Cooper Cronk's Australian and Queensland teammate Matt Gillett is adamant the race to sign the two-time Dally M Medal winner won't distract the World Cup holders' title defence in an opening-night grudge match against England.
Despite admitting some teammates had been caught off guard by Cronk's desire to play on next year and the ensuing scramble for his signature, the sweepstakes to sign the NRL's highest-profile free agent is barely a blip on Mal Meninga's radar.
Cronk will also have to mesh quickly with a new Kangaroos scrumbase partner given Johnathan Thurston's long-term unavailability, but it is his immediate future which has hogged headlines before the World Cup opener at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday night.
"Cooper's a professional of the game," Gillett said. "That [distraction] is an individual thing. It's out there on social media and all through the news.
"It might be a distraction for Coops, but he's been around for a long time and I'm sure he'll be fine with it. Hopefully he will make his decision soon - I'm not too sure - but it's good for rugby league if he's going to be playing the game still in Sydney.
"Some of us [thought he would retire], some of us weren't too sure. I'm glad he's staying on for the game and Queensland and Australia. He's still playing great footy and he's a leader in both teams."
The Roosters remain firmly in the box seat to snare Cronk's signature after he left the Storm as a grand final winner and Meninga won't want the issue of where the game's best No.7 will ply his trade next year to overshadow Australia's pool assignment.
It means Cronk's international career could be extended beyond the World Cup as he marches into a 15th NRL season, one which could see him return to torment a success-starved NSW at State of Origin level.
"The way Cooper is he's a professional, the body is still healthy and he doesn't have too many injuries," Gillett said. "I'm pretty happy he's staying on."
Cowboys ace Michael Morgan is favoured to wear the green and gold No.6 alongside Cronk for the clash against Wayne Bennett's England, although Cameron Munster and James Maloney are expected to receive game time throughout the tournament.
Meninga will name his squad for the England game on Tuesday.
He plans to use all 24 players through the pool matches against England, France and Lebanon and will be desperate to avoid an upset at the hands of England, which would almost guarantee Australia's path to the final will have to include a trip across the Tasman.
No one is more familiar with the Bennett influence than Brisbane's Gillett, who warned perhaps Australia's biggest World Cup rivals would be a vastly better team than the one which missed the Four Nations final last year.
"Wayne took over last year and got a group of players together he thought could win," Gillett said.
"They were pretty close to the squad they had last year. That's going to be a benefit for them and they will be better for it last year. I suppose we do a little bit of video on them and look at the areas where they're dangerous, but it really comes down to what we're going to do."
