NRL 2020: David Fifita would regret not signing with Gold Coast Titans
Cooper Cronk has outlined the potential risks David Fifita faces if he signs a one-year extension with Brisbane, revealing why joining the Titans is a no-brainer.
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The 372-game veteran had some sage advice for Brisbane’s David Fifita, who is in the middle of a contract stoush between the Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans.
The Broncos have told Fifita the most they can offer him is a deal worth around $700,000 a season. But the Titans, who are desperate to land a marquee talent, have blown the Broncos out of the water with a one year deal believed to be around $1.25 million dollars – the richest contract in rugby league history.
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Cronk believes Fifita should not only seriously consider the offer but secure his future over the long-term.
“If I’m David Fifita at the age that he is I’m not signing for one year. David Fifita is at the peak of his powers but if he signs for one year and something happens because he doesn’t reach those levels or an injury comes into play … you need to (do) what’s best for you. I’d sign for a longer term,” Cronk said.
It’s a signing that Cronk believes could turn the Titans into a ‘destination club’ in the same way Kalyn Ponga’s signature at the Newcastle Knights made the club more attractive to other elite players.
“It’s a dog eat dog world out there, you have to go after everything if you think that’s going to be the thing that takes you from the bottom of the ladder up to the top. If you look at what Nathan Brown did with Kalyn Ponga, everyone said they paid overs for Ponga but they have been paid handsomely in return for his investment. He’s now a player that attracts the likes of Tyson Frizell, David Klemmer. I think Fifita can do that for the Titans,” Cronk said.
SAVE THE SCRUM
NRL great Cooper Cronk has a message for Peter V’landys: Don’t scrap the scrum, fix it so that rugby league’s entertainers get a chance to shine.
Forty-one per cent of 3300 fans in a Daily Telegraph poll have called for the much derided play to be scrapped all together.
Another 39 per cent want teams to be penalised for breaking the rules, while 20 per cent want referees to feed scrums.
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Speaking in Cooper’s View with Hannah Hollis for Fox League, Cronk warned getting rid of the scrum would take away the chance for some of the game’s most exciting and daring players to have an attacking impact on the field.
“For me, the scrum needs to stay because it gives our best attacking players, Kalyn Ponga, Clint Gutherson, Michael Jennings, Luke Keary and Cameron Munster … all these guys get a chance to attack four, five, six defenders, where normally it’s 12 in defensive line.
“Let’s fix it up, let’s make them pack properly and let’s take the differential penalty out,” Cronk said.
The statistics also back-up Cronk’s take on the scrum. The Daily Telegraph can reveal 14 tries have been scored from tries in 2020 compared to only nine last year. Linbreaks from scrums are also up from nine in 2019 to 16 in 2020.
But Cronk doesn’t just want to save the scrum, the former playmaker has advocated for repeated scrum infringements to be punished with 10 minutes in the bin.
“The issue I have with the scrum at the moment is they give away a differential penalty, which means as someone in the scrum you can break early or as someone defending the line you can leave early and there is no real issue with it unless you’re coming off the opposition tryline.
“Give it a full blown penalty or give the option to the attacking team to call another scrum and if someone breaks again, send them to the sin bin,” he said.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman V’lanyds said the state of the scrum in the modern game was a ‘joke’ and revealed the possibility of having a referee feed the scrum is being considered.
“Well let’s not argue with Peter V’landys, the man with the magic wand, everything he touches turns to gold. I think it’s an area in the game that needs to be addressed but I wouldn’t scrap it all. I’d fix it up,” Cronk said.
The debate resurfaced over the weekend after a diabolical attempt from Gold Coast Titans and New Zealand Warriors players to bind in a scrum last Friday night.
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A GRAND OCCASION
Cronk called time on his illustrious career after helping the Sydney Roosters to back-to-back premierships with a 14-8 victory over the Canberra Raiders in the 2019 grand final.
The two-sides met again for the first time since the controversial encounter on Thursday night and like in October, Cronk is expecting another ‘dogfight’.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart lashed out at suggestions his side was no longer a title threat without hooker Josh Hodgson, who suffered a season ending ACL injury against Melbourne on the weekend.
While Cronk was unwilling to completely write the Raiders off with Hodgson, the former champion halfback believes their chances in 2020 have significantly diminished.
“I’m probably one of the critics Ricky is referring to in not knowing what I’m talking about because Josh Hodgson’s injury really cruels the chances of the Raiders,” Cronk said.