Cooper Cronk confirms he will play on with a Sydney club in season 2018

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estormboy
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Cooper Cronk confirms he will play on with a Sydney club in season 2018

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 0ff3c9bce7

LET’S not beat around the bush on this.

Cooper Cronk has confirmed he wants to play next year and beyond, and the Sydney Roosters would love to have him.

So unless another NRL club finds a way to trump powerful Roosters chairman Nick Politis, who almost always gets his man, this deal will happen.

But almost as significant is what it could mean for Mitchell Pearce, Jake Friend or Luke Keary.

That was the immediate reaction from around the NRL after The Saturday Telegraph broke the news online that the champion 33-year-old playmaker had ended months of speculation and told his agent George Mimis of his intentions.

“Since the grand final Cooper has been reflecting on his possibilities,” Mimis said. “Today he has advised me that his inclination will be to continue to play should the right opportunity present itself. So I will now embark on having some relevant conversations and see where they take us.”

Mimis was adamant no deal had been done. It is understood Cronk is looking for a two-year contract while he builds on his work with Fox Sports.

Cronk has been linked with a move to the Roosters.
Despite what some clubs have said publicly, Cronulla, South Sydney, Parramatta and Newcastle have all expressed interest since Cronk announced he would move north to live with his fiancee, Fox Sports presenter, Tara Rushton.

It would be foolish to rule out any club at this stage but the Roosters will start the race in pole position.

No one from the Roosters has denied continued speculation, in a clear message of their intentions.

While Politis has been in Greece, the Roosters have indicated they have salary cap room to keep all their stars if they can offload a mid-range player worth about $400,000. The Roosters are trying to hand Jayden Nikorima, reportedly on $370,000, to the Broncos.

There is no question the Roosters want to keep Pearce even if Cronk signs but that would depend how he handled no longer playing halfback. Pearce could easily adapt to five-eighth or hooker; it is a matter of inclination.

Cronk and Pearce have played their careers as State of Origin rivals and it would be a cruel blow if Pearce was forced to hand over his No. 7 jumper to the Queensland playmaker.

Pearce also has the respect and love of his teammates and that would play on his mind if either Friend or Keary were forced to leave.

Cooper Cronk is looking for a two-year deal.

The fact is you can’t fit Cronk, Pearce, Friend and Keary into the starting team.

There is no doubt all three could take their pick of several clubs if the Cronk deal becomes a reality and they want out.

Another factor is that Pearce signed a two-year extension this year while both Friend and Keary are off contract at the end of 2018, which would make them prime targets for rivals.

What is almost certain is that Cronk’s pending decision will spark another round of musical chairs in the coming weeks.

Mimis said Cronk would not be rushed into making a decision.

“He is cut from a completely different cloth and he is not going to be dictated to by me, Gus (Gould), Nick (Politis), anyone,” Mimis said.

“He is his own man.

“He needed to be clear in his mind that he wanted to continue the journey.

“For me, the first precursor was his post grand final interview with Joey Johns. Joey said something like, ‘you’d be mad to give it away, you have so much footy left in you’.

“And Cooper said something like ‘you play for these big moments’. It kind of struck a chord in my mind.

“But today he has formally advised me that is where his head is so we will go and explore.”

Melbourne Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy paid tribute to Cronk.

“He has been such a great servant of our footy club, we wish him all the best for his next endeavour,” Donaghy said.

“He will always be a Melbourne Storm player and the door will always be open for him.”
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estormboy
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Three Sydney NRL clubs in $1 million tug of war for Cooper Cronk

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... d87420220c

THREE clubs have cleared $1 million in salary cap space as the battle for the prized signature of Kangaroos halfback Cooper Cronk hots up.

The Daily Telegraph can exclusively reveal that the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla and Parramatta are engaging in an all-out battle for Cronk and have manoeuvred themselves into a position whereby they won’t have to shed any players to land him.

It is understood Parramatta would use the money that was freed up by the departure of star winger Semi Radradra to French rugby to throw at Cronk.

The Eels already had spare salary cap money up their sleeve which, coupled with the money saved on Radradra, takes their war chest to $1 million.

They are now genuine players in the race for Cronk.

While the Roosters remain firm favourites to sign Cronk, Parramatta’s wealth and power would be attractive to the former Storm halfback.

“Who wouldn’t be interested in Cooper Cronk?” Eels chairman Max Donnelly said. “Any club that has room to move in the cap would have to at least consider him.”

Pressed on whether his club had the sufficient salary cap room to sign Cronk, Donnelly said: “I’m not going to go into those operational issues. But we have some room in our cap, yes.”

Jayden Nikorima will make room for Cronk at the Roosters. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The Roosters played around $650,000 under the salary cap this year.

They are now set to release Jayden Nikorima a year early from his $350,000-a-season contract to free up $1 million to pursue Cronk without having to offload any other players, including Mitchell Pearce and Jake Friend.

It is understood Nikorima, a 2016 Junior Kangaroo, will head back to the Brisbane Broncos.

Well-placed sources revealed that Cronulla were also $1 million under the salary cap and had expressed interest in signing Cronk, who wants to play for another two seasons.

“The club wouldn’t have to shed any players if they went after Cronk,” the Sharks source said.

Cronk announced in April that he was moving to Sydney to be closer to fiancee Tara Rushton. The pair have already bought a home in Mosman.

Manly haven’t entered the Cronk race but he could be viewed as a replacement for Blake Green, who has attracted interest from the New Zealand Warriors.

