After being handed the keys to the Melbourne Storm - literally - by departing halfback Cooper Cronk, Brodie Croft says he's ready to make the place his own.
With Cronk shifting to the Sydney Roosters after 14 seasons with Melbourne, Croft has not only taken over his No.7 playing jersey but also his locker.
"It was pretty special the first day of pre-season when I came in and I got given his locker and that took a bit to get used to because I felt like I was sitting in his locker," the 20-year-old said.
"The boys have been good about telling me that I have to make that locker my own and go from there."
Croft, who was mentored by Cronk over the past two seasons, says the Test halfback has given him the tools for success, starting with their round one clash against the Bulldogs in Perth on Saturday night.
"I learnt a lot off him in those two years and I'm walking in his footsteps pretty much every day at training here," said Croft, who has played six NRL games.
"It's different not having him around here but I believe from what I've learnt from him I can now go out there and do it myself."
Croft says his game differs to Cronk in that he likes to run the ball to open up his passing game to feed the Storm's dangerous right edge which has Test stars Will Chambers, Suliasi Vunivalu and Felise Kaufusi.
Croft says the challenge will be for him to put his stamp on the game and not be intimidated by his own teammates like NRL legends Cameron Smith and Billy Slater.
"The coaches have told me that being the No.7 I have to have the confidence to call the shots," the Queenslander said.
"I've been working to make sure I'm not over-awed and don't worry about what they've done and just worry about doing my job and that's to run the team around the best I can."
Fullback Slater has been ruled out of round one with a sore shoulder but Croft felt they could cover for him.
"He's a big loss but I don't think it's an extra load on me," he said.
"We've got some options to come into the side and we've got such a high calibre of players in our team already that we will do everything we can to cover him."
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