The Sharks have stolen the headlines in the last 24 hours after landing Storm veteran Dale Finucane on a four-year, reported $2.5 million deal.
There were multiple clubs interested in Finucane however it is understood that he was after a long-term deal and many of the other clubs in the running could not adapt to Finucane’s needs. He is a trained leader, and a great pick-up for the Shire.
Matt Moylan has recently re-signed and added to that, they have signed a red-hot, in-form Nicho Hynes and Dragons star Cameron McInnes.
Are the Sharks a force to be reckoned with in 2022?
The sacking of John Morris came as a bit of a shock to many footy fans. While it was reported that he probably won’t be the coach come next season, he was allegedly told he would see out the year.
The board had other ideas and decided to bring in Craig Fitzgibbon from the Chooks, partnered with Josh Hannay, who has recently penned another contract to assist in 2022.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Cronulla’s season has been a turbulent one. After 19 rounds they have managed nine wins and ten losses and sit seventh.
The Sharks have overcome adversity in recent years following many departures and overcoming the salary cap issues left behind in the Shane Flanagan era.
Morris took the Sharks to eighth place last season and seventh in 2019. Departures, for various reasons, include Valentine Holmes, Edrick Lee, Luke Lewis, Ava Seumanufagai, Matt Prior, Jayden Brailey, Jayson Bukuya, Paul Gallen, Josh Morris, Kurt Capewell, Sosaia Feki and Bronson Xerri.
This year, the word to describe the Sharkies is unpredictable. They have beaten teams such as Penrith and the Titans, but lost to the Dogs and Broncos.
Some in-form players that have come to light include Will Kennedy, Connor Tracey and Ronaldo Mulitalo.
In the halves, Moylan and Shaun Johnson have simply been too inconsistent to be labelled as having a decent season. Johnson is heading home in 2022 to join his home club, the NZ Warriors.
Chad Townsend has been shipped off the Warriors for the remainder of the season and he will subsequently join the North Queensland Cowboys.
Off contract for the Sharkies include Will Chambers, Josh Dugan, Jackson Ferris, Mawene Hiroti, Nene Macdonald, Billy Magoulias, Kyle Paterson, Aiden Tolman, Daniel Vasquez and Aaron Woods. Aaron Woods has been told he is unwanted next season, and possibly the same to Dugan if he does not take a chunky pay cut.
As Nicho Hynes shines at the Storm, and is forcing Ryan Papenhuyzen to fight to get the number one jersey back, it is likely he will be in the number six jersey next year.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Will Kennedy is being given a genuine shot at the permanent fullback role for the Sharks and his form this season suggests he may retain that position.
Currently, the Sharkies have no natural number seven. Rumours that Moylan will be moving into that halfback role are circulating but no one is certain as of yet.
There is no evidence McInnes will be replacing Blayke Brailey at hooker. In fact, Cronulla have put a lot of faith in Brailey.
There is a chance McInnes may be given the lock role, which also leaves Finucane out of his natural position. It is a slight conundrum for the Sharks’ coaching staff.
Where do you see the Sharks finishing come the end of the 2022 season?
JVGO
Guest
Yep.
Sam McCosker
Roar Rookie
Don't love it as a Sharks fan
Sam McCosker
Roar Rookie
Did Moylan take a cut? $300k seems small
Sam McCosker
Roar Rookie
Can't say I'm stoked with Moylan resigning as a Sharks fan myself.
Sam McCosker
Roar Rookie
Time will tell.
JVGO
Guest
Moylan is I year 300k. We will have that plus Fifita's money plus probably Wades for a couple of big signings the year after. We have looked pretty good with Moylan this year. He has been actually more consistent than SJ. His defence has been a ton better than formerly.
JVGO
Guest
Mate we waited fifty years! Sharks are the most patient club in the comp. We will be back at Shark Park, have money in the bank and if all else fails we still have our spiritual leader Fifita in reserve grade. We also have his massive money for an actual player the year after and probably Wades. Fitzy will be given time to settle in and build. Fifita will be given a job driving the bus between Kareela and Endeavour.
JGK
Roar Guru
He may not have shown he can coach, but he’s clearly got a copy of The Book of Sombrero.
danwain
Roar Rookie
That might be the issue he is facing into though. If he didn’t have these big name signings, you would expect the club would give him his three years to sort things out and ascend to be a contender. But now, with these big signings, is he expected to hit the ground running and for the club to be competing with the storm and panthers in 2022? 3 Months ago it looked like a pretty standard rebuild, now it looks very very different, and expectations may be a lot higher.
Nat
Roar Guru
I think the NRL