Michael 'Crow' Cronin

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
Michael William Cronin
Nickname(s)
Crow
Born
Thursday, 28th June, 1951
Current Age
72 years and 265 days
Place Of Birth
Kiama, New South Wales, Australia

Awards & Accolades

RLW Player of the Year
1977
Rothmans Medal
1977, 1978
Dally M Centre Of The Year
1980, 1981, 1983
National Rugby League Hall Of Fame
2007

Known Family Links

Brother
John Cronin

Biography

Phenomenal point-scoring centre, the leading individual point-scorer in the game's history at the time of his retirement, resisted many offers to come to Sydney before joining P’matta in 1977. Hailing from the South Coast town of Gerringong, Cronin was playing first grade as early as 1969 and set a country record of 316pts from 20 matches in the Group 7 competition in 1971. After representing Country in 1973, he was a shock inclusion in the Kangaroo squad that year but was called into the Test sides against France. Cronin held his place in the three Tests against Great Britain in 1974 but kicked only one goal in the series (Graeme Langlands was goal-kicker - originally it was his ability to break tackles and position his supports that won him his place in the national side). Named ‘Country Player of the Year’ in 1974, Cronin was on board when Country won a rare victory over City the following year before representing Australia in the short-lived World Series competition. 1977 saw him at the crossroads of his career and he decided to play under Terry Fearnley at P’matta after first gaining a release from Canterbury with which he had a verbal agreement for his services. That year, he played in the World Cup competition but missed a goal in the dying minutes of the grand final which resulted in an historic draw against St George - the Eels were subsequently defeated in the replay the following week. In 1978 he achieved almost everything possible in the game except a premiership title. ‘The Crow’ recorded a massive 547pts in 52 matches that year (taking in the Kangaroo Tour and all other rep games) including 282 premiership points (surpassing Eric Simms' record) and a record 26 goals in succession. To cap an amazing year he was named Rothmans Medal winner for the second year in a row. Cronin would have to wait three years for a grand final victory (with Tests against Great Britain, NZ and France in between) and he was again the season's leading point-scorer in 1977-79 and 1982. Cronin was the vital link in the champion P’matta backline that won grand finals in 1982-3 and 1986. Like all great players he seemed to have immeasurable time to step through a gap or position his support. After retiring from rep football in 1982 (with a record 201pts in Tests and 195pts for NSW), his missed goal in P’matta’s 6-4 loss to Canterbury in the 1984 grand final brought back bad memories of 1977. Like a true champion, Cronin bounced back from a serious eye muscle injury suffered in a trial match in early 1986 to leave the game in a blaze of glory. After breaking his ribs in his comeback match, Cronin made his first grade return in the semi-final to steer P’matta into the grand final. Two great pressure goals against Canterbury captured the premiership in his final match, 4-2. He retired after scoring a record 1971pts in ten seasons (still a P’matta club record) with a host of other club records to his credit. In 1990 he returned to coach P’matta during a difficult, disappointing time in the club's history but would have received immense satisfaction in coaching Country to a win over Sydney in 1992. Cronin stood down as Eels coach at the end of the 1993 season.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Tour Matches Southern Division 3 - 5   - 10 1 2 0 33.33% List
City vs Country Firsts 10 5 50   - 115 7 3 0 70.00% List
Interstate Matches 19 6 67   - 152 17 0 2 89.47% List
Test Series 22 5 91   - 123 18 4 0 81.82% List
Tour Matches Australia 40 12 159   - 354 33 6 1 82.50% List
The Ashes 9 2 34   - 148 7 2 0 77.78% List
Tour Matches New South Wales Firsts 2 - 11   - 22 2 0 0 100.00% List
National Panasonic Cup 2 2 53   - 112 0 2 0 0.00% List
World Cup 11 4 48   - 108 9 1 1 81.82% List
NRL 216 75 865   2 1971 144 66 6 66.67% List
NRL Finals 29 10 73   - 180 17 10 2 58.62% List
State of Origin 6 1 14   - 31 2 4 0 33.33% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1973-75, 1977-82 35 10 140   - 310 29 5 1 82.86% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1973-1977 11 4 48   - 108 9 1 1 81.82% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Southern Division 1970, 1974-75 4 1 12   - 27 1 3 0 25.00% List
NSW Country Seconds 1972 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW Firsts 1973-81 21 6 78   - 174 19 0 2 90.48% List
NSW Country Firsts 1973-76 4 2 9   - 24 1 3 0 25.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1977-82 6 3 41   - 91 6 0 0 100.00% List
NSW 1980-83 6 1 14   - 31 2 4 0 33.33% List
Overall1970-1983 42 13 154   0 347 29 11 2 69.05% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Parramatta NSWRFL 1977 24 7 101   2 225 18 5 1 75.00% List
Parramatta NSWRFL 1978 25 16 117   - 282 15 9 1 60.00% List
Parramatta NSWRFL 1979 24 15 104   - 253 16 8 0 66.67% List
Parramatta NSWRFL 1980 17 6 79   - 176 8 7 2 47.06% List
Parramatta NSWRFL 1981 23 6 82   - 182 15 7 1 65.22% List
Parramatta NSWRFL 1982 28 11 123   - 279 22 6 0 78.57% List
Parramatta NSWRFL 1983 28 4 105   - 226 19 9 0 67.86% List
Parramatta NSWRL 1984 14 4 49   - 114 9 5 0 64.29% List
Parramatta NSWRL 1985 26 6 90   - 204 17 9 0 65.38% List
Parramatta NSWRL 1986 7 - 15 / 30 50.00% - 30 5 1 1 71.43% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Parramatta 1977-86 216 75 865   2 1971 144 66 6 66.67% List

Your Say

  • Gazg
    13/04/2014

    Mick Cronin & Ray price should be the next immortals without doubt along with Steve rogers

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Contributions: Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Rugby League Tables, Paul Carter, Alan Katzmann, Steven Russo, AJ Lucantonio, Max Turner, Bill Bates