Cooper Patrick Cronk (born 5 December 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s.

He attended St. Laurence's College, South Brisbane from 1994 to 2000, where he was in the school's 1st XV rugby union side for a number of years.

[5] Cronk made his debut for the Melbourne Storm in 2004, starting as a utility back coming off the bench and playing at five-eighth, hooker and lock.

In 2008, Cronk was called into the Australian test team to replace Jonathan Thurston who had twisted his ankle in training.

In August, 2008, Cronk was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[6][7] however he was not selected to make an appearance.

[8] In April 2009, he was named in the preliminary 25-man squad to represent Queensland in the opening State of Origin match for 2009,[9] however he was not selected to make an appearance.

Cooper Cronk has been selected to play Five-Eighth against Wales, with Johnathan Thurston at halfback, resting Darren Lockyer for the Four Nations Final.

[10] In the 2012 NRL Grand Final victory over Canterbury-Bankstown, he won the Clive Churchill Medal for the man of the match award.

Cronk kicked the game and series-winning field goal in the final minutes of the third State of Origin match in 2012.

But those who have ever experienced that feeling, and it doesn't happen very often, will tell you it's in a whole other place of experience from the usual ego or vanity that drives my game.

On 1 October 2013, Cronk was named the Dally M Player winning by two points in front of Queensland teammates Johnathan Thurston and Daly Cherry-Evans and Cronulla Sharks five-eight Todd Carney.

Written off for the series, he surprised the entire rugby league community by getting himself fit enough to take the field in Game III just six weeks later.

[14] 2016 began with rumours linking him to rival NRL clubs in Sydney, most notably the St George Illawarra Dragons.

15 days later, he kicked a field goal in the 5th minute of golden point to give the Storm a 19–18 victory over the Wests Tigers.

[15] On 24 September 2016, in Melbourne's grand final qualifier against the Canberra Raiders, Cronk became just the 25th NRL player to notch up 300 first grade games.

His then-fiancée Tara Rushton, a Fox sports presenter based in Sydney, was the main driver behind his decision.

2019 On 28 September 2019, Cronk led the Sydney Roosters to a 14–6 win over his former club Melbourne Storm in the preliminary final.

"It’s really emotional sometimes coming up against your old team but in this game, you really have to put it to the side because there’s always a chance of next week and you really have to ride the rollercoaster sometimes".

During the press conference,[23] coach Trent Robinson labelled the retiree the "greatest thinker to ever play rugby league".

[26] Cronk has been employed as a part-time coaching consultant at both the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm, with his role seeing him mentor players at both clubs.