NRL grand final: Cooper Cronk says he’s a long shot to play

The Roosters halfback is racing the clock to be fit to take on his former club after suffering “severe” damage to his rotator cuff.

Cooper Cronk arrives home yesterday with his left arm in a sling Picture: Luke Drew

Sydney Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk admits he is a “long shot” to play in Sunday’s NRL grand final against Melbourne due to a shoulder injury. Cronk is racing the clock to be fit to take on his former club after suffering “severe” damage to his rotator cuff in the Roosters’ preliminary final win over South Sydney.

The 34-year-old fronted media with a sling on Monday but has vowed to do everything he can to make himself available for the match.

“I could move it, the best thing is just to immobilise it so I can get some recovery done, try and strengthen it up so the muscles don’t get worked over too much,” Cronk said.

“The whole idea for the sling is to keep it in place, so it’s protected, and do everything I can.” Cronk was unwilling to divulge the extent of his injury but was unsure about what his realistic chances were of taking the field.

“I’m a long shot. That’s not lying,” he said.

Should he complete a miraculous recovery, the Roosters playmaker is certain to need a painkilling injection and is adamant he could play through the pain. Having suffered the injury in the first half against the the Rabbitohs, Cronk bravely fought through the second half despite being unable to kick or run the ball.

“Pain is what it is, you make it out to be as much as you want it to be. I’ll deal with it,” he said.

“It’s a step process. (I need to be) passing, kicking, tackling, just being able to functionally move it.

“The pain, I’m not superhuman, but the pain I’ll be able to deal with. “It’s just whether I can functionally move it.” While he conceded it would be ideal to make an early call on his status in order to give his replacement time to mentally prepare, he has given himself until kick-off to decide.

Utility Ryan Matterson and back-up halfback Sean O’Sullivan are options to take his place.

“There’s no doubt that whoever does play, needs the repetitions. But I think considering the magnitude of the game, I might be given up to kick-off,” he said.

“Eighty per cent’s a decent number. I’d go out there at 50 per cent. I’d go out there at 30 per cent.

“The whole idea about this game is we’re in an opportunity to play in a grand final.”

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Even Bellamy wants Cronk fit

The last thing Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy wants is for Cooper Cronk to miss the grand final. As much as it would help his side’s cause, Bellamy hopes Cronk beats the odds to play on Sunday night at ANZ Stadium.

“I wouldn’t like to see him miss it — I would hate to see him miss it,” Bellamy said.

“I will probably give him a ring at some stage. You don’t like seeing anyone hurt and missing a grand final, especially him.

“You’re talking about one of the best halfbacks in the last 20 or 30 years. Coops is a different player to most of those (other halves) but just as effective.

“He is one of the best I have seen at getting a team around a park and making the right decisions at the right time.”

Surprisingly to some, Bellamy also lauds Cronk’s toughness. He saw it up close and personal for more than a decade as Cronk pulled the strings at the Storm, their partnership only coming to an end in the off-season when Cronk packed up and moved to Sydney to be with his now-wife Tara and join the Roosters.

As fate would have it, they have ended up on opposing sides in the grand final, albeit with Cronk racing the clock to prove his fitness. The Roosters No 7 finished the preliminary final win over South Sydney with his left arm hanging limply by his side.

The Roosters yesterday confirmed he had suffered severe damage to his rotator cuff but said he would be given until game day to prove his fitness. Roosters coach Trent Robinson has options.

The N R L finals

He could slot Sean O’Sullivan straight in at halfback or he could shuffle his side, moving five-eighth Luke Keary into the No 7 jersey and playing the likes of Ryan Matterson at five-eighth.

Bellamy hopes it doesn’t come to that. “It didn’t surprise me last night when they said they can’t believe he played the second half with his arm dangling,” he said.

“He is tough, mate. Someone made the point to me this morning, he played a couple of games (at Melbourne) when he had rib cartilage damage.

“He couldn’t change, he was battling to walk. For two or there weeks he had needles and went out and played. As I said, he is tough. There is nothing soft about Cooper Cronk.”

Bellamy acknowledged that if Cronk did take his place, it would be a strange feeling. No doubt, the feeling would be shared by everyone in a Storm jersey.

Cronk maintains a strong affinity with many at the club, although his relationship with Melbourne captain Cameron Smith was a talking point earlier in the year amid claims the pair had fallen out.

Both insist there are no lingering issues, although their appearance in a grand final on opposing sides was destined to be a major talking point this week. Instead, the debate surrounds the appearance of Storm fullback Billy Slater at the judiciary and the fitness concerns around Cronk.

“Scans have revealed that Cronk sustained a severe left ­rotator cuff injury,” the Roosters said in a statement.

“Rehabilitation on the injury has commenced and he will be given until kick-off to prove his ­fitness.”

The suspicion is that he is fighting an uphill battle, the likes of which cost Cronulla captain Paul Gallen the chance to play against the Storm last weekend.

Bellamy was confident Gallen would get to the line but he fell short. He hopes Cronk has better fortunes, insisting there is no ill-will over his former halfback’s decision to move to the Roosters.

“He has only played against us once and it seemed strange,” Bellamy said.

“But here is no ill feeling at all. He made a decision on what was right for him and I understand that decision 100 per cent.”

Bellamy can still recall the day last year when Cronk informed him he would be exercising an option in his contract, the pair meeting at a coffee shop in Richmond.

Less clear is the day he told him he would be joining the Roosters, although Bellamy concedes he had told Cronk that he should be wary about retiring at the earlier meeting.

“He wanted to have a chat to me about something,” Bellamy said.

“I remember saying to him at the time you are a long time ­retired.”

Those words may yet come back to haunt the Storm on Sunday night as Cronk fights a fitness battle that will determine whether he plays in yet another grand final.