The performance of Cronulla has caught my eye over the past few weeks. Aside from the Storm, they’re the form side at the moment, with four wins on the trot. And much of that can be put down to a clever recruitment policy.
A lot was made pre-season about the loss of Luke Douglas and Kane Snowden. Yardage and field position is vital this season, and genuine contenders for the premiership need good big men up front to really earn those metres.
The Sharks lost two key players but they brought in a couple of less heralded replacements in Bryce Gibbs and Andrew Fifita. And both have been outstanding for the club.
Frontrow is a tough position to fill with quality players at any club. But coaches Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart, and now Shane Flanagan have shown that you don’t necessarily need big names in that position to make an impact.
With their selection and recruitment policies, they’ve shown how effective a cheaper frontrow pair can be. I’m guessing Douglas and Snowden collectively cost around $750,000, whereas Gibbs and Fifita, I’m guessing, have come in at around $400,000.
So the difference of $350,000 allowed them to enter the market for Todd Carney, who became available at just the right time.
You need tough, hard workers who get the job done, and in Bryce Gibbs, you have just that. He’s a smaller stature frontrower, but he works hard out there.
Fifita is more explosive, and therefore, more noticed. His role in getting go-forward for the Sharks has been impressive. But, for me, Gibbs has been the most valuable buy for the club this season.
The other big change at the Sharks has been the addition of the mercurial Todd Carney. While he’s had issues at previous clubs for disciplinary reasons, he seems to have found a home in the Shire and has really added quality in that halfback position.
He’s certainly one of the better halves in the game. He brings that X Factor to the team that keeps opponents guessing and his teammates on their toes.
Combine that with a very tough forward pack, led ably by Paul Gallen and supported by Jeremy Smith and Anthony Tupou, and the experience of veterans like Colin Best, and you have a team that is well balanced and playing confident footy.
The crucial 9,7,1 triangle is forming well at Cronulla, with that combination of players taking advantage of what Gallen and co are doing in the middle of the rucks.
The club have recruited well.
As for the club that Gibbs and Fifita came from, I thought they were false favorites at the outset of the season. The Wests Tigers are a good team and have plenty of great players, but I felt that a few other teams were entitled to be tipped ahead of them.
Robert Lui was a big loss for the club. Tim Moltzen finished off the previous season well, but moving him to halfback and losing Lui has weakened two key positions: 7 and 1.
Then they let some players go to recuit Adam Blair, who is a wonderful player but is used to being in a structured side who use short direct passes, rather than the sideline to sideline approach usually adopted at the Tigers.
Because of his instinctive brilliance, it takes some time to get used to playing with Benji Marshall. So Blair is having to learn how to fit in with the Tigers on-field structure. But don’t give up on him. He is a quality player.
And the same applies for the Tigers, who I’m sure in time will hit form.
Most teams at some stage of the season will have a lull for a few weeks, but once they come out of it, the stronger sides will maintain their intensity and good form for a period of time. So while the competition will remain tight for most of the season, eventually one or two teams will be a standout.
Will it be the Storm and Sharks in 2012? The next few weeks will reveal much more.
Former Dragons coach and player Nathan Brown writes an exclusive weekly column for The Roar. Brown, who played 172 games for the Dragons and coached them for a further 142 games, is currently the head coach at the Huddersfield Giants in the UK Super League.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I may have overdone it slightly but the quality of Brownie's four articles to date has been very disappointing. We get some quality articles from the journos on this site and some entertaining opinion mixed with a fair amount of gibber from the rest of us. I was really looking forward to the opportunity of reading and responding to the articles of a former first grade player and coach. So far we've had: 1) Greg Inglis should be moved to fullback (the week AFTER Maguire did it and Inglis demolished Penrith) 2) Cronk, Slater and Smith are the keys to Melbourne’s success 3) The salary cap makes the comp even and hard to dominate And then this weeks which while not incorrect is another “after the fact” article with a conclusion (the Sharks recruited well, the Tigers poorly) that even the most casual league fan could make for themselves. I’ve got nothing against Brownie but this obvious sort of stuff doesn’t display any more insight, tactical nous or insider knowledge than posts from ‘civilian’ Roarers. It’s fair enough to expect more…
jmo
Guest
Kade not Kane. Warriors can smash the Storm if they want, so can the Sharkies funnily enough even in Mlb. Parra usually smashes the Sharkies though so this wouldn't surprise me this weekend either.
