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Uncomfortable fact about Roosters spine that could unravel logic behind Cooper Cronk signing
STAR Sydney Roosters recruit Cooper Cronk quite rightfully has a mountain of pressure on his shoulders heading into the 2018 season.
Instead of retiring a one-club icon at the Melbourne Storm, the great halfback decided to play on, eventually squeezing incumbent playmaker and Roosters favourite Mitchell Pearce out of the club.
Cronk will undoubtedly steal the headlines as the Sydney fishbowl takes grip of every move he makes.
Nothing but victory is expected.
But there is another within the Roosters that deserves a microscope firmly above his head and that man is co-captain Jake Friend.
Cronk has only ever played outside Cameron Smith — the game’s greatest ever hooker. A player so smart, so talented, we take him for granted. Smith is a genius. He controls the tempo of a match with his every move.
Cronk will expect the same kind of service from Friend but he won’t get it.
For all his toughness and durability, Friend has but a shred of Smith’s creativity and game management credentials.
According to statistics from the Fox Sports Lab, Smith amassed 91 metres from eight runs in Melbourne’s 30-0 grand final win over North Queensland.
A week earlier, the Roosters were sent packing after a shock loss to the fairytale Cowboys.
And how many runs did Friend have?
How many metres did he make?
The answer is zero to both questions.
For Cronk to succeed at the Roosters he needs more than a dummy half that is happy to hang his hat on how many tackles he makes.
In week one of the finals — a game the Roosters won by the skin of their teeth against Brisbane — Friend ran twice for 10 metres.
In round 26 he ran for six, only nine in round 25 and 30 in round 24. These numbers should worry Cronk and the Roosters.
Smith had 19 line break assists for 2017 compared to Friend’s three. He had 15 try assists to Friend’s seven. But the most outrageous stat is Smith’s 806 run metres for the year to Friend’s 261.
The little pivot has always prepared better than his opponents. Trained harder. Another secret is Cronk has always had time and that could only be created by Smith. There’s a striking difference between Smith’s classy service and Friend’s shovel job.
Funnily enough, Pearce at hooker for the Roosters would have suited Cronk’s style far better than Friend.
The Storm officially pulled out of the running for Pearce’s signature on Monday.
According to The Daily Telegraph, it’s now a three-horse race between Manly, Newcastle and Cronulla.
Pearce travelled to Newcastle at the end of last week to meet with Knights coach Nathan Brown. The Knights have plenty of room in their salary cap — money the Sea Eagles and Sharks simply can’t compete with.
Whether Pearce wants to take on the added responsibility at Newcastle is the million dollar question. A move to the Sharks or Sea Eagles would parachute him straight into a roster contending for the premiership.
Manly are still the favourite to nab Pearce who would join Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves at Brookvale in 2018.
Just as importantly, Pearce would also get to work with dynamic Sea Eagles rake Api Koirosau.
Impressively, Koirosau ran for 1375 metres in 2017 — 569 more than Smith and a whopping 1114 more than Friend.
While Cronk has only ever known Smith, the same can be said of the partnership at the Roosters and their halfback/hooker duo.
Pearce is a maligned figure and has his detractors but he has only ever really played with Friend. Could Koroisau’s blinding speed and ability to cause chaos around the ruck be the secret ingredient some think Pearce requires?
Has Pearce been the problem at the Roosters or has it been Friend all along?
Cronk is diving head first into uncharted waters — so too is Pearce.
We’ll soon find out just how strong a swimmer Cronk actually is.
_______________________
The highlighted line is particularly brutal; but accurate.
Will Cronk make Friend a better player? Or will Friend curb Cronk's game?
One thing that's an absolute must imo is that Friend should be playing 55-60 minutes per game. When he is fatigued his service suffers and he tends to make many dumb decisions.
So Radley needs to come on after 25 minutes to give Friend a spell; then he can come back on fresh and focus more on being a dual running threat.
