Cross's journey into great unknown

Now that's the type of article we should be seeing every week in the West liftouts!!!
Good stuff Rupert :approve:

Cross's journey into great unknown

Rupert Guinness, Rugby Heaven
Friday, March 2, 2007

The day Ryan Cross decided to switch from rugby league to union, he did more than just etch his name in a new chapter in Australia's bloody code war. He also joined the growing band of players who are pursuing their careers away from Australian rugby's traditional eastern heartland.

"I have decided to cross the Nullarbor," were his first words on the telephone to his manager, John Fordham, who had been waiting for Cross to decide which of three offers he would accept.

"I just told him, 'Mate, it's great they taught you something at Waverley College - geography," said Fordham, who then called the Force to tell them the good news, before passing on the bad to the Waratahs and Brumbies.

How good or bad that news was for any of the three parties may be clearer tonight when the Force, seventh on the Super 14 ladder, play the 11th-placed Waratahs at Aussie Stadium.

Cross admits it will be "weird" returning to his former Roosters home ground and - like the six former Waratahs in the Force's 22-man squad who also called Aussie Stadium "home" - turning right into the visitors' locker room.

"I used to always have the same spot in the change room. Now I'll have to find a new spot," said Cross, who has impressed in his first four Super 14 outings.

Force coach John Mitchell, one who usually speaks about the squad collective of 22s or 15s, is predicting big things for this professional rugby dilettante.

"He is only four rugby games old. What is he going to be like in eight games, or at the end of the competition?" asked Mitchell. "He is a fantastic aquisition for Australian rugby. And if he keeps progressing as he is, he will be a valuable member of the Wallabies - if selectors go that way."

The way Mitchell talks makes Cross sound like a footballing rookie, not the seasoned 27-year-old who came to union after nine years with the Roosters, where he was top tryscorer in 2003 and a State of Origin selection in 2004 and 2005. Add to those credentials his award in 2005 as Roosters Player of the Year and a record of 80 tries from 140 first-grade games for the Bondi Junction club.

There was a little rugby union history before his league days, too - Cross played fullback for Australian Schoolboys.

However, Mitchell's reckoning of Cross is not far-fetched. One reason Cross decided to head to Perth was to start a new footballing life, and earn credibility as a rugby player and not as another league convert. To achieve that he needed to detach himself from the safe haven of Sydney and the proximity of Canberra.

So, with his wife, Dani, and baby daughter, Marley, Cross made the break and joined the fledgling Super 14 side that last year finished bottom on the ladder with an unflattering record of one win, two draws and 10 losses.

He was not alone on the highway from the east to west coast of Australia. Also joining the Force as high-profile recruits were five-eighth Matt Giteau from the Brumbies, and outside back Drew Mitchell from the Queensland Reds.

Cross knew what awaited him was a fast-tracked re-education into rugby needing an A-plus mark by the end of the Super 14 if he was to be effective in driving the Force's midfield and making the Wallabies for the World Cup.

So far, Cross is making the grade. He has frequently crossed the advantage line, broken tackles and shown excellent ball disposal in a Force back line he admits, while equipped to test defences out wide and midfield, is still to hit it straps.

"We are still learning how each other moves and thinks," said Cross, who tonight plays outside Junior Palesasa, with Mitchell and Scott Staniforth on the wings. Cross feels he is progressing. But he adds that "there are still things to work on. There is a lot more structure in rugby, like with placing and where I have to be … those instinctive things that will come back to me like at the rucks and mauls. But I still feel every week that I'm being more effective and getting more confidence."

Cross is also aware that as a former rugby league player, many oppositions will be busily scheming ways to capitalise on his weaknesses before he can correct them.

The Waratahs inside-centre Daniel Halangahu made that clear this week.

"I've had a good look at him. He has had a good start to rugby, but there are a few typical things there. He will try and get you on the outside," Halangahu said. "At the breakdown he has a few issues. We will test him out, have a crack at him out wide and see how he goes, see how he is working with other guys around him."

Cross was happy to hear of the Waratahs' intentions, but not altogether surprised.

"I'm new to rugby so there's no reason why they wouldn't test me. I didn't know they would. So it's good I do know now," he said.