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DCE keen to ‘do a Cronk’ and repeat history for Roosters
By Adrian Proszenko
We know how Cooper Cronk’s story ended. His move from Melbourne to the Tricolours resulted in two premierships in his final two seasons, a fitting end to a storied career. And now the Roosters have again gone all in, signing veteran halfback Daly Cherry-Evans in the expectation he can do likewise.
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It is a high bar, set for a man who only recently blew out the candles on his 37th birthday cake. However, “DCE” understands what he has signed up for. Not for the first time, he is the story of the season – one that will be punctuated by endless speculation about whether he can “do a Cronk”.
So, can he?
“I’ll tell you one thing right now – I’m definitely aware that there’s a comparison to what Cooper did to what I did,” Cherry-Evans says. “And if I can replicate what Cooper’s done, that would be amazing. That’s ultimately what I’m trying to do.”
Your say: Warriors or Roosters?
Final team lists: Warriors v Roosters
A couple of changes to the starting sides from the Roosters team named on Tuesday, with rising Roosters centre Robert Toia out with a foot injury and replaced by Fetalaiga ‘Junior’ Pauga, while Spencer Leniu will start up front and Blake Steep moves to the bench. The Warriors will start as named on Tuesday.
Warriors
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Ali Leiataua 4. Adam Pompey 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Tanah Boyd 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 10. Jackson Ford 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jacob Laban 13. Erin Clark.
Bench: 14. Sam Healey 15. Demitric Vaimauga 16. Leka Halasima 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith 18. Taine Tuaupiki 20. Morgan Gannon
Sydney Roosters
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 19. Fetalaiga Pauga 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Daly Cherry-Evans 7. Sam Walker 17. Spencer Leniu 9. Benaiah Ioelu 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Nat Butcher 8. Naufahu Whyte.
Bench: 13. Blake Steep 14. Connor Watson 15. Siua Wong 16. Egan Butcher 18. Cody Ramsey 22. Toby Rodwell
Referee: Wyatt Raymond
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Welcome to Friday night footy
Hello and welcome to the Herald’s live coverage of the first Friday night football of the 2026 NRL season. And it’s a great one to start with, as Daly Cherry-Evans and his new Roosters teammates take on the Warriors in Auckland before an absolute blockbuster between the Broncos and Panthers.
The Roosters may be the most talent-packed team heading into 2026, with Cherry-Evans joining possibly the most stacked attacking spine in the league alongside Sam Walker, James Tedesco and fellow recruit Reece Robson. Robson will miss the start of the campaign with a broken thumb but there’s still plenty of firepower at the Tricolours with rep stars Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins leading the pack and human highlight reel Mark Nawaqanitawase starting his final season in the NRL before a return to rugby union. Kick-off for their clash with the Warriors is 6pm Sydney time.
Then there’s the main event at 8pm, with reigning premiers Brisbane facing the winner of the previous four grand finals, Penrith. The Broncos ended the Panthers’ 2025 campaign with a 16-14 comeback win in the preliminary finals, having trailed 14-0 at half-time. And that was sweet revenge after a Nathan Cleary-inspired Penrith had stormed home to win the 2023 grand final against the Broncos 26-24, having trailed 24-8 heading into the final 20 minutes of the season.
Will tonight’s game be another classic? Stay tuned for all the action as it happens.
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