Last week, premiership winning halfback Cooper Cronk endorsed Adam O’Brien as the man to lead the Newcastle Knights.
Having served an 11-year apprenticeship at the Storm before moving to the Roosters, Cronk has spent the bulk of his career working with O’Brien.
Speaking to NRL360 prior to O’Brien being named as the new Knights coach from 2020, Cronk was filled with praise for the mentor.
“He’s a terrific person and has tremendous relationships with everyone involved in the footy club,” Cooper Cronk told NRL 360.
“He’s a sponge, his work ethic through the roof, he comes from the Craig Bellamy role in that regard.
“I’ve been in football meetings for the past 10 years with Adam and he’s got an encyclopaedia of rugby league information he can fall back on.
“Probably the biggest rap I can give him is the time and effort he puts into improving individual players, whether it’s on the computer screen or out on the track.
“Any player from the number one star to the bottom player on their list, he’s out there for hours after training helping guys improve so come game day they can reach their potential.”
