Roosters skipper Jake Friend prepares to play without Mitchell Pearce for the first time
JUST as Cameron Smith will have to adapt to life without Cooper Cronk, Roosters rake Jake Friend will need to learn to play without Mitchell Pearce.
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COOPER Cronk starts a new chapter without Cameron Smith on Saturday night.
Without the superstar No. 9 he received the ball from over 14 glorious seasons in 355 games for the Melbourne Storm, Queensland Origin and the Kangaroos.
But Jake Friend is quick to remind you he is about to continue his own career without good friend and former teammate, Mitchell Pearce.
While plenty of spotlight has been on Cronk coping without the golden service from future immortal Smith, Friend has made his own adjustments without Pearce, the No. 7 suddenly squeezed out of the club by Cronk.
Together they spent a decade as teammates and played 177 games, a forged a bond on and off the field that will take time to replicate.
“It hurt the way ‘Pearcey’ left the club, and all that speculation in the off-season,’’ Friend told The Daily Telegraph, as he prepares for life post-Pearce against the Wests Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
“You get that understanding with a player, you know when he wants the ball, even when you have blokes screaming for the ball on both sides, there’s that bond there, and when he wanted it you gave it to him.
“He’s landed on his feet, we’ve got Cooper and it’s about learning from Cooper and trying to get better myself.
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“They’re different halves with different styles.
“There will be a bit of a different structure this year.
“Junior would play his own game, while Cooper is very structured and good at pushing blokes into the right spots.
“Coops is very good at the chat and pretty direct in the way he wants the ball and what plays. It’s probably why he’s been so successful because he’s very clear on what he wants and how he wants it.
“It’s my job to dish that up to him. I’m looking forward to seeing how we go.’’
Friend joked Cronk was yet to call him ‘Cam’ out of habit on the training field, and while all good combinations improved with time, they had done enough work at the start of this year to ensure they will ‘’hit the ground running’’.
The 28-year-old Chooks co-captain has the dream job of also having Luke Keary and another brilliant off-season recruit, James Tedesco, completing the new-look spine.
“He’s sort of been the forgotten buy because everyone talks about Cooper,’’ Friend said.
“He’s been really good and excited to come up against his old team. He’s like the rest of us and wants to get out and lay footy.
“His footwork is pretty special. The one thing everyone sees is Teddy’s attack, but he’s been really good for us in defence, he’ll bark orders and gets guys into the right position.’’