Legend of Queensland Cooper Cronk takes the call to defend referee Klein, with all praises for Blues, when Felise Kaufusi got sin-binned in Game II
Legend of Queensland Cooper Cronk takes the call to defend referee Klein, with all praises for Blues, when Felise Kaufusi got sin-binned in Game II. Cooper Cronk, finally highlighted the fact, of how a ‘significant’ decision was taken by New South Wales. It was taken in the shadows of halftime. This significant or you may say a courageous decision in reality proved to be the killer moment of the Game II. He complimented the decision of the Blues’ to return the two points given on offer- when Felise Kaufusi got sin-binned controversially. They take the call to go for a try, which Brian also duly claimed to be in the corner.
Cronk mentioned while on NR360 that “Queensland was leading at that stage and the courage that NSW showed to take the tap, I think, was the turning point,” “They could have easily taken the two. The conservative nature would have been to take the two…But it was a hell of a call and they came up with the rewards.”
When asked was the decision of referee Ashley Klein was right or wrong to send the Storm backrower for 10…. Cronk agreed Queensland could have actually no complaints. He said “If you isolate it, it’s just a penalty. But it was the three of four restarts leading into that moment,”
Cronk even gave credit to the Blues’ forward pack for taking the game to the Maroons even after witnessing a disappointing display in Game I. After facing an opening loss in this series, Brad Fittler targeted the supervision of the ruck. Well, Cronk believes in the fact that it was just a tactic by the coach to make his team react.
He also mentioned, “When a coach sort of politely has a crack at the referees it’s basically telling their middle forwards you didn’t have a go. “You didn’t rip in and get the job done. NSW said they played too kind and too nice and that sums it all up. “I don’t think the refereeing changed. The rub of the green moves either way. If we are talking about percentages, it’s one or two percent. The players determine the outcome”.
Cronk was interested in checking out how Matt Burton’s boot, will bring the needed change in the momentum of the game, using his bombs to put Queensland back to three with required pressure. He said, “That rocket bomb of Matt Burton in the second half”.
“If you go back to Taulagi trying to catch that rocket that came off the boot of Burton, I think that created enough doubt in the back three of Queensland to think ‘we’re going to have to sit here and catch the ball on the back foot.
“They lost the momentum of getting out of their own end, and it gave [Nathan] Cleary more time because they started thinking more about Burton’s kicking game.“
It was a smart play. Burton started rifling the ball and it allowed Cleary more time and space to pull the trigger.” Cronk mentioned that the task to shut down both Burton and Cleary turned out to be the decider and vital to know if the Maroons turned out to be victorious or not.
“It’s pressure,” he said, at the time of trying to figure out the game plan to stop NSW’s game of lethal kicking.
“Whenever the ball goes to Burton or Cleary- look at Game I- Clearly looked like he was playing in a phone booth. A kicker needs to feel the footsteps and the pressure. “When there are multiple kickers it’s hard to do it, but you have got to get it right most times, otherwise this will happen again.”
Legend of Queensland Cooper Cronk takes the call to defend referee Klein