Granted a second chance by Cronulla, Eric Grothe Jr has begun pre-season training and will have until February to make a fairytale comeback, when his current $940 a week ‘training and performance’ contract will be up for possible extension.
It will be quite an achievement if he is to impress coach Shane Flanagan enough to be on the Sharks’ wing come Round 1 in 2014.
Grothe has spent three years out of the game and is 33 years of age. His signing has been met with open scepticism by many Cronulla fans.
Social media shows a divided reaction to his signing at the club, most of it negative.
Loyal supporters on the ‘Cronulla Sharks to win a premiership before I die‘ Facebook Page posted the following comments:
“Good signing Cronulla. He will be great for our NSW Cup side…”
“I hope he does well but I’m 32 and it’s a bit sad when the club are signing players who are older than you.”
“The signing is a win-win for Cronulla. We got him cheap. At worst he plays all year for NSW Cup. At best he finds the form that got him a NSW jersey.”
Despite the criticism, some of it harsh, Grothe himself describes his time away from the game as making him “three seasons fresh”.
He left the game in part due to a knee injury and to pursue other interests, including a music career. He has described himself as a musician that plays footy to pay the bills.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F97XpiF8W8E
Despite this, his attitude and desire to play rugby league again is obvious in the way he went about getting a contract.
He decided not to get a manager and instead opened himself up to the media, declaring he would play anywhere to have another crack at the NRL, a process that could have led to embarrassment had no one decided to pick him up.
Many sporting teams now have a ‘no dickheads’ policy to ensure their money is not wasted on talent who spend half the season on the sidelines due to off-field debacles.
To the Sharks fans knocking the signing, I say Eric Grothe fits this policy. He is desperate to play rugby league again and is appreciative of the opportunity to do so. He wants to be here.
At this stage of his career he can’t afford not to have his head screwed on and it’s players like this you want to be a part of your club.
Good heads who will get on board with a club’s culture and won’t let the supporters or the team down because of off-field behaviour.
Besides not being a ‘dickhead’ Eric Grothe has experience on his side. He has one Kangaroos Test, four NSW Origin appearances and 146 games in the NRL.
Another positive is the fact he is an excellent communicator with the media. Genuine, forthright and not ‘media-managed’.
In his pursuit of a comeback he stated his case on air to Channel Nine’s Wide World of Sports, as well as radio with Triple M.
His ability to deal with the media is a feather in the cap of an athlete these days and provides a positive image for himself and the club he represents.
For a team like Cronulla, who for many years have relied too heavily on their forward pack and have always struggled to score points (they must hold the record for the lowest winning margins), the signing of Eric Grothe Jr could prove a God send.
In saying this, critics have already labelled him ‘the new Ben Pomeroy’, which is a joke Ben Pomeroy has had to live with throughout his career as he is a figure all Sharks fans love to hate.
Personally I’m proud of his time as a Shark for all the reasons, tribulations and moments associated with his playing days.
‘The Pom’ will certainly be remembered as ‘entertaining’ if not always for the best reasons.
It will be up to Grothe to make his own name for himself, if he can burst into the starting line-up, but ‘The new Pom’ tag is a very premature one.
I wouldn’t put Eric Grothe Jr in your SuperCoach team just yet. Shane Flanagan has the following players to choose from to form a back line:
Eric Grothe Jr
Beau Ryan
Sosaia Feki
Nathan Stapleton
Jonathan Wright
Jacob Gagan (a promising junior from the Eels who’s still eligible for U20s but good enough for first grade).
Ricky Leutele
Michael Gordon
Nathan Gardner
Blake Ayshford
Matt Wright
Time will tell if Eric Grothe Jr will be a back-up player or will peak again. Hopefully I haven’t talked too soon and he will have a trouble-free stint at Cronulla – beware of Northies!
Welcome back Eric and good luck. Up up Cronulla.
Follow crackaShaun on Twitter @crackaShaun
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