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Just putting it out there, I reckon Cronk was easily the most important player out there tonight. We made a lot of errors, lots of 50:50 calls went against us and the Knights got sooo many piggy-back penalties.
Not sure how he does it but Cronk didnt give a damn!!! What I noticed was:
1. While Friend kept getting pinged for borderline flat/forward passes, Cronk turns his body backwards and does a lot of deep passes. They look like they are in slo-mo but they are all so amazingly well placed that the opposition cannot defend them. IMO this also gives his runner more space (taking the pressure of catching while being tackled off them) and shows confidence in his receivers!!! He doesnt need to steal 10cm by doing flat passes because they are gonna pinch those metres back... I like it!
2. He doesnt try to force tries like Pearce. IMO Pearce (and others to be fair) have a habit of rushing everybody any trying to force gratuitous tries. Cronk inspires calmness and confidence by going through the 6 tackles, slowing his shyte down as much as possible and keeping a clear head.
3. Defence! Maybe not what he is renowned for, but Cronk read Ponga like a childrens book. IMO Ponga is severely over-rated and needs to earn the talk he is getting. However, on multiple occasions Cronk was the one guy who knew exactly what trick he was gonna try to pull and hit him HARD, knocking the air outta him and completely ruining what coulda been a deadly play before it even started.
I used to hate old Gronky and think he was over-rated. However, he is one smooth operator. Awesome addition to the team! Also, anybody else think Radley will replace him? Radley looks like the lovechild of Cronk and Slater. He is seriously good!!
Not sure how he does it but Cronk didnt give a damn!!! What I noticed was:
1. While Friend kept getting pinged for borderline flat/forward passes, Cronk turns his body backwards and does a lot of deep passes. They look like they are in slo-mo but they are all so amazingly well placed that the opposition cannot defend them. IMO this also gives his runner more space (taking the pressure of catching while being tackled off them) and shows confidence in his receivers!!! He doesnt need to steal 10cm by doing flat passes because they are gonna pinch those metres back... I like it!
2. He doesnt try to force tries like Pearce. IMO Pearce (and others to be fair) have a habit of rushing everybody any trying to force gratuitous tries. Cronk inspires calmness and confidence by going through the 6 tackles, slowing his shyte down as much as possible and keeping a clear head.
3. Defence! Maybe not what he is renowned for, but Cronk read Ponga like a childrens book. IMO Ponga is severely over-rated and needs to earn the talk he is getting. However, on multiple occasions Cronk was the one guy who knew exactly what trick he was gonna try to pull and hit him HARD, knocking the air outta him and completely ruining what coulda been a deadly play before it even started.
I used to hate old Gronky and think he was over-rated. However, he is one smooth operator. Awesome addition to the team! Also, anybody else think Radley will replace him? Radley looks like the lovechild of Cronk and Slater. He is seriously good!!
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