After leading the Kangaroos to a stunning World Cup victory, Cooper Cronk has announced his retirement from representing Australia in rugby.

Both Australia and Queensland will begin 2018 with a sense of apprehension as they try to replace a huge player who has taken Australian rugby to great heights over the last decade.

Cronk stated that after his last Origin match he knew he had played his last game for the Maroons. After his latest win with the Kangaroos Cronk has said that it’s time for him to step away from the representative arena and give room for new blood to shine.

Cronk has gone on to say how lucky he feels to have been given the repeated opportunity to represent Australia and Queensland in the sport he loves. He has a great deal of memories he will be able to cherish for the rest of his life.

Despite all the good times and numerous victories, Cronk believes it is time to let a younger generation share in the glory and leave their mark on the sport.

Apart from wanting to leave room for others to succeed, Cronk pointed out that another reason for his retirement was simply that the sport took too much time away from his family. Cronk is eager to relax and spend more time at home.

Sport commentators have noted their surprise at Cronk’s decision to retire from representative football given the physical health he is still in. Cronk will now be dedicating himself to his new club and stepping away from the world stage.

There is now a huge hole to fill in the Australian team as favourite Johnathon Thurston has stated he will not be playing representative football next year. Finding a new captain of Cronk’s calibre will indeed be a difficult task for team managers.

Cronk is leaving representative rugby with an overflowing amount of accolades and trophies. He is now adding a World Cup victory medal to a premiership trophy and rounding out Origin with a series win.

Cronk has won 7 of 8 Origin series he has played in and is considered a huge part of the success the Maroons have enjoyed over the last decade. Cronk has acknowledged he is leaving a huge gap in both Australia and Queensland’s teams, stating that whoever replaces him will have to learn a lot in a short amount of time.

While Cronk’s decision has come as a big surprise for followers of the sport there is universal agreement that he has earned the right to retire.