Cordner is captaincy material for Aussies

BOYD Cordner is relishing the Sydney Roosters captaincy, is a short-priced favourite to be NSW skipper, and is now a strong chance to succeed Cameron Smith as leader of the Kangaroos.

A natural leader, Cordner continues to make his mark on and off the field at just 24 years of age.

Smith is preparing to play his 50th Test on Friday night in Canberra and while he will play for Melbourne in 2018, is yet to decide if he will follow Johnathan Thurston into retirement from representative football after the World Cup at season’s end.

With Cooper Cronk unsure if he will even play next year, it is understood Cordner, Greg Inglis, 30, and Darius Boyd, 29, are looming as Mal Meninga’s leading captaincy candidates.

It has been 12 years and 51 Tests since a New South Welshman, Danny Buderus, led the Australian team, and Cordner would not disappoint.

Cordner is thriving with the captaincy at the Roosters – a role he shares with Jake Friend – and said he was happy to spend another week admiring Smith’s leadership qualities.

“The main thing I’ve taken from Cameron is how calm he is, whether it’s a high-pressured moment in a game, or at training or in meetings, he’s really calm and that is what makes him such a good leader,’’ Cordner said.

“As a kid I had a lot of growing up to do quite early. It’s well documented I lost my mum and I grew up with my older brother and my dad, and had to move to Sydney when I was 16 to play footy.

“It (leadership) is something that comes naturally. I don’t choose to be a leader, it just happens.

“And with the captaincy now, if you had asked me a couple of years ago, I probably wasn’t ready, but at this stage of my life and career I think it’s the right time.

“Talk of the NSW captaincy, I’ve said before there are a lot of great leaders in that NSW team coming through.