Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk says sky is the limit for young gun back-rower Victor Radley
COOPER Cronk has no doubt fellow Rooster Victor Radley can become an Australian Test backrower, saying: “There is no ceiling to what he can achieve”.
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COOPER Cronk has no doubt fellow Rooster Victor Radley can become an Australian Test backrower, saying: “There is no ceiling to what he can achieve”.
Outstanding for the Roosters in his rookie season, 20-year-old Radley suddenly finds himself at the centre of a potential Test tug of war after this week revealing his potential interest in playing for England.
Despite being born and raised in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and already touted as a future NSW Origin mainstay, Radley is eligible to represent England through his father Nigel, a Yorkshireman.
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An NRL spokesman said on Wednesday night that while Radley had represented the 2017 Junior Kangaroos he was not yet locked in to any nation at Test level.
Should the rookie backrower choose to play for England, a tier one nation, however, he would then become ineligible to play State of Origin — which potentially represents a huge blow for the Blues.
Quizzed on Radley’s outstanding debut season this week, Cronk told The Daily Telegraph: “Victor’s a really good kid.
“A guy that brings a lot of energy and personality to the place.
“But he’s also uncompromising and resilient in the way he plays the game.
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“I’d actually put him in the Boyd Cordner mould because he’s so tough, resilient and inspires through action.
“There’s really no ceiling on what he can achieve.”
And as for Radley potentially choosing the Poms over Australia, for whom Cronk has earned 38 Test caps?
“Let’s be honest,” the halfback says. “Vic’s a kid who had just been asked about that for the first time.
“He’s probably never even thought too much about it before but he’s given you an answer — and probably the answer you wanted to hear.
“I think it’s hard for him to make a decision around all that other stuff just yet. A little bit more water needs to go under the bridge.
“And he understands, right now, that his (club) football is the priority.
“So he just needs to focus on his next training session. Then the session after that.
“Because when you have that short-term focus for answering ‘How do I get better?’, those other conversations tend to take care of themselves.”
Asked earlier this week about his Test allegiances, Radley said: “Yeah, I think there’s a part of me would love to play for England.
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“Especially in a World Cup year.
“I’d do anything to play in a World Cup so if I had the opportunity to play for England, I would love that.
“But then again, I love Australia. And I love NSW too.
“In my head, I also want to play for the Blues. But I’m not really sure what the eligibility situation is … I don’t know what the rules are.”
Speaking on Wednesday night, NSWRL CEO David Trodden insisted Radley already knew he was “highly thought of” by the Blues, revealing they had actually wanted to select the backrower for their under-20s side this year.
“And we would’ve had him in there except he was suspended,” Trodden said. “So Victor Radley knows how highly we think of him.
“Obviously, if he were to chose England he would be out of our system. But he’s firmly within our sights, and we’ve made that clear.”
Radley said that his old man would be “stoked” if he agreed to play alongside the likes of English superstars Sam Burgess, Gareth Widdop and James Graham.
However, NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler is also known to be a huge Radley fan, as is eighth Immortal and Blues assistant Andrew Johns.