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Sharks coach Shane Flanagan is dirty – and I don’t blame him one little bit. His team got beaten by the Bulldogs at Gosford on Sunday in a game where both sides badly needed to win.
The Sharks-Dogs tussle was originally slated for Shark Park, but his club’s (previous) management exported it to Bluetongue Stadium for the sake of guaranteed gate money irrespective of the crowd attracted or any other factors.
I guess it is easy to say in hindsight that Cronulla would have been better off at home, but did anyone really think this was a good move to switch that game away from the Shire?
Home games in the NRL are ‘gold’ and I think club officials should give extra special thought before off-loading even one game as they pursue the precious dollar.
Last year, when I was with the Canterbury club, our management agreed to play a very important ‘home’ game against Melbourne in Mackay, Queensland.
It was very carefully contrived, from a football as well as business viewpoint.
Mackay is Benny Barba’s home base – the Bulldogs knew the game would be a sell-out – and as things turned out, we jagged a very important win against the Storm with Ben the absolute star of the show.
We had the crowd at our back. Mackay became very much a home away from home. And thankfully, we got the job done.
I see that Souths are taking one of their premiership games to Cairns on Sunday, June 16, this year. They’ll be playing the Gold Coast and to me, the switch seems logical.
There will be a State of Origin feel to this game and it won’t hurt one little bit that Mr Greg Inglis is likely to turn out for the red and green team along with some other Queenslanders including Michael Crocker, Ben Te’o, Chris McQueen, Ben Lowe, Dave Tyrrell and Justin Hunt.
I hear this fixture will be on the calendar for three years and I suspect that this Round 14 clash will be an 18,000 sell-out. Good business from where I sit, and a really good promotion of the game.
Anyway, I think NRL clubs should think long – and think very hard – before offering up home games to alternate venues.
Having said that, the Bullies came home with their second win of the season and even though it wasn’t pretty, boy was it important!
I am prepared to say that my club ‘won ugly’, but those two competition points looked picture-perfect as we made our way back home to Canterbury-Bankstown.
Josh Reynolds was our main man, and showed that he is every inch a serious contender for Origin.
He was very upset at missing his chance to play in the City-Country game but turned on a terrific man of the match display with plenty of good judges watching.
Josh leads from the front and has boundless enthusiasm. He is a player with his own style – not afraid to put a big hit on, he always puts his body on the line, and there is an air of unpredictability with his rushes at the defensive line – will he pass, kick or go himself?
I was thrilled to see him sign a four-year contract with the Bulldogs. Josh is a player I feel we will be talking about for many seasons to come.
Last Sunday’s win will serve as a huge tonic for all in the Bulldogs camp, and with key forwards James Graham and Sam Kasiano soon to appear for the first time in 2013, the future is looking brighter by the day.
The Doggies have pretty much had a horror draw in the early part of the season. We’ve played the Roosters, Storm, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles in the first couple of months.
It’s time our boys got on a bit of a roll. And I reckon we’re a big chance of making it back-to-back against the Tigers at ANZ on Friday night.
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