Cronk slips into routine at Roosters

RUGBY LEAGUE: The similarities are scary according to star Sydney Roosters signing Cooper Cronk, who admits to being taken aback by the ease of his transition from Melbourne to the harbour city.

Cronk’s move to the Roosters is one of the major storylines ahead of the NRL season after opting to continue his career elsewhere instead of retiring following 14 years at the Storm.

And ahead of next week’s season-opener against the Wests Tigers, Cronk likened his new club to a Storm franchise that have won two of the past six premierships.

“I’ve had that question a lot and the one thing that I keep coming back to is that there’s not a lot (of difference). The similarities are quite scary actually,” Cronk said yesterday.

“In terms of the professional performance staff, they’re really good at their job.

“The coaching staff put a lot of time into the players. And then the playing group works tremendously hard to be the best they possibly can be.”

The 34-year-old Cronk was also quick to point out the recent success of both clubs, who have missed just one finals series between them in the past five years.

The only season Cronk failed to appear in the post-season was when Melbourne were infamously barred from earning premiership points due to the salary cap scandal in 2010.

“There’s a reason why Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters have been in the top bunch consistently for a period of time,” Cronk said.

“(It’s) because of their work ethic and their ability to execute and analyse the things they haven’t done well, but maintain the things they have done well.”

The former Kangaroos and Queensland State of Origin halfback initially feared more of a teething period following his move from Melbourne.

“Honestly I thought I would’ve faced a few more challenges,” he said. “But as I stand here today, the transition’s been absolutely seamless.”