Five questions from the Cowboys versus Sharks semi-final

As mentioned in my other piece discussing the weekend’s results, the second week of the NRL finals series struggled to maintain the quality of play that was on show during the opening week of September football.

Actually, that’s a little harsh on the North Queensland Cowboys, who were nothing short of outstanding on Saturday night.

Yet sadly for the Cronulla Sharks and their long-suffering fans, the team bowed out of premiership contention in almost embarrassing fashion, failing to trouble the scoreboard and losing 39-0.

As the Cowboys advance, and the Sharks go home, I once again turn to my favourite format, the old ‘five questions machine’.

1. How dominant was the Cowboys’ forward pack?
Um… very.

Led by Matt Scott, the North Queensland forwards absolutely steamrolled the hapless Sharks. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a pack dominate a finals match like that. The Cowboys seemed to make 20-metre gains on their standard hit-ups, and much more on their outstanding ones.

Matt Scott led the charge, and in just his first 30 minutes of action alone, racked up amazing numbers:

Ten runs, 122 metres, four tackle busts and one line break.

However, he was far from a one-man wrecking crew, being well supported by his fellow forwards James Tamou, Gavin Cooper, Jason Taumalolo and Ben Hannant, who all had great games.

Throw in Jake Granville’s solid performance from hooker – providing perfectly timed service all night – and it’s no wonder the game was a blowout.

The Cowboys’ engine room was as dominant as a forward pack gets in rugby league, and they would have given the Melbourne Storm camp plenty to think about ahead of their match-up next week.

2. So I guess North Queensland aren’t a one-man team?
With the type of tremendous go-forward mentioned in the question above, a run-of-the-mill halfback playing behind that pack would struggle not to perform at a high level.

Lay that type of platform for the best player in the world, and you’ll have carnage.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Johnathan Thurston was excellent on Saturday night, but what would be most concerning for the teams left in the competition is the fact he wasn’t at his absolute dominant best, and didn’t need to be.

Thurston is the best player in the NRL, and capable of winning games all by himself. What makes the Cowboys extremely dangerous this season, is that he doesn’t always have to.

The Cowboys forwards were sensational on Saturday night, but the Cowboys’ ‘non-JT’ spine of Michael Morgan, Lachlan Coote and Granville was also brilliant.

Combine the talents of all those players, and then add on Thurston’s ability, and I think you have the 2015 premiers.

There, I said it.

3. So, the NRL finals system works then?
I had a few people on the weekend point out to me that the top four teams on the ladder at the end of the regular season are the four teams left in the competition, and that this is proof that the NRL’s finals system works.

To which, my answer is… I guess so.

To be honest, I never had an issue with the system, so I’m not sure why it’s a topic of conversation, but I assume it’s because I wrote a piece before Round 26, in which I intimated that positions on the ladder matter very little, and that you just have to win your finals games.

You could argue that the weekend’s games prove you need to finish in the top four if you want to be a legitimate premiership contender. However, I would counter by saying the Roosters and Cowboys won because they’re better teams than the Bulldogs and Sharks, respectively.

Ergo them winning. Ergo them being in the top four in the first place.

Actually, let’s just move on, because I can’t figure out if I’m debunking my own theory or not.

4. Is Shaun Flanagan the right coach for the Sharks?
I’m not going to speculate too much on this, so I’ll provide a fairly short answer, before letting those that have watched every Sharks game this year respond in more depth, and with more knowledge.

My objective viewpoint is that Cronulla have a very good roster, with lots of talent and depth, not to mention the fact that it will probably be even better next year.

However, the Sharks don’t appear to have the strong gameplans and tactics that are the hallmarks of other successful teams in the competition, nor do they seem to have much variety in their thinking and execution.

Is that the coach’s fault? Most would say yes, and it’s hard to debate.

5. Where to now for the Sharks?
From the wooden spoon in 2014, to two wins from the grand final in 2015, the Sharks’ season can definitely be called a success.

However, the club and their fans are desperate to break their premiership drought, and believe it’s an achievable goal next season.

To do that though, they need to improve their attack.

Saturday night’s 39-0 thrashing wasn’t just an indication of the gap between the Sharks and a top four side, it was emphatic evidence that Cronulla simply don’t have enough points in them, and it’s the one area they need to improve most in for 2016.

James Maloney will be a welcome addition in the halves, providing the team with an experienced player and solid fifth-tackle kicking option. As I mentioned last week, he’s not a magician with the ball-in-hand, but he should be an upgrade for the Sharks in the playmaking department.

This may surprise a few people, but his halves partner should be Ben Barba, who is overqualified to be a first grade bench player. Though he can unquestionably be an effective interchange sparkplug, with the level head of Maloney being a perfect foil at halfback, the erratic but exciting Barba should return to the starting line-up in the number six jersey next year.

That will also enable Jack Bird to move to the centres, and with Valentine Holmes going to fullback after Michael Gordon’s departure, suddenly the Sharks have one of the most potent backlines in the competition.

Provided they get the ball.

Therein lies the other area the Sharks need to address: their forwards providing more second-phase ball, or getting better at spinning it wide, rather than just constantly taking hit-ups.