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Sydney Roosters recruit Cooper Cronk says his transition has been easy given his new NRL club's similarities with the Melbourne Storm.
The similarities are scary.
So says star Sydney Roosters signing Cooper Cronk, who also admits to being taken aback by the ease of his transition from Melbourne to the harbour city.
Cronk's move to the Roosters is one of the major storylines ahead of the NRL season after opting to continue his career elsewhere instead of retiring following 14 years at the Storm.
And ahead of next week's season-opener against the Wests Tigers, Cronk likened his new club to a Storm franchise that have won two of the past six premierships.
"I've had that question a lot and the one thing that I keep coming back to is that there's not a lot (of difference). The similarities are quite scary actually," Cronk said on Monday.
"In terms of the professional performance staff, they're really good at their job. They get the boys training hard and physically ready for the year.
"The coaching staff put a lot of time into the players, a lot of care and consideration to the playing group to obviously improve their skillset.
"And then the playing group works tremendously hard to be the best they possibly can be."
The 34-year-old Cronk was also quick to point out the recent success of both clubs, who have missed just one finals series between them in the past five years.
The only season Cronk failed to appear in the post-season was when Melbourne were infamously barred from earning premiership points due to the salary cap scandal in 2010.
"There's a reason why Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters have been in the top bunch consistently for a period of time," Cronk said.
"(It's) because of their work ethic and their ability to execute and analyse the things they haven't done well, but maintain the things they have done well."
The former Kangaroos and Queensland State of Origin halfback initially feared more of a teething period on and off the field following his move from the anonymity of Melbourne.
But after getting married to Fox Sports presenter Tara Rushton and with a child on the way, Cronk said his lifestyle had never been more enjoyable.
"That's because personally there's a few things that made the move really enjoyable and professionally, honestly I thought I would've faced a few more challenges," he said.
"But as I stand here today, the transition's been absolutely seamless. It's been really enjoyable and I think both personally and professionally it's really complimented one another."