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Sharks need killer instinct to complete the package

Shane Flanagan's side need a bit more killer instinct. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
Expert
1st May, 2016
46
1293 Reads

There are more positives than negatives about Cronulla’s win over Brisbane on Sunday, but the biggest consideration for the Sharks has got to be the fact they allowed the Broncos back into the game to the extent where they could have actually won.

It should never have happened and you would very rarely see something like that from Brisbane, or North Queensland, the two teams that met in last year’s grand final and have provided the benchmark so far this season.

Cronulla have got to display the killer instinct in those circumstances.

Even in the modern game, where teams can get on a roll and score points in a hurry, if you lead by 22 points at halftime and you’re a good team – like the Sharks are – the opposition shouldn’t be able to get into a position where it is down by just two and still has a few minutes left to try to win.

If you’ve established such a big lead, particularly at home, and you’ve let that happen then you must have contributed to it, at least to some degree, and the Sharks certainly did that.

They weren’t nearly as good in the second half as they were in the first. There wasn’t the same attention to detail.

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan would have been well aware the Broncos and their coach, Wayne Bennett, weren’t going to take kindly to being down 28-6 at halftime.

He would have known there was going to be a considerable response in the second half and he would have warned his players about that. But, still, it happened. Cronulla still got the win, 30-28, that they deserved overall, but they have got to learn from a game like that.

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This wouldn’t be worth talking about if the Sharks weren’t genuine premiership contenders. It would just be considered a glitch in Brisbane’s campaign. But the Sharks are genuine contenders. They’ve got a top side that is more adept at scoring points than Cronulla have been in recent years.

Once they put the foot on the throat they should be able to keep it there. Even against Brisbane, they should at least be able to keep the opposition at a comfortable arm’s length in a situation like that.

Bennett made an interesting observation after the game, when he said the early naming of the Australia side for Friday night’s Test against New Zealand had adversely affected the mentality of some of the Brisbane players chosen and perhaps contributed to the team’s poor first half.

“I’m not making excuses but I was pretty disappointed when they named the team early this week,” Bennett said. “We haven’t done that before and it is just not good, especially guys like Josh McGuire, who has never played for Australia before.

“It only takes three or four guys to be off in this competition and you are under pressure. That’s not the reason we lost but it is part of the fact. I kept the Australian and Kiwi players back (after training) yesterday and I told them because I knew what was going on with them.

“It is not good policy. They would rather find out tonight.”

Safe to say Cronulla captain Paul Gallen wasn’t thinking about the Test, even though he was selected as well, otherwise he may not have dropped his forearm into the face of McGuire, who was on his back. The incident obviously has the potential to result in a charge.

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The Sharks have seven wins, the same as the first-placed Cowboys, second-placed Broncos and third-placed Melbourne. But they’ve still got to become more ruthless. Unlike those three other teams, they don’t know what it’s like to at least make the grand final in recent years.

Win premierships is, of course, something the Sharks have never done, but they’ve got a shot at it this year. Finishing fellow top teams off in style when they’ve got the chance will help build the confidence and self-belief they’re going to need in the finals.

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