Mitchell Pearce is set to sensationally quit the Sydney Roosters following reports that the club has signed Cooper Cronk on a two-year deal. However, it may not be the worst thing for Roosters fans.
Pearce has been a Rooster for eleven seasons, debuting back in 2007 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old. Flash forward 238 NRL games later and Pearce is a premiership winning halfback who’s captained his club and pulled on the New South Wales’ Blues jersey seventeen times.
With so much already on his impressive footballing CV at just 28 years of age, losing Pearce would be almost unthinkable, wouldn’t it? Not exactly.
Controversy and Pearce have gone hand in hand for a number of years now.
While his form, specifically at representative level, has been criticised for years, though his first major incident occurred in May 2014, now infamously remembered as ‘the woman in the yellow dress’.
Pearce groped a woman in Kings Cross, resulting in a $20,000 fine, a one-game club suspension, not being selected in the NSW team and a lot of bad press for the Bondi club.
Funnily enough, that was New South Wales first series victory in nine years.
Two years later, on Australia Day, Pearce was filmed simulating a sex act with a dog, along with some racial slurs and unwanted sexual advances on the woman whose apartment he was in. There were claims at the time that his NRL career may be over.
The halfback escaped with an eight-match suspension, $125,000 fine and was stripped of the captaincy. Once again, the Roosters were dragged through the mud for their star player’s actions.
In comparison, Cooper Cronk has never been involved in an off-field incident of that magnitude. In fact, he’s regarded as one of the more sensible, well-spoken figures in the game. And he’s a damn good footballer.
This season, Cronk produced more try-assists and more 40/20s than Mitchell Pearce, as well as making fewer errors, missing fewer tackles and not conceding as many penalties.
In fairness to the New South Welshman, he did score one more try and break the line two more times than his Maroons counterpart.
Cronk has this air of professionalism surrounding him, a humbleness no doubt learnt through years of painstaking patience. Cooper started his Melbourne Storm, Queensland and Kangaroos career from the bench, taking his chances where they were offered, and waited it out until the men in front of him departed or retired.
And as soon as Cronk became a regular starter in any of those sides, he made sure he kept his spot.
He’s worked his way to being one of rugby league’s best halfbacks, and could well be the man to lead the Chooks to their 14th premiership.
Replacing Pearce with Cronk may seem like a mistake when you look at their ages, but what Cronk would bring off the field and on the training paddock is invaluable for the Tricolours.
Blessed with one of the best footballing brains out there, it won’t take Cronk too long to leave Roosters fans saying ‘Mitchell who?’