Keary applauds Cronk’s mental toughness
Luke Keary has given Sydney Roosters premiership playmaking partner Cooper Cronk the ultimate backhanded compliment.
‘‘He’s not the most skillful bloke I’ve ever played with; he’s not technically good,’’ Keary said of his Sydney Roosters No 7. ‘‘Skills wise, Mitchell Pearce is one of the best players I’ve ever played and trained with, but Cooper is properly mentally tough. He’s a very driven bloke who knows what he wants and knows how to get it, and just goes and does it.
‘‘Now I’ve got to know him I appreciate his career so much more. People who know him will know what I’m talking about. When he’s done, he should be up there with the best halfbacks who have played the game.’’
As the premiers prepare to fly out for the World Club Challenge next weekend, Keary spoke to The Sun-Herald about his first season with the brave halfback, how they can improve their combination as they defend their title and if proud Queenslander Cronk can help proud adopted Blue Keary land his first NSW jersey.
Keary won the Clive Churchill Medal and made his Kangaroos debut against New Zealand last year and will put pressure on James Maloney for the NSW No 6 jersey this season.
‘‘There are a lot of things Cooper and I can improve on, and it took me a while to understand his game,’’ Keary said.
‘‘Looking from the outside in, it’s not what you think. I need to take more responsibility in different parts of the game and take a bit of pressure off him.
‘‘Even the kicking game, I can take some pressure off there. It’s not so much about me and him, but the players around us will get to know how he plays and how I play with him. Another year with ‘Teddy’ [James Tedesco] and Jake [Friend] will help.
‘‘We’ll need to improve again – our attack still wasn’t where we wanted it to be – but we’ve got some areas we’ve identified we’ll work on the next month. Defensively, to finish No 1 [in the competition] was great. But we’ve spoken about a few areas we didn’t finish No 1, and we’ll try to finish No 1 in.’’
A strong start by the Roosters will only help Keary’s Origin cause, but he said he only had to look to his halves partner to realise it can often be a waiting game.
‘‘I’ve said it for a couple of years now, I want to play a few good years of football, then I’ll get my chance,’’ he said. ‘‘Cooper went through four, five, six years of first grade before he got his shot, and then he got his shot off the bench.
‘‘Jimmy [Maloney] did a good job last year, so did ‘Nath’ [Nathan Cleary] and they deserve another crack because of the job they did in 2018.
‘‘There is a good group at the Blues. Freddy [Fittler] has brought in the likes of myself, Ryan James and Nick Cotric, and it feels like a team. It doesn’t feel like a selection process. If a name is called out, you’re ready to go. It’s not like you’re an outsider hoping you’ll get a go.’’
A big question at the Roosters will be if Cronk plays on. Now 35, Cronk is only signed until the end of the year and Shaun Johnson revealed before Christmas he had been in talks about replacing him at Bondi in 2020.
Keary said if Cronk did reach a decision, he would announce it after his last game, rather than make it a drawn-out farewell.
Keary, 27, said he was pumped to watch the rise and rise of Latrell Mitchell.
‘‘We’ve had conversations, he knows he’s got a lot of improvement left, but I can’t wait to watch him the next 10 years,’’ Keary said. ‘‘As a fan of the game, I just want to give him the ball and watch.’’
The Roosters will fly to France next week and visit the Anzac memorials in Somme before continuing to England for the World Club Challenge against Wigan.