Patience is a golden commodity in rugby league and two NRL clubs in the past week have felt its impact.
Down at Cronulla, years of patience and hard work paid off handsomely when a $10m injection entered the Sharks’ coffers from their financier (ANZ) and development partner, Bluestone Capital Venture.
In one of the most significant milestones in Cronulla’s history, the payment was made to develop land owned and currently occupied by the club.
The cash injection will put the Sharks group in a position of strength for 2013 and beyond.
This is a time of celebration and great relief for the Sharks community who have weathered so many bad times that one wondered if some good ones would ever roll around.
Cronulla appears to have finally shaken the financial gorilla from its back and with a batch of exciting new recruits, I see no reason why the club won’t blossom into a major title threat under emerging coach Shane Flanagan.
Their player roster is very impressive. The Sharks have added established stars such as Luke Lewis, Beau Ryan, Chris Heighington and Michael Gordon to a list that includes Paul Gallen, Todd Carney, Nathan Gardner, Isaac De Gois, Wade Graham and Jayson Bukuya.
And in further good news, Cronulla was the beneficiary of a favourable draw over the first 20 rounds of 2013 with only two games scheduled for Monday night, and nine to be played on Sundays.
At the other end of the patience spectrum lies wooden spooners Parramatta.
There is a blue and gold revolution taking place in the west with the arrival of head coach Ricky Stuart and the October appointment of respected Football Club CEO, Ken Edwards.
But the Eels have exhibited a gung-ho urgency to sign Israel Folau and their plan is threatening to disintegrate at any moment.
Parra hasn’t shown a skerrick of patience in their attempt to nail code-hopper Folau. Coach Stuart has blabbed constantly to the media about what Folau would mean to his new team and there has been oodles of premature coverage on the club’s website and social media streams.
If they were trying to convince the ex-GWS Giant that he would be loved at Parramatta more than at any rival club, they might have succeeded.
But they guy they needed to convince was NRL salary cap cop Ian Schubert – Parra had to prove they could legally fit him under the salary cap.
The whole scenario could so easily end in major embarrassment for the Eels. No other club seems to be a contender for Izzy’s services. They may well miss their man who could end up playing a season of rugby union, either here or abroad.
Plenty of patience has been shown by the Eels’ faithful in recent seasons as their team has plummeted from a position of power to play-dough on the playing field.
It’s a pity a similar patience hasn’t been shown by the Parra administrators.
KiwiBear
Guest
If patience is a Virtue then some of us Bears supporters must be so virtuous as to be considered for sainthood. As the head of the bid team Greg Florimo must get tired of running into the brickwalls thrown up to thwart his, (and all bears supporters) efforts. He deserves to be given big raps. And I must say its good to see some good news come the Sharks way given the doomsayers who pronounced the club dead and gone or a candidate for relocation.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
It comes down to finding a new home for Asotasi.
The Barry
Roar Guru
How are Souths able to fit Folau under the cap ?
Arthur Fonzarelli
Guest
Cronulla will be very strong no doubt. I think they are one or 2 classy outside backs away from a premiership. Israel Folau in a Sharks jersey would fit the bill.
Tommygun
Roar Rookie
Please Parra, work out a legal way to get him under the cap! A Western Sydney Parra v Penrith, Folau v Jennings... Would be top viewing and good for the gate! I just want him back in the NRL!!!
steve b
Roar Guru
i agree Will we have been very poor at retention of our jnrs , we can develop them but we can't seem to keep em , however i think you will see a change in the future !
Dave
Guest
Yeah I had to laugh when they said that in 2014 they will be under their cap by $400000. They bought the Hopoate brothers with Will at $400000 a season next year so how are they gonna pull that one off??? Along with Lussick and Harrison aswell. We've had to let players go because we are sticking to the rules. Parra have lost players because they can't identify talent until it has been developed elsewhere.
Mals
Guest
Now Parra reverse the trend by buying Manly juniors like Lussick & Will Hoppa. Parra have an issue with identifying their quality juniors & locking them up to contracts. They seem to prefer paying overs for players from elsewhere.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
I dont know why everyone has such high expectations or beliefs about the eels. They were only ever a strong club in the 80's when they won only thier premierships, and thier current situation is more reflective of thier whole existence imo.
Chop
Guest
They have spent an eternity focussing on developing juniors only for teams like the Roosters/Manly and the Bulldogs to swoop on them when they're ready for first grade. Have a look at all the Parra juniors playing NRL around the rest of the clubs. I agree they shouldn't be so obsessed about an outside back, but if it means getting rid of Willie Tonga then there's a double bonus in that for Parra.
John Vizzone
Roar Rookie
There is no doubting it has been a hard road for the Sharks and its fans. After all they have to live with the fact that they are yet to win a premiership. However, the victim mentality after the recent development must end. For all of the problems off the field, the Sharks have been quite successful on it without winning that elusive premiership in recent years save for the lean years in and around Ricky Stuart's demise. As for the Eels, they are reminding me alot of Souths years ago. Desperate to buy whatever good thing is going over and above market price. The decision to throw wads of cash at Chris Sandow and William Hopoate are now coming to bite them in the backside.
Will Sinclair
Guest
Steve - to be honest Parra needs to concentrate their funds on developing their junior ranks. They have a terrible record with retaining and developing young talent. In fact, you can put together a good team of talent that the Eels have let go. So they should probably forget Falou, forget trying to steal Farah from the Tigers, and concentrate on properly developing their young talent.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
One thing is for sure,to be a Shark's supporter,you have to die the death of a thousand cuts,and come out the other side intact to experience life as we know it.. The words resiliance,pig headedness,patience,ability to absorb punishment both physically and emotionally,internal conflict,incompetence,self destruction,against all odds,and finally devotion to duty, are part of the axiom one could use to describe the club and its 45 year history. The guy who took on the unenviable task a couple of years ago(Damien Irvine),to become chairman and with others get this development from the planning stage ,to the protest stage ,to approval stage,is nothing short of amazing. For the first time (and I have been following them since the first landing at Kurnell),the club is cohesive from the admin,to the players and it appears the fans.It is now well positioned to be one of the power clubs of the code. And as Tim has rightly stated:Patience is indeed a virtue. And patience ,I propose should be applied to those long suffering Bear's supporters,who must evenutally emerge from a hibernation,not of their making.
steve b
Roar Guru
Tim from all reports Parra have already been told no its over no concessions , And Souths have come out and said yes please and a rep from the Titans has been spotted hovering around . So i think seeing Izzy in blue and gold next year is not on , so no amount of patience is going to see him at Parra , i know its not over till the fat lady sings but shes warming up , but at least he will still be in league..
Cameron
Roar Guru
Shane Flanagan, since his appointment at the sharks has shown something different for long suffering shire fans, but his true ability as a coach will be tested this season. A finals campaign and improvement on 2012 will be the expectation considering the roster they now have. Also great to see off field dramas are starting to leave the club and the clubs future,looks bright.
Johnno
Guest
There is a new ticket running at the eels for the eels board, and it's being lead by ex Parra player and legend Steve Sharpe , I hope it wins it will really fix up the joint.