Why Melbourne Storm chose to release halfback Brodie Croft to join Brisbane Broncos
The Storm have denied suggestions Broncos halfback Brodie Croft was an unpopular figure in Melbourne and set the record straight on why he was released to join Brisbane.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Storm have addressed suggestions Broncos halfback Brodie Croft was an unpopular figure in Melbourne as they brace for the Brisbane playmaker to burst back to form.
Croft will face the Storm at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night for the first time since being released by Melbourne to join the Broncos. The Storm groomed Croft for years to replace Queensland legend Cooper Cronk in Melbourne’s No.7 jersey.
But he was dropped on the eve of last year’s NRL finals series after 39 games for the Storm and made a shock exit from Melbourne months later to link up with the Broncos.
The reasons for Croft’s departure from Melbourne have remained unclear, with all parties denying rumours he fell out-of-favour with influential Storm skipper Cameron Smith.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Melbourne football boss Frank Ponissi said Croft played under the pressure of replacing the mercurial Cronk and denied there was a personality clash in the ruthless Storm system.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.
“It wasn’t easy to agree to the release. We gave a lot of thought and consideration to it.
“We said ‘this bloke could come back and bite us on the arse’. We certainly said that.
“There was enormous pressure on him to replace Cooper and the way we play has a lot of pressure on the halfback.
“Anyone that was going to follow Cooper Cronk was going to have a big pair of shoes to fill. That was a fair bit of pressure on him at a young age.
“Coops left a year before we all thought he was going to leave. We thought 2019 would be when Crofty took over rather than 2018, but he got us to a grand final (2018) and played halfback. The bloke can play.
“People forget he was dropped twice in 2018, which is big for your halfback, but had the character to come back and be our halfback for the finals series and play in a grand final.
“That tells you something about his character and why we’re alert. He is a competitive and determined little bugger.
“We had to make a decision between Crofty and Jahrome Hughes and they were nose-and-nose together. It wasn’t about us being unhappy with him.”
Earlier this year, Croft said he didn’t have a beef with Smith and left Melbourne for more opportunity at the Broncos.
“I don’t know what all those rumours have come from,” Croft said.
“I had a great relationship with all the boys there and that was the hardest thing about leaving Melbourne — was the mateships I made down there for four years.
“I moved away from my family to go down there.
“I created some tight bonds so I found it really hard to leave. When I reflect on my time at Melbourne, it was a rollercoaster I guess you could say, but it developed me as a player and person.
“Having Craig Bellamy as a coach, I learnt so much, so I wouldn’t change anything.”
The Storm have so far been vindicated in their decision to release Croft.
After an impressive start to the season, Croft has been heavily criticised for his performances during Brisbane‘s seven losses from eight games.
He was in tears after a shock loss to the New Zealand Warriors and has been moved to five-eighth tonight to accommodate the elevation of young gun Tom Dearden at halfback.
Despite Croft’s struggles, the Storm are adamant he can bounce back in his 50th NRL appearance.
MORE NRL NEWS
SBW heading home as path clears to join Roosters
Why Broncos have broken up the spine
“Halfback is a position where if the rest of your team isn’t going well, especially your forward pack, it puts a lot of pressure on you,“ Ponissi said.
“We have no doubt he’ll be up for us tomorrow night and we expect him to play well.
“He is really well-liked and respected by us. It’s been difficult to see the criticism of him.
“He hasn’t been playing to his best ability, but the comments about him not being NRL standard are well off the mark. Even Cooper Cronk came out and supported him.
“He is just out of form but only one good game away from getting back into form. We just hope that’s next week.”