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Where to now for the Sharkies?

Interim Cronulla Sharks head coach Peter Sharp has quit the Sharks. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
Roar Guru
4th July, 2014
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In 2013, the recruitment of Panthers duo Luke Lewis and Michael Gordon, combined with the existing talent of Paul Gallen and Todd Carney, saw the Cronulla Sharks with a team strong enough to challenge for the premiership.

This was rocked on the eve of the season with ASADA’s report putting a question mark over their season.

Cronulla still qualified for the finals, making it into the second week. Another ten minutes in their qualifying final against Manly and they probably would have advanced into the final four.

So how have things gone so wrong? And where do the Cronulla Sharks head from here?

While they have a few excuses for their poor showings this year, the Sharkies could be finishing in the bottom half of the table for the next few years. It appears highly unlikely Paul Gallen will lift the premiership trophy as a one club player.

Obviously the main factor for their horror year was the suspension of Shane Flanagan. Losing your coach during the preseason is not ideal and working under a new coach takes some getting used to. When Flanagan was suspended, the club had two options: to sack Flanagan and move on with a new coach, or to appoint a young enthusiastic coach who was eager to prove himself before moving into an assistant role the following year (or become head coach of another club).

The club instead opted for Peter Sharp and we all know how that went. He had no real ambition to be a head coach again and that has shown in the club’s results.

Things have all come to a head with the sacking of Todd Carney earlier this week. Whether you believe what he did is a sackable offence or not, a guy that has been given as many chances as Carney should really know better. The club felt it had no other option but to terminate his contract, this indicates that Carney might have been disappointing the club’s big wigs in other ways without it reaching the media.

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In losing Carney, the Sharks have also lost their chief playmaker. While Carney’s form has been down this year, at his best he can win a game single-handed. Jeff Robson also provided a good foil for Carney and part of the club’s poor form was due to the fact the two of them couldn’t get on to the field together much.

Quality half recruits for next year are sparse, so the Sharks will be hoping Fa’amanu Brown comes into his own during the second half of the year.

No one is more passionate about their club and state then Paul Gallen. The look on his face when NSW won Origin 2 exemplified how much effort he had put in over the years. It also represented Gallen’s grand final victory – he knows he won’t get there with the Sharks.

With no coach and no x-factor for the remainder of the year, Cronulla have a hard job ahead of them to avoid the wooden spoon. What is more alarming is that things aren’t looking much better for next year.

Let’s hope that Cronulla can uncover a gem, and Brown can lead them into the future.

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