Grand final great Cooper Cronk has heaped the ultimate praise on Luke Keary, ranking the retiring Sydney Roosters star alongside Immortal-in-waiting Cameron Smith as a teammate.
The only player in more than 50 years to win premierships with both the Roosters and South Sydney, Keary’s decorated 230-match 11-year career came to end with the Tricolours’ 48-18 preliminary final loss to Melbourne on Friday night.
The 32-year-old walks away as a triple grand final winner, a two-time NSW State of Origin representative and dual international with Australia and Ireland.
He won both his Roosters premierships in 2018 and 2019 alongside Cronk, who believes Keary should be remembered as a club great.
“I had to change my game a little bit. I realised that they didn’t need another halfback to score more tries or set them up,” Cronk said on Fox Sports of his halves partnership with Keary.
“He just needed someone to create space and give him confidence.
“Same with (James) Tedesco. I was fortunate enough that my style of play was a bit north (to) south. Their style of play was east (to) west.
