CRUNCH TIME COMES FOR CRONK AND ROOSTERS
IT ISN’T September, it’s not a final and it’s definitely not sudden-death, but games like this one are precisely why Cooper Cronk is the Roosters’ halfback in 2018 and not Mitchell Pearce.
There’ll be plenty of casual NRL observers at the Adelaide Oval tonight who’ll be wondering how it is that Pearce, the hero in the Roosters’ win over the Storm last season, isn’t taking the field in the No.7 jersey for this return encounter.
The short story – though the Roosters never really said it as bluntly as this – is centred on a theory that when it came to the crunch, Pearce had come up short too many times in too many big games.
Though Pearce had played a steady role in the Roosters’ 2013 premiership season, too many opportunities had slipped away in recent campaigns for the relationship to continue.
Now, if you’re looking for somebody to ice a win, Cooper Cronk has helped Melbourne, Queensland and Australia do it so often it’s a wonder his nickname isn’t Mr Freeze.
That he was off-contract at the Storm at the end of last season, and looking to move to Sydney at a time when the Roosters were looking for a halfback with a winning pedigree in big games, well, let’s just say it was a match made in heaven.
This marriage of aspirational club and nerve-free finisher hasn’t been without it’s hiccups
and despite an impressive win against Penrith in their last outing, the Roosters will want to prove their premiership credentials in a confrontation that pits them against the defending champs.
Cronk’s combinations with the stars in the Roosters’ backline have been a work in progress.
If the timing of those combinations is right against Melbourne, the Sydneysiders can win. If the timing is poor, the Roosters’ record of three wins and four losses against other teams in the top eight will continue to be a talking point between now and the finals.
It’s a big game for both clubs, and that’s before you even begin talking about Cooper Cronk facing his old club for the first time.