Cronk joins Lions
Australian International halfback, Cooper Cronk, will join the Brisbane Lions on their pre-season trip to Arizona.
Cronk, a 208-game player with the Melbourne Storm, has been given permission from his Club to travel and train with the Lions on the two-week high altitude camp, after the Storm’s Physical Performance department approached the Lions about accommodating Cronk.
With honours including 15 tests for Australia, nine State of Origin appearances, three Dally M Halfback of the Year awards, and most recently the Clive Churchill Medal for Best on Ground in the 2012 NRL Grand Final, Cronk’s inclusion is a glowing endorsement of the Brisbane Lions’ strength and conditioning program.
Lions Strength and Conditioning Coach, Matt Hass, said that having an athlete of Cronk’s calibre and professionalism would set a good example for the players.
“Cooper is the ultimate professional - he would easily stack up against our most professional guys here,” Hass said.
“They’ve got an excellent culture at the Storm and I think he’ll have a great influence on our players.”
At just 178cm, Cronk will be the shortest participant of the camp, except for pocket rocket Dayne Zorko (176cm).
Hass said that Cronk’s size meant he would fit in well with the training group.
“Early in the pre-season, the running actually doesn’t look that different from AFL to NRL, especially as Cooper is a smaller guy,” he said.
“He’ll fit in very well into the running that we do, but he’ll probably have a slightly different emphasis in his gym sessions.”
Cronk will also join in the football drills - but Hass joked that he had better keep up the pace.
“If he gets in the road, we’ll drag him out of there!”
Cronk is currently holidaying in the US and will meet the Lions in Arizona.