It really is no coincidence that his best season by far was 2013 when he was getting a spell by Morts.
STAR Sydney Roosters recruit Cooper Cronk quite rightfully has a mountain of pressure on his shoulders heading into the 2018 season.
Instead of retiring a one-club icon at the Melbourne Storm, the great halfback decided to play on, eventually squeezing incumbent playmaker and Roosters favourite Mitchell Pearce out of the club.
Cronk will undoubtedly steal the headlines as the Sydney fishbowl takes grip of every move he makes.
Nothing but victory is expected.
But there is another within the Roosters that deserves a microscope firmly above his head and that man is co-captain Jake Friend.
Cronk has only ever played outside Cameron Smith — the game’s greatest ever hooker. A player so smart, so talented, we take him for granted. Smith is a genius. He controls the tempo of a match with his every move.
Cronk will expect the same kind of service from Friend but he won’t get it.
For all his toughness and durability, Friend has but a shred of Smith’s creativity and game management credentials.
According to statistics from the Fox Sports Lab, Smith amassed 91 metres from eight runs in Melbourne’s 30-0 grand final win over North Queensland.
A week earlier, the Roosters were sent packing after a shock loss to the fairytale Cowboys.
And how many runs did Friend have?
How many metres did he make?
The answer is zero to both questions.
For Cronk to succeed at the Roosters he needs more than a dummy half that is happy to hang his hat on how many tackles he makes.
In week one of the finals — a game the Roosters won by the skin of their teeth against Brisbane — Friend ran twice for 10 metres.
In round 26 he ran for six, only nine in round 25 and 30 in round 24. These numbers should worry Cronk and the Roosters.
Smith had 19 line break assists for 2017 compared to Friend’s three. He had 15 try assists to Friend’s seven. But the most outrageous stat is Smith’s 806 run metres for the year to Friend’s 261.
The little pivot has always prepared better than his opponents. Trained harder. Another secret is Cronk has always had time and that could only be created by Smith. There’s a striking difference between Smith’s classy service and Friend’s shovel job.
Funnily enough, Pearce at hooker for the Roosters would have suited Cronk’s style far better than Friend.
The Storm officially pulled out of the running for Pearce’s signature on Monday.
According to The Daily Telegraph, it’s now a three-horse race between Manly, Newcastle and Cronulla.
Pearce travelled to Newcastle at the end of last week to meet with Knights coach Nathan Brown. The Knights have plenty of room in their salary cap — money the Sea Eagles and Sharks simply can’t compete with.
Whether Pearce wants to take on the added responsibility at Newcastle is the million dollar question. A move to the Sharks or Sea Eagles would parachute him straight into a roster contending for the premiership.
Manly are still the favourite to nab Pearce who would join Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves at Brookvale in 2018.
Just as importantly, Pearce would also get to work with dynamic Sea Eagles rake Api Koirosau.
Impressively, Koirosau ran for 1375 metres in 2017 — 569 more than Smith and a whopping 1114 more than Friend.
While Cronk has only ever known Smith, the same can be said of the partnership at the Roosters and their halfback/hooker duo.
Pearce is a maligned figure and has his detractors but he has only ever really played with Friend. Could Koroisau’s blinding speed and ability to cause chaos around the ruck be the secret ingredient some think Pearce requires?
Has Pearce been the problem at the Roosters or has it been Friend all along?
Cronk is diving head first into uncharted waters — so too is Pearce.
We’ll soon find out just how strong a swimmer Cronk actually is.
_______________________
The highlighted line is particularly brutal; but accurate.
Will Cronk make Friend a better player? Or will Friend curb Cronk's game?
One thing that's an absolute must imo is that Friend should be playing 55-60 minutes per game. When he is fatigued his service suffers and he tends to make many dumb decisions.
So Radley needs to come on after 25 minutes to give Friend a spell; then he can come back on fresh and focus more on being a dual running threat.
It really is no coincidence that his best season by far was 2013 when he was getting a spell by Morts.
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