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Why Cooper Cronk as captain-coach could be perfect fit for Canterbury Bulldogs

Roy Masters

There is only one player who could move to a different NRL club next season and resurrect the long abandoned role of captain-coach.

There is only one way to pay him the salary his skills and stature demands, given most clubs have little salary cap space left.

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There is only one club that requires a total remake of its culture and, despite its ex-players demanding the return of one of their own, my choice could do the job with the right support.

Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Cronk could move to the Bulldogs as captain-coach, with the majority of his salary paid outside the cap.

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Given that Cronk is committed to moving to Sydney next season to be with his fiancee Tara Rushton, a Fox Sports journalist, he will either retire or play for less than his market worth

However, a soft cap will apply to football department spending from next season, including the salaries of coaches. The NRL is yet to address the issue of whether the major share of a contract could be paid to a player-coach from a club football department and a small payment come from next year's $9.6 million player salary cap.

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So two questions remain: could Cronk do the job and is Canterbury the right fit for him?

When I advanced the theory to Cronk at Storm headquarters on Monday, he was way ahead of me, aware of where my meandering hypothesising was going.

He fixed me with a look of respectful ridicule, if that's not an oxymoron, and said directly: "Quash that theory. A job too hard. Way above my pay grade."

But the job of head coach has become harder because they are being given too much power.

The responsibilities they are being asked to assume have diverted them from the main task, which is to win at the weekend.

When Des Hasler joined Canterbury for the 2012 season and coached his team to the grand final, he was given powers greater than any of his predecessors.

He had the Bulldogs back in the grand final in 2014 but, over the following years, some of his powers were curtailed and if there was a refocus on what should happen at the weekend, it didn't result in wins.

Provided a head coach has a very strong football manager, such as the Storm's Frank Ponissi, and an astute chairman, such as the Broncos' Dennis Watt, and hard-working, non-treacherous assistants, he can concentrate on preparing his team for a win.  

Admittedly, it's fanciful to link Cronk with Canterbury. But relieving a coach, even a player-coach, of all duties other than preparing a team for a win is what is needed now in a season where four head coaches have been sacked.

Hasler certainly saw a role for Cronk at Belmore, offering to swap two players for him a couple of seasons ago.

But former Canterbury players, such as Steve Mortimer and Terry Lamb, demand the appointment of a head coach with the Bulldogs DNA.

Do the Bulldogs really know what they want? An ex-player from the Fortress Belmore-era when the club was the most insular and moat-like in the league?

Today's football is far more expansive than in that era and a culture of sharing has replaced secrecy.

After Saturday's preliminary final, we heard the Cowboys' Gavin Cooper praise Cronk for advice he gave halfback Michael Morgan while in a representative players' camp.

Cronk encouraged Morgan to take more responsibility in directing the Cowboys around the field, yet on Sunday, the Storm halfback will be confronting an energised Morgan in a grand final.

Well-after the Storm's preliminary final win over Brisbane, Cronk was sitting in the player's room at AAMI Park, still in his playing strip, explaining nuances of play to his young left-edge teammates, Curtis Scott and Josh Addo-Carr.

He is unselfish with his knowledge, while communicating it in a direct, respectful manner – a fundamental requirement for a coach or a future TV analyst.

Tommy Raudonikis is an admirer. "Cronk deserves every plaudit which comes his way. He is a super player, very skilful plus he has a kicking game, which I didn't."     

Perhaps Tom was marginally miffed his old coach had found a new halfback to admire, because the old competitor surfaced. "I would have liked to play him in my era," Tom said. "He had Adam Blair chasing him in the Brisbane game. If it was in my era, it wouldn't be Blair. It would be me chasing him."

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