Why Josh Papalii is stopping Cooper Cronk from getting sentimental ahead of his last ever match