Cooper Cronk could make his exit NRL against his former club
Cooper Cronk has been preparing for his NRL retirement all year, so even the emotion of having to take down the club he spent 14 seasons with won’t faze the Roosters’ serial winner.
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Sydney Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk has vowed to take all emotion out of what could be an NRL farewell against the franchise where he spent 14 seasons, saying: “It’s all about being cold hearted”.
Arguably rugby league’s greatest ever winner, Cronk admits to having no idea how he will handle playing for his season — and career — against the Melbourne club that was for so long his home.
Asked how he would handle the emotion surrounding Saturday night’s SCG clash, the Roosters No. 7 conceded: “Part of my job is to remove all that thinking this week.
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“But to answer your question, I don’t know. I do know this could be my last game.
“I know it’s my old club, I know there’s so many people I love and respect in the opposition, and I know there’s all this emotion around it.
“But the challenge for me is to remove all that and play. It’s simple. It’s about being cold hearted and doing my role.
“I’ve been in this situation a couple of times and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. So can I handle that emotional connection and go out and play my role? You’re about to find out.”
And as for how Cronk takes the emotion out of such a contest?
“Of course, you feel it,” he says. “But the whole idea is ‘can you put it to one side, into the box it needs to go in, then go out there and execute your role?’.
“Emotion can play a good part, or it can be a negative, so for me I just put it in its place.
“I’m not brushing it off, I’m acknowledging it. But it’s not going to help me run, pass, tackle or kick. And when I've had occasions like this before, I've just taken the emotion out.
“I admire and respect everyone at Melbourne Storm because, let’s be honest, without their input I’m not the person I am today or have the things I do.
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“Not only my footy career either, but future opportunities as well, so I know where I’ve come from and I’ll never forget that. And it’s funny how it's come down to this.
“But you can talk about all the subplots, all the emotion, all the admiration I have for that football club, it all comes down to performance.
“And this weekend, they’re not going to roll over and let me play my best football.