I woke to headlines on Thursday morning that suggested the Waratahs should chase rugby league star Cooper Cronk. I had to check the date and make sure it wasn't April 1.
I rolled my eyes and thought, "where has this come from?" Turns out it was a suggestion from Wallabies coach Michael Cheika.
![Not interested: Cooper Cronk doesn't want to play rugby and the Waratahs don't want him.](/web/20170515173242im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/m/4/4/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw3o0b.png/1494677800942.jpg)
Fortunately, the Waratahs have decided not to pursue the idea and Cronk says he has no interest in making the switch either.
Cheika is a smart bloke, but I think a push for Cronk or any other league player is way off the mark and short-sighted. It's a given the Kangaroos, Queensland and Melbourne Storm star is very talented in the 13-man code and no doubt possesses the skills to orchestrate a match and execute a game plan perfectly, but why would the Australian coach endorse – even suggest – the recruitment of a 33-year-old rugby league player.
![Success story: Israel Folau has made the switch to rugby and performed well.](/web/20170515173242im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/q/3/f/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw3o0b.png/1494677800942.jpg)
I just can't understand it. And why would the Wallabies coach back the idea?
Rugby in this country has its own issues at the moment and things such as this only fire up the faithful even more about the state of the game.
Now I could be reading too much into this – and Cheika might have a different agenda – but I imagine some of my rugby-loving peers would see this as a kick in the guts. Do we really need to chase these blokes?
The cynics out there might say rugby needs as much help as it can get, but if I was an up-and-coming player, I would get a little despondent about the message the national coach is sending, and be wondering if that was the strategic direction the Wallabies want to take.
![Lote Tuqiri did well for the Wallabies, but he went back to league afterwards.](/web/20170515173242im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/t/0/k/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw3o0b.png/1494677800942.jpg)
If it is, it's hard to fathom why you would take a punt on someone who has played league for the past decade. It sounds like a bit of history repeating. Remember when the ARU chased Andrew Johns?
I think people in high places sometimes get caught up in the hype when big names from the other code are on the market, or get sucked into a bidding war to bump up a player's value.
Are we not producing anyone in the junior ranks that would be able to step up? If not, why not? And whose fault is that? Who is taking responsibility? Surely development is the direction people in high places should be looking at.
The debate that always surrounds league guys making the switch to union is, are they making the move for legitimate reasons? Do they really have a passion to play the game, or is it just a stopgap for those who are frustrated with their own circumstances – or have been booted out of their own game!
Don't get me wrong, there have been some league players who have made the switch and done well. The trio of Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers in my day were as much about sending a message to NRL bosses and the game as it was about them making the change. But those three boys all went back and played league after their stint in union. I know their hearts were in it when they played union, but I think their identity will always be rugby league.
Of the modern crop of converts, Israel Folau has been a success and still has more to offer; Ben Teo is growing into his role for England; Sonny Bill Williams has won two World Cups, but still finds it difficult to crack the All Blacks starting side.
Outside of them, many have tried, but few have excelled.
Sadly it seems Ben Barba has failed in his bid, having made a premature exit from French rugby. He was a player who secured a multimillion-dollar deal and thought because the ball is the same shape and the field the same dimensions, it will all be OK. I remember hearing him interviewed before he left saying that he'd played the game when he was a junior. That's like me saying I rolled my arm over in the first Xl at school and therefore could step out onto the WACA and take on the Poms.
Expectations and reality are sometimes very different.
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