History and inexperience no burden to Sharks

Cronulla halfback Brett Kimmorley says the Sharks won’t be daunted by a lack of finals experience or the burden of a club having never won an NRL premiership.

They completed their best regular season in almost a decade last night with a clinical 28-22 win over North Queensland to take a three-game winning streak into the finals.

It buoyed confidence in the Shire that the class of 2008 can finally threaten for Cronulla’s first premiership since joining the competition in 1967.

To achieve the impossible the Sharks have to perform with the least experienced finals team of the five main contenders.

Only Kimmorley (Melbourne 1999) and prop Ben Ross (Penrith 2003) have won a premiership while the rest have limited finals experience as the club has missed the playoffs the past two seasons.

But Kimmorley says inexperience will not deter them from sticking to the formula which has provided wins over each of the other seven finalists this season.

“We’ve got here because we have worried about ourselves all season,” said Kimmorley.

“We are in a pretty good position. If you talk about the closeness of the competition these days the one thing that gets you across the line is mateship and being willing to play for each other.

“We’re blessed by the way we’re really close as a club. We don’t rely on an individual winning the game for us, we have to play as a team.

“We work well as a team to wear sides down and score some tries.”

As for not having won a premiership, there is only one solution: “Until someone wins it we’re never going to get rid of that pressure but I suppose wouldn’t it be great to be the first team to win it.”

Veteran forward Danny Nutley, who joined the club midseason from the Sydney Roosters, insists he’s headed for a fairytale end to his football career.

“Absolutely. It’s the best team I have played in in my career,” said Nutley.

“We are very well balanced. No-one is bigger than the team. We all play for each other, that is our biggest attribute.”

Kimmorley said bench forward Nutley was a key figure in the premiership march as he set the standard for the younger props.

Enjoying the finest form of his career, Kimmorley insists his performances have stemmed from Cronulla’s no-name pack of Nutley, Ross, Adam Peek and Luke Douglas doing their jobs each week.

“Our forwards are going forward and doing the job,” he said.

“They’re probably not flash names but they’ve all been standouts every week.

“Ben (Ross) is probably the only really representative recognised player but the other blokes are just sensational for us and they turn up every week and are creating a name for themselves.”

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