Melbourne Storm legend Billy Slater spoke to Big League about Cooper Cronk's approach to this weekend's preliminary final and doesn't think his former teammate will be focused on the emotion of it being his potentially last game in the NRL.
The Roosters halfback has already announced that he will retire at the end of the season and will hope to extend his career by one more week with a win over the Storm, where he spent 14 years.
โIโm sure heโs not approaching it as his last game,โ said Slater.
โI donโt think thereโll be a whole heap made about Cooper playing the Storm again because thereโs so much more at stake for both teams.
โTheyโre in amazing form and theyโve hit their straps at the right time. Melbourne played the best that theyโve played all year against Parramatta, so wow, I think this will be a grand final come a week early.โ
After two clashes in the regular season, both sides came away with a win and both are in great form now.
The Roosters started the finals with a 30-6 thrashing of the Rabbitohs while Melbourne initially lost to Canberra before a 32-0 shutout over the Eels.
โWhen you finish in the top four, youโve got to win three games in a row to lift the trophy. The Storm got the advantage of not performing to their best in the first week but still having the chance to win three and hold that premiership up,โ Slater said.
โThey bounced back against Parramatta to book their spot in a preliminary final but theyโll face a Roosters side who had the chance to freshen up after the week off. Theyโll have a full tank of gas to call upon and they know who theyโve got so they can prepare as well as anyone because theyโve had double the time.โ
Business as usual for Cooper, a champion
When it comes to Storm produced Cronk he is up there with Farrah for media seeking attention.
Cronky loves a microphone and a camera to rabble on about nothing for a few minutes.
How is this media seeking attention by Cronk if the article is about Billy Slater talking about Cronk?
busta what happened to your Willywonka77 nic?
Is it worth the effort with 2 days before you go into hiding for 6 months?
Twentyone I dont know who Willywonka77 is. But its not me. I have had one other user name on this site had to change because of a tech problem. The other name was jazzman.
Cronk will lead Sydney to back to back comps with two good arms. Last season he won them a comp with one good arm.