Roosters want Cronk to play tutor to Pearce
ROOSTERS chairman Nick Politis and coach Trent Robinson will meet early next week to devise their plan to sign Cooper Cronk, who they believe can turn Mitchell Pearce into the best halfback in the game.
The feeding frenzy among Sydney clubs is well and truly on and the Roosters are the favourites to land the Australian and Queensland halfback after he instructed his manager, George Mimis, on Friday to ‘‘explore options’’.
Contrary to popular belief, a deal has not yet been hatched, but serious negotiations will ramp up when Politis returns from overseas and meets with his coach.
At the heart of that discussion will be how Robinson can fit four key players into his side: Cronk, Pearce, five-eighth Luke Keary and co-captain and hooker Jake Friend.
Apart from bringing the same lift in professionalism Sonny Bill Williams delivered in 2013 when the Roosters last won the premiership, Cronk could also take Pearce’s game to the next level.
That’s how the Roosters are sure to sell it to Pearce, who may not stomach being pushed onto the bench or used at dummy half.
He is already being circled by several clubs – especially Cronulla – but the Roosters want him to stay and learn from Cronk, his nemesis in State of Origin for the last decade.
Pearce signed a two-year contract extension earlier this year, making him among the highest paid players at the club, and it remains to be seen if he is content with relinquishing his No.7 jumper to Cronk.
The club believes Pearce owes them because they’ve stuck solid during his 10-year career whenever he has erred off the field, including last year’s Australian Day episode when he was suspended for eight matches and fined $125,000. Politis elected to keep Pearce instead of sacking him.
Having turned his life around after a stint in rehab and The Sun-Herald GETTY IMAGES discovering the power of Buddhism, Pearce this year formed a successful combination with Keary, but the criticism about his inability to close out the big games under pressure lingers.
Cronk is expected to play for another two years and after that Pearce, who is now 28, could finish his career at the place where it all started having learnt from one of the best.
The Roosters are adamant they do not need to move Pearce to another club to fit Cronk into their salary cap.
Jayden Nikorima, who is reportedly on $A370,000, has been linked to a return to Brisbane.
Curiously, the Roosters argue they won’t have to move any players because of the high turnover in their squad in the past three years, including the departures of senior players such as Williams, James Maloney, Michael Jennings, Roger TuivasaSheck, Aidan Guerra and Shaun Kenny-Dowall.