After 16 seasons and 357 NRL games across Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters, Cooper Cronk has announced he’ll be hanging up the boots at the end of the 2019 season.
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The 35-year-old halfback announced his retirement on Monday morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as reported by the ABC.
In his footy career, Cronk played at both league level for both Storm and Rooster, at the State Of Origin for the Queensland Maroons, and at an international level for Australia’s Four Nations league team.
He’s also one of the only players to win back-to-back premierships for two different teams, helping lead Melbourne Storm to victory in 2017, and then go on to lead the Sydney Roosters to win the Grand Final in 2018 – where he squared up against his former Storm teammates and bested them with a broken shoulder blade.
Despite having a name that sounds like some kind of Bond villain, Cooper Cronk is recognised as one of the champions of the code, picking up the Dally M Player Of The Year award in both 2013 and 2016 (shared with Jason Taumalolo from North Queensland Cowboys.)
Cronk credited a lot of his success with the sport to his close friendships with the league greats who influenced him – Billy Slater and Cameron Smith – and the three of them were a powerful trio when playing together for Melb Storm and the Maroons, bringing home multiple premiership rings and nearly a decade of State Of Origin wins for Queensland.
He also credits Melb Storm coach Craig Bellamy as one of his biggest influences throughout his career, saying that there’s nobody he “respects more” in the league.
I wouldn’t be having the career or the fond memories that I’ve had without Craig Bellamy, because he was a major impact on that.
He’s a mate first and a coach second. In terms of football the work ethic, the humility, the dedication and just what it takes to make it — he taught me that.
As for life post-footy, Cronk says that he doesn’t went to turn to coaching after he hangs up the boots.
“I won’t coach,” he said. “If I’m standing here at 50 years of age and I’ve got a coach’s microphone, you’ve got my permission to slap me around the head.”
Cooper Cronk is playing out the rest of the season with the Sydney Roosters, who are currently sitting third on the ladder behind Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
