Imbibing lessons of ice-cold Cooper
LUKE Keary has credited Cooper Cronk with helping develop an “ice cold” approach to his football.
Nine months ago the Sydney Roosters five-eighth lacked that steely resolve but he said Cronk’s arrival at Bondi helped narrow his focus.
It was evident in the leadup to the grand final, where he boldly declared he “did not give a s***” if Cronk played. That mentality helped Keary lead the Roosters to a 21-6 win over Melbourne and win the Clive Churchill Medal.
He wants to use that same approach in his Test debut tomorrow.
“Nine months ago I couldn’t get that job done,” Keary said of his grand final performance. “I learnt a lot off Cooper. He doesn’t let emotions affect him. That’s how he got through the grand final. Whether he feels happy, sad, emotional he knows how to get it done.
“If you asked me what the biggest thing I’ve taken from him that would be it – how to deal with every kind of situation. High pressure, low pressure, people bagging you, people loving you. There is only one way to get through it – that’s turning off everything upstairs.
“It’s a mentality. (Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater) have had it their whole career. They don’t get carried away if they are going bad, good, playing Origin, Tests. They just have this steely focus they will get it done. Whether I feel happy – I am now – but it doesn’t faze me. I know the only thing that matters is what happens after the game on Saturday.
“I don’t think I was in the same mind frame or attitude (before this season). It’s not a knock. It takes time.
“You want to be proud and you want to be thankful (about being selected for Australia) but I have a job to do. It’s not about getting here. It’s about what I do once I get here.”
Keary is yet find the time to watch over his grand final heroics. No one celebrated the Roosters premiership win more than the 26-year-old but that changed when he was called to the Kangaroos squad as a late replacement for Cameron Munster.
He feared the worst when the name of Roosters football manager Lee Bennett flashed on his screen last Sunday.
“I was sitting on the lounge hungover watching the UFC,” Keary said. “When Lee rang me – I had been out the day before – the first thing I said to him was ‘what have I done?’.
“He gave me the news. I was so … hungover. If I knew I was coming here I would’ve pulled up four days earlier.”