With Cameron Smith’s autobiography, The Storm Within, to be released on Monday, fans will get a real insight into the highs and lows of the champion hooker’s life. One of those could very well be the reason behind his falling out with ex-Storm teammate Cooper Cronk.
Cronk ended his 14-year reign in Melbourne alongside Smith and Billy Slater at the end of 2017 when he moved to Sydney to be with his now wife Tara Rushton.
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Many have assumed that was the reason behind the feud, however according to The Sydney Morning Herald there’s much more to it.
A fraction of the book has already been published in the media where Smith claims he doesn’t know why he and Cronk are no longer as close as what they were, while Cronk and his manager, George Mimis, do not talk about the situation.
However, the Herald reports that the real reason stems from Smith and his wife, Barb, not attending Cronk’s wedding in Sydney in December, 2017.
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Although it was a small wedding of just 50 people, Storm coach Craig Bellamy attended.
“The suggestion from some of Cronk and Smith’s former teammates is the falling out relates to Smith and his wife’s failure to attend Cronk’s wedding,” Danny Weidler reports in the Herald.
“No one will say more than it was the abrupt manner of the no-show that angered Cronk. It may be detailed in Smith’s book, but I doubt it.”
After moving to Sydney, Cronk went on to win two premierships with the Roosters and is now forging a successful career as one of Fox League’s expert analysts. Smith and the Storm did just fine too after Cronk’s departure, winning this year’s premiership.
Smith’s autobiography, co-written by Andrew Webster, where he gives an interesting hint that he won’t be at the Storm next year, is out now.
Originally published as Wedding snub behind Smith, Cronk feud
