Melbourne legend Cooper Cronk is yet to decide on his future ahead of NRL grand final
COOPER Cronk is torn over the prospect of playing against Melbourne and will not make a decision on his future until after Sunday’s NRL grand final.
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STORM halfback Cooper Cronk is torn over the prospect of playing against Melbourne and will not make a decision on his future until after Sunday’s NRL grand final.
Cronk will play his final game for the Storm in the premiership decider against North Queensland at ANZ Stadium after deciding to leave Melbourne following 14 seasons to live with his partner in Sydney.
The 33-year-old is yet to commit to retiring or playing for a Sydney club in 2018, but the stage is set for a fairytale departure from Melbourne.
Cronk, a veteran of 322 NRL games, said he was undecided about his future.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” he said.
“I will be doing everything I can for this footy team to have a memorable 2017 and once it is done and dusted, I will be a bit emotional about it at all.
“Hopefully between now and the World Cup there will be a decision made.
“I haven’t had that light bulb moment. There’s been occasions walking through the hallways and the locker room thinking is this the last time I do it? But I have been cold hearted and non-emotional about it.
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“Whenever I do it, I slap myself over the back of the head and say, ‘what’s my job, what’s my role, how can I get better?’ No matter the result next week, I will fall in a heap, but my focus is how can I improve each of my teammates and myself.”
Regardless of what Cronk decides to do, the era of Melbourne’s “big three” will come to an end.
Fullback Billy Slater also remains uncommitted to playing on in 2018 but captain Cameron Smith will remain at the Storm for at least one more season.
While Cronk’s looming departure has been a motivating factor for the Storm, Smith said Melbourne had to be careful about how they used the emotion.
“It’s an opportunity for everyone to go out and play well and win a premiership,” Smith said.
“At the same time we know it’s Cooper’s very last game in the Melbourne Storm jersey.
“There is no doubt we’d all love for him to finish as a winner on top at this club no matter what he does next year.
“Speaking from experience, emotion is good in sport if you manage it well. If you get a little bit too emotional about things you tend to forget about what you need to do in those 80 minutes.
“We need to manage that and I think we will manage it well.”
Cronk refused to be chaired off the field after last Friday’s preliminary final win against Brisbane, his last game in a Storm jersey at AAMI Park.
“When you play in a grand final it’s not so much about playing for an individual,” Slater said.
“Everyone has worked really hard to get to this point. We need to consolidate on that and make all that hard work worthwhile.”
Originally published as Melbourne legend Cooper Cronk is yet to decide on his future ahead of NRL grand final
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