Saturday, 8 December 2018:

COOPER CRONK of the Maroons passes the ball during the State Of Origin series between the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia.

Cooper Cronk has "no idea" how a side can muster the hunger to achieve back-to-back NRL titles, admitting he has fallen into the mental traps that come with a premiership ring.

After 15 seasons, five grand final wins from eight deciders, 349 NRL games, 38 Tests, 22 Origins, two Dally Ms and a Golden Boot, there isn't much the 35-year-old hasn't achieved.

However being a part of a side to win two straight premierships is one of the few things missing from the Roosters maestro's glittering resume.

He's gone close several times and even lifted the Provan-Summons Trophy in 2017 and 2018. But that was with two different sides - Melbourne and the Roosters.

And with no team over the past quarter of a century having found a way to back-up, how does Cronk expect the Tricolours to in 2019?

"I've got no idea," Cronk said.

"A lot of teams have spoken about it, a lot of teams have tried to do it. A lot of teams have failed over a long period of time.

"For me, I don't think an individual award or a grand final achievement is ever really the peak for me as an individual. It's always a great achievement but there's always some other mountain to climb.

"I think if you see it as a peak, you're naturally going to have a drop off. Maybe it's where other people have struggled previously and I've been a part of that, I've struggled to combat that issue."

Cronk said falling into contentment was an easy trap.

And even after one of the great modern careers, he says he's still trying to challenge himself not to fall into apathy.

"If you've ever think you've made it, you're going to fall on your backside when you think you've gone to the top," Cronk said.

"Whether it's sport or life, there's always something else to achieve, there's always something to look at and get better at.

"As an individual, I think I always maintained I did really well and improve the things I didn't."

AAP