BY A.J NASH

Sydney Roosters half Cooper Cronk has given some friendly advice to hooker Jake Friend as calls grow for Friend to be axed from the Chooks starting side.

Friend has struggled at dummy half and was booed  by his own supporters last week in their loss to rivals South Sydney.

“While he might not have the creativity or flair of other dummy-halves in the game, he does his strengths really well,” Cronk said on Fox Sports.

“What he should do is focus on the two or three things he brings to a football team and just ram it home.

“He doesn’t need to be doing trick plays out the back, we’ve got enough talent for that.”

It comes after an article written on Fox Sports by our own Curtis Woodward last November.

“For all his toughness and durability, Friend has but a shred of Smith’s creativity and game management credentials,” Woodward wrote.

“According to statistics from the Fox Sports Lab, Smith amassed 91 metres from eight runs in Melbourne’s 34-6 grand final win over North Queensland.

“A week earlier, the Roosters were sent packing after a shock loss to the fairytale Cowboys.

Freddy catches up with injured captain Jake Friend who gives us an insight into his recent injury. #NRLSouthsRoosters #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/FAk2agoaby

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) March 23, 2017

“And how many runs did Friend have?

“How many metres did he make?

“The answer is zero to both questions.

“For Cronk to succeed at the Roosters he needs more than a dummy half that is happy to hang his hat on how many tackles he makes.”

Coach Trent Robinson is sticking by Friend thus far.

If the losses continue, Robinson’s hand might be forced.