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The only way is up for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Roar Guru
8th November, 2014
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Ben Barba faces his old team as a Shark. Who are you tipping to win? (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
Roar Guru
8th November, 2014
27
1018 Reads

After the season from hell in 2014, Cronulla Sharks supporters will be hoping that season 2015 brings the club better luck and a climb back up the ladder following their first wooden spoon in 45 years.

With the club having already secured the services of former Bulldogs captain Michael Ennis, Sharks fans will be excited at the prospect of the club signing fallen Dally M Medallist Ben Barba.

He has been released from the Brisbane Broncos after just one season.

Barba’s departure comes after incoming coach Wayne Bennett refused to guarantee his position in the club’s starting line-up in 2015. The supercoach has made it clear that he wants Darius Boyd and Anthony Milford to play at fullback and five-eighth, respectively.

Barba is one of four players who have fallen victim to the Bennett cleanout at the Broncos, the other three are Josh Hoffman (Gold Coast Titans), Martin Kennedy (Sydney Roosters) and Ben Hannant (North Queensland Cowboys).

While his departure from the Broncos will be a blow, it’s long-awaited good news for long-suffering Sharks supporters who, like the players and coaching staff, were forced to endure a horrific 2014 season that is likely to never be repeated.

Head coach Shane Flanagan was suspended for the season for his role in the ASADA scandal, caretaker coach Peter Sharp left his post midway through the campaign and playmaker Todd Carney was sacked by the club in a knee-jerk reaction to a lewd photo which found its way onto Twitter.

On the field, the Sharks crashed to their first wooden spoon since 1969, winning just five matches, possessing the worst attack in the competition and having a points differential of minus 279.

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As if that wasn’t enough, several players from the club’s 2011 squad, including captain Paul Gallen, accepted backdated suspensions which saw them sit out the final two rounds of the regular season.

The horror didn’t stop there. Chief executive Steve Noyce was sacked last month after his role was made redundant, prompting Gallen to attack the NRL via Twitter, which then fined him $50,000 for his offensive tweet.

Lost in all this, though, were consecutive comeback victories against the Brisbane Broncos and Sydney Roosters midway through the season, with the latter rating as the season’s greatest boil over, especially considering the circumstances.

Carney had been sacked, Gallen was in camp for the State of Origin dead rubber in Brisbane and James Shepherd was in charge of his first match after Peter Sharp stepped down from the interim head coaching role.

Oh, and not to mention the Roosters were defending premiers and eventually went on to capture their second consecutive minor premiership.

Looking back at what has happened at the Sharks over the last twelve months, it’s fair to say that they were an impediment to the competition this year.

While league fans will want to remember season 2014 as being the year the South Sydney Rabbitohs won their first premiership in 43 years, sadly it must be said that the ASADA scandal which clouded the Sharks was the major headline.

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But as the saying goes, the only way is up. The signing of Ennis could be the first step towards the Sharks regaining the respect of the National Rugby League and its fans.

And it could get better with the club now very close to signing Barba, who has struggled to replicate the form that saw him win the Dally M Medal in 2012.

Despite his on-field struggles in 2014, Barba is anything but a spent force in the NRL and he shapes as the much-needed replacement for Todd Carney. At 25, there are still at least five or six good years left in him, and he remains one of the best players out there never to have played Origin.

Other than Barba, the Sharks will also welcome Mitch Brown (from the Bulldogs) and Jack Bird (Dragons) to the club in 2015. On top of that, head coach Shane Flanagan will also return after he was cleared by the NRL to resume his duties.

In the two years prior to 2014, the Sharks assembled what many believed was the club’s strongest roster for years, signing, among others, Andrew Fifita, Carney, Isaac de Gois, Chris Heighington, Beau Ryan and Bryce Gibbs.

This was all thanks to Flanagan, who wanted to rebuild the team his own way after inheriting a basket case from Ricky Stuart midway through the 2010 season. This impressive recruiting rampage saw the club reach the finals in two consecutive seasons prior to all hell breaking loose with the ASADA scandal.

Additionally, Carney came very close to winning his second Dally M Medal in 2013, finishing just two votes behind Cooper Cronk after missing the final round of the season due to a hamstring injury.

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With Flanagan’s return to the team and the signings of Ennis and (potentially) Barba, Sharks fans should be optimistic about their club’s chances in 2015.

However, they must also remember that not even these three men alone will help them bury the demons of their horror 2014 season.

While one chapter closes, arguably the darkest in the club’s history, another one opens. Here’s hoping that the Sharks will be making headlines for all the right reasons and that the team can at least regain some credibility and respect in 2015.

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