LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Cooper Cronk has spilled the beans on his switch to the Roosters back in 2017 and the sticky situation that left his mate Mitchell Pearce in a tough spot.
After clinching the grand final victory with the Melbourne Storm that year, many thought Cronk would hang up his boots.
However, the wily halfback made the move to the Roosters for the next season, a decision that paid off big time.
Part of the reason for Cronk's move was his better half Tara Rushton's gig in the media hub of Sydney.
But it turned out to be a winning play, as he led the Roosters to back-to-back titles in his short stint with the Chooks.
Unfortunately for Pearce, Cronk's arrival at the Roosters signaled the end of his time in the halfback hot seat, prompting Pearce to pack his bags for Newcastle.
A bit rough on Pearce, considering he had steered the Roosters to victory over Manly not long before.
Both Cronk and Mitchell recently joined the Matty Johns Podcast to chat about the drama, with Cronk spilling the beans on how he reached out to Pearce and the rest of the Roosters crew to navigate the "tough" situation.
"I remember the first thing I did, I had a chinwag with Pearcey on the dog and bone," Cronk reminisced.
"I also had a yarn with Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves), Aubo (Mitch Aubusson), Jake Friend, Luke Keary - I spoke to the whole crew.
It was all about maintaining those relationships rather than just making a business decision...
it was a real sticky wicket."