Cooper Cronk, whose clock is rapidly winding down, does not seem too concerned about finding a NRL team that can meet his price tag as he contemplates life after rugby following the 2018 NRL season.
Cronk has declared that he will exit Melbourne following 2017, but he has not definitively stated whether he will play a swansong season in 2018.
As he ponders his next move, many of the NRL clubs that could afford him have moved on other players, meaning that the Canterbury, St. George and Wests Tigers are no longer viable options for Cronk.
The market for high-priced halves is shrinking rapidly, but Cronk seems to be taking the approach that if he should have to call time after 2017, or play for a reduced rate in 2018, it is no hanging matter.
Appearing on On the Couch With Sterlo, he was heard to say, “It’s not about where I want to play, it’s about do I want to play.”
At his current age of 33 and a birthday that will make him 34 before the start of the 2018 NRL season, he will finish 2017 with 14 seasons on his clock, not including the 19 interstate games he has played or the 32 on the international side for Australia.
With absolutely nothing left to prove, he can take his time and make an objective decision following the season.