mushi
Roar Guru
The good thing is I'm sure Brownie's dealt with tougher criticism from people he respects more
Steve War
Guest
Jeff Robson is proving a very good buy too - unwanted at Parramatta (much maligned by my Parra friends), but he's proving a great foil for Carney and a positive player in his own right. Well done recruitment dept. and Jeff! Luke Burt can come too, if Parra want to underrate him.
Go warriors
Guest
Sharks have been awesome this year and they are great to watch. I love the passion they have been playing with. I wish my warriors could play with that passion. Anyway long way to go but I hope you can make it to the top 8.
Renegade
Guest
That's a bit harsh there mate.....relax a little. I think a lot of people thought the sharks recruited well and the first 6 rounds can now confirm that....exactly what Brown is saying.
The Barry
Roar Guru
This insight into the quality of the Sharks and Tigers respective recruitment would be very interesting if it were written before a game was played. After round 6 it's another case of stating the bleeding obvious after the Sharks have won four in a row and the Tigers lost five. "Most teams at some stage of the season will have a lull for a few weeks, but once they come out of it, the stronger sides will maintain their intensity and good form for a period of time. So while the competition will remain tight for most of the season, eventually one or two teams will be a standout. " Derrrr. I don't mean to continually sound critical but I really expect more insight reading the articles of a former first grade player and premiership winning coa...oh that's right.
Jaceman
Guest
The Sharks are playing good footy - they deserve a break after the issues they have had...
Dropa
Guest
the Brown polish....
rl
Guest
The Sharkies feel a little bit like "The Replacements" - the team that no one (outside the Shire) loves, made up of players no one wanted. But that has created a great team atmosphere, motivated by an underdog mentality. Can they sustain it through the year? Keep them off the sauce, feed them a steady diet of raw meat and negative press clippings, and they'll go a long way.
Vas Venkatramani
Guest
As a casual Sharks fan, the team still looks vulnerable in terms of converting dominance into points. Against most sides, that would be okay as our defence will keep us in the game. The real litmus test for me will be when we line up against the Storm. With their attacking prowess, that'll not only test our defence, but also confirm whether it is good enough to nullify great offensive players like Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cam Smith. In the meantime, we need to workshop our attack. The great thing is we have about 18 weeks to perfect this. We don't need to pile on 40 points a game, but look to score around 20 to ensure we can play with some relative scoreboard comfort, which 6-0 and 12-0 scores simply don't permit. Right now, things are looking good. But as a Sharks fan (even a casual one), you never look further than the next game.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The backs appear to be receiving more ball in attacking poistions opened up by the creativity of the new halves combination.Carney does a little more roving,searching for openings and the backs who lacked opportunities in the past are now getting the openings. There is far less panic football and the centres are dropping the pill far less,and as a result are more dangerous. I am surprised also that the centres defensive work has improved out of sight. ' Throw in a team that is enjoying their mateship and playing together,and you have the ingredients for hopefully at worst top 8 at best top 4 side. The coach has to be applauded working with little in the way of resources ,and dare I say it but also astute buying. A happy club FTM,now we just need the development application to get the green light,and the sky is the limit.
AGO74
Guest
The centres is another area they have improved this year. Ok, its the same pairing as last year where Best was ok and Pomeroy enhanced his status as Cronulla's most maligned player, but this year they are both playing very well. Wade Graham in back row is also going great guns for them and is seemingly a much better fit for Sharks than when he was at 5/8 in first 2 rounds. Todd Carney has been getting better each week - but despite all the raps he is getting I still don't think he is playing close to the level when he won the Dally M. Last week was his best game to date, but I still think he can play - in particular his running gamle - at a much higher level.