Melbourne Storm veteran Cooper Cronk opens up about contracts, Origin change, club bond
COOPER Cronk is moving towards an NRL season with contract talks and his Storm side incomplete – and a big change ahead with his Origin team.
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COOPER Cronk is moving towards an NRL season with his contract negotiations and his Melbourne Storm team incomplete.
And there’s also a big change ahead with his Origin team.
Here he talks with Paul Malone.
It is early February in Queensland, not too early for a state’s mind to turn to Origin. What’s the role of the senior Queensland players in the transition from Mal Meninga to Kevin Walters?
A fair bit, I think. Kevin is a different man to Mal and has every right to put his own fingerprints on the team. The one thing that’s been consistent for a number of years is the senior players get involved. There are a few guys there who know how to win football games. Mal was very good at incorporating the players in his planning of the week and of the game plan. I’m pretty sure Kevin will do similarly.
Were the blanket 12-month bans on the eight players from the Emerging Origin camp for breaking curfew correct?
They know they did the wrong thing. The rules are in place for a reason and if you break rules there are consequences. The one thing that needs to be held in the highest regard in the Queensland Origin team is respect. The players who came before us, Arthur Beetson, Mal Meninga, Allan Langer, all these guys laid the platform for us to play with respect to the past, the people who wore the jersey, while playing in the present. I stand by what Cameron (Smith) and Kevin have said, you can gain trust in a team and lose trust. They will get their chance to justify the faith put in them when they were chosen in the Emerging squad in the first place.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said this week he hoped you will decide in the next two weeks to re-sign with the Storm. By Origin time you will surely know whether 2016 will be your last Origin series and whether you will be in England in 2017?
No, that’s not set in concrete at all. I have no timeline on a decision. I’m in negotiation with Melbourne and it’s in its very early stages
You have played 16 Origin matches. The 20-game mark has become important for Queenslanders as it make them a recipient of the Dick Turner Medal. You can’t reach that in one series.
It is held in very high regard, that medal. (But) I’m not really one to strive for recognition. The fact I get to fulfil a boyhood dream by playing for Queensland is enough for me to do my absolute best for the players and the people of Queensland. Whatever number comes up for me, comes.
How do explain the record 52-6 win over NSW in Game Three last year?
I’m not really sure. A lot of it is in the build-up. NSW played extremely well in Game Two and had some momentum and a belief they could win at Suncorp Stadium. They had every right to think that and it was our job to knock that belief out of them. The most pleasing thing about the result is we have questioned that belief (of NSW) heading into this year.
The QRL eventually promoted Walters from within, after first wanting to make Paul Green coach. How much does it help you that Kevin is someone you’ve worked with (as assistant at the Storm), rather than someone fresh to the team?
It’s easier knowing them and understanding their thinking on football. If it was someone I hadn’t worded with, I think it would still be the same theory, there’s a coach and a playing group who want to be successful, the coach brings his theories, the players bring their styles and theories on what works at Origin level. There are no egos there. We are all judged by what happens.
You have played 275 NRL games, so you and Billy Slater (277) can both go past 300 NRL appearance this year. Cam Smith has 309, that would be some achievement for the three of you.
It’s quite special. I feel a little uncomfortable talking about it, it puts me in a strange sensation because I’m not there yet. The respect Cameron received for his 300th game is something the club was proud and should be proud of. If it happens once or two more, it would momentous.
You played 61 Queensland Cup games for Brisbane Norths and did not have a saloon passage to the NRL. You were an apprentice plumber for two years. How much does that experience round players off in terms of their worldliness?
I’m not sure what the blueprint is for longevity of a successful NRL career. The one thing I’ve been grateful for is the environment I landed at in the Brisbane Norths system under the Storm banner. We learnt what’s right and wrong, both for on and off-field behaviour and performance. We have plenty of years and success, hopefully we can set up the next generation to take the baton and run.
You’ve got a medium-sized plumbing job that needs doing in your house. Do you do it yourself?
I definitely call someone in. I don’t get my capabilities and ambitions mixed up. I enjoyed my time plumbing but I’m the worst plumber to call on.
It does not sound like you are going back to plumbing in retirement. What will you be doing: coaching, media commentary or something else?
It is more likely to be all three of those. Football has given me a life to be proud of and appreciate. I’ll want to stay involved in some way. There is an opportunity to see what’s possible. The next couple of years are important because I have to work through what I want to do.
You once told me that from your first year with Brisbane Norths you could see “NRL player’’ stamped all over a teenage Cameron Smith. What did you see?
He had been around rugby league 24/7 virtually since he was six. The desire to fulfil his dream was quite obvious. Every time he steps out, it’s about winning games and improving himself. That ability to want to be successful which inspires others, you could see it in his body language even at 18 and 19.
Cameron is well known for getting to the team bus at 12.15 when he’s told to be at the team bus at 12.15, not 12.14 or 12.16. What time do you get there?
I’m probably there at 12.10. He’s aware he can’t be late because he’s the captain of his team. He’ll push it to the last moment he can, but he’s not late.
One of the Storm’s most visible supporters is Molly Meldrum. Have you been invited to any of his famous parties?
I think everyone from the Melbourne Storm has been involved to a few Molly parties. He’s been a fantastic supporter of this football club and gets nervous as anyone in the grandstands. Big game or small game, he’s always been there. We appreciate him as a person and a supporter. He’s had a bit of a tough time in the past couple of years and it’s good that we’ve been hopefully able to help him a little in his recuperation.
You will not have had a lot of football for the Storm, if any, before the premiership starts after your hip surgery?
I’ve hit the ground running with no complications. For me to come back a month before Christmas, it’s the first time Cameron, myself and Billy haven been able to do that for a number of years. There is a trial against the Bulldogs at Belmore before the premiership starts. I know I’m fit enough and had enough contact work regardless.
CRASH AND COLMAN: Join Crash Craddock and Mike Colman for a look at the hits and misses of a big weekend in sport.
Originally published as Melbourne Storm veteran Cooper Cronk opens up about contracts, Origin change, club bond
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