End of the line for Storm’s ‘Big Three’

PHOTO day was a busy one at Melbourne Storm headquarters on Monday. Every player in the squad, in full playing kit out, was wheeled in and told where to stand for the grand final team shot plenty of them would rather have avoided.

The entire group was snapped, before those not in the 20-man match squad were ushered away. Then it was whittled to the travelling 20, and finally only the 17 in the team for tomorrow’s decider were allowed to stay.

“And soon enough all that they’ll want will be the Big Three,” Storm centre Will Chambers said to the chortles of his teammates as they wandered away, all nodding.

So much at Melbourne is about the “Big Three”, a term invented because it was easier than reeling off Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk by name, which anyone talking about Storm has had to do time and again since the terrific trio began an epic playing period together more than a decade ago.

Say it yourself — one takes half a second, the other about two. It is, like Storm, more efficient. But for so long the three superstars hated it, no one more than the self-effacing Cronk, and when speaking publicly other Storm players, and coach Craig Bellamy, just wouldn’t go there. A culture of success based on everyone doing their job every minute of every game couldn’t be about just three players.

But when the awesome threesome became the playing spine for Queensland and Australia too, well, the “Big Three” term stuck. Now it’s part of the rugby league furniture.

From next year however, it will be a term used only in reflection, with Cronk leaving Storm, and most likely the NRL. Such is Cronk’s standing his decision to move to Sydney has created an outpouring of praise to underline how much he has meant to so many at Melbourne.

Through his 14 seasons, 322 games, 92 tries, two Dally M Medal wins and countless cups of peppermint tea with teammates, the 33-year-old has left an indelible mark upon Melbourne regardless of the grand final result.

“He’s going to leave a legend of this football club irrespective of what happens on Sunday,” long-serving Storm football manager Frank Ponissi said of Cronk.