There might be some resistance within Parramatta about chasing Cronk given the club has established halves in Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses.

Eels chief executive Bernie Gurr did not return calls and coach Brad Arthur was returning home from an overseas holiday.
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"Since light travels faster than sound, people appear bright until you hear them speak"  Anon
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This undignified feeding frenzy wont be good for any of these clubs...mark my words.....

I will pmsl at whichever Club does get Cooper as it will blow their pay structures outta whack, disenfranchise numerous players and take 12 months to come to fruition with new team mates etc

Cooper has been a legend of Storm...but that's just it...at Storm with our players and culture and coaching staff.....

not so sure this is going to end well for him but hey, with a cool $ million extra in my account and Tara on my arm, I'd probably not care either ....
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Obviously I don't know the man but from my observations I think Cooper will select the most professional club chasing his services and I'd be surprised if money was a huge motivating factor. He has always seemed to be the most professional of all our players. (With no disrespect at all to anyone else)
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Bullucked wrote:Obviously I don't know the man but from my observations I think Cooper will select the most professional club chasing his services and I'd be surprised if money was a huge motivating factor. He has always seemed to be the most professional of all our players. (With no disrespect at all to anyone else)
cronulla, parramatta and roosters...???

professional ?? you're kidding ...right ???
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Take parramatta out of that equation. They have decided to stick with this years halves.
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Only Cooper knows or will know if he has made the right or wrong choice. Obviously he is not ready to retire, so he wants to play on. He wants to be in Sydney with his fiance, so Melbourne wasn’t an option. Cooper has given his all for the Storm for his whole career, a couple of years in Sydney, whatever the results of that time are, will do nothing to tarnish what he has achieved to date, and true rugby league fans will see that.
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Lol. It Looks like Mitchell has said " Pearce Off" if Cronk joins the Rosters. Blake Green our old 5/6th could be the biggest winner financially. Funny how the dominoes fall.


http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/mitche ... 090de9ff01


MITCHELL Pearce is reportedly putting his name on the open market as the Sydney Roosters prepare to unveil the marquee signing of Cooper Cronk.
The decision from both Cronk and the Roosters isn’t expected to be announced until early next week, however Pearce has expressed his desire to find a new home.
After a 238 game career with the Roosters, the signing of Cronk would relegate Pearce out of the halfback position he has made his own with the Sydney team.
An explosive report in The Daily Telegraph has stated Pearce’s displeasure with the moves being made behind closed doors.
“He’s very upset,” said one of Pearce’s closest associates.
“He loves the Roosters and always wanted to be a one-club player.”
As reports of unrest filtered throughout the league, plenty of teams have begun testing the waters on potentially poaching Pearce away.
The Manly Sea Eagles have emerged as the early leader in trying to sign the playmaker who still has two years remaining on his Roosters contract which has him earning $800,00 per season.
In order to facilitate the deal to land Pearce, the Sea Eagles will reportedly ship Blake Green to the New Zealand Warriors where he’ll take up a multimillion-dollar offer.
Not wanting to lose out on the appealing Pearce, the Newcastle Knights have made their interest known in bringing him in.
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Curtis Woodward @woodward_curtis
The @sydneyroosters are off their heads. Mitchell Pearce cops plenty but he IS the Roosters. A lot of friendships ruined forever over this.
6:22 PM - Oct 25, 2017
3 3 Replies Retweets 2 2 likes

Alan Gaskell @AlanDGaskell
If reports tonight that Mitchell Pearce wants to leave the Roosters are true ! I'm gobsmacked.. What clown (s) at the Club are behind this !
7:31 PM - Oct 25, 2017 · Sydney, New South Wales
2 2 Replies Retweets likes
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Storm Spirit wrote:This undignified feeding frenzy wont be good for any of these clubs...mark my words.....

I will pmsl at whichever Club does get Cooper as it will blow their pay structures outta whack, disenfranchise numerous players and take 12 months to come to fruition with new team mates etc

Cooper has been a legend of Storm...but that's just it...at Storm with our players and culture and coaching staff.....

not so sure this is going to end well for him but hey, with a cool $ million extra in my account and Tara on my arm, I'd probably not care either ....
hhhmmm....it's gonna end in tears.....BWAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHA :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3:
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Pearce wants out as he wants to play 7. Fair enough. So he's going to Manly where they have DCE who presumably wants to be the 7 as well.

This is getting good. How many Sydney clubs can Coops tear through?
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I reckon Coops can destroy the whole of Sydney Rugby League if he tries hard enough.
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Cameron wrote:Curtis Woodward @woodward_curtis
The @sydneyroosters are off their heads. Mitchell Pearce cops plenty but he IS the Roosters. A lot of friendships ruined forever over this.
6:22 PM - Oct 25, 2017
3 3 Replies Retweets 2 2 likes

Alan Gaskell @AlanDGaskell
If reports tonight that Mitchell Pearce wants to leave the Roosters are true ! I'm gobsmacked.. What clown (s) at the Club are behind this !
7:31 PM - Oct 25, 2017 · Sydney, New South Wales
2 2 Replies Retweets likes
tHIS Is hilarious. Cronk is 10 times the player that PEarce is.

I ain't even mad about this. Hate Easts but rather he went there than Parrascum or the Bullfilth!
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Hahahahahahahaha. I enjoy seeing Easts eating each other over this.
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I'm so over Cooper and holding clubs to ransom...im done...he can pull his little stunts elsewhere I'm out

over it
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