Cordner buoyed by Roos honour
Mal says Rooster is next skipper
RUGBY LEAGUE: Just 12 months ago Boyd Cordner was not even the captain of his club side. But in Fiji today he will lead out the Australian side for the first time after replacing Cameron Smith as skipper.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has endorsed Cordner as Australia’s next long-term skipper after Smith was rested from the three-way hit-out against PNG and Fiji in a World Cup warm-up fixture in Suva.
While it is not a Test match, Meninga has declared Cordner as Australia’s captain-in-waiting.
“I see him as the next Kangaroos captain,” Meninga said.
“He has bought into the way the Kangaroos want to play. He is a player that will get picked every time the Kangaroos play.
“Greg Inglis isn’t here but I see those two guys fighting it out for the next spot to lead the Kangaroos once Cameron makes that decision.
“It is a great honour. He will do a terrific job. He is great a communicator. He is an ideal candidate to take over from Cameron.”
At just 25, Cordner is no stranger to being thrust into pressure situations at a young age after leading NSW for the first time this year.
While he may have to bide his time to become an official Kangaroos skipper – given Smith’s reluctance to miss Test matches – Cordner does want to skipper his country.
He has been appointed vice-captain of the Kangaroos for the World Cup.
“I don’t want to go off and say it but it’s a goal but it’s a long way down the track,” Cordner said.
“It’s a massive honour (to be given the vice-captaincy).
“Although there are a lot of people in this team that it could have well and truly gone to, just to see my name when it was read out and had the vice-captaincy next to it was a big honour.
“Coming into this camp, if you have a look around there is obviously Cam Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk who have played about 30 Tests each.
“Looking down the list I’m probably one of the most capped now. I’ve played 11 Tests going into a World Cup.
“It was a massive surprise for me to find out when I read the team.”
Cordner helped resurrect the Roosters into a genuine premiership threat while balancing the pressurecooker of Origin captaincy for the first time.
The Origin series presented a massive “learning curve” for Cordner, who said he was surprised by the emotional toll leading his state took out on him.
“I couldn’t have dreamt of being a captain of my state. It meant the world to me,” Cordner said.
“We had a great series although the last game wasn’t the best.
“It was disappointing with how we finished game two.
“We had it in our grasp and a few minutes from everything being so different.
“From that I learnt the most about myself, not only about myself but as a leader. I took a lot out of that.
“If you win it makes things a lot easier. It’s because it’s so big, you don’t realise how big it is.”
Cordner’s first series as captain was not without its drama. A last-ditched Maroons victory in game two left him heartbroken but the fallout from the game three capitulation proved more problematic.
Coach Laurie Daley was sacked and an alleged boozy culture was at play under Cordner’s watch.
“When you have more of a role there being a captain you cop a lot more of the brunt,” Cordner said.
“I’m happy to have that and to cop that.
“After game one when you’re winning it’s smooth sailing but it’s a big test when you lose and things are different.
“You have to be more resilient and trying to keep going and cop all of it.
“I thought I did the best that I could throughout Origin. I thought I did an okay job, but there are some stuff there that I would like to work and build on.
“The responsibility you have, there is a lot of weight on your shoulders. Origin is a pretty big beast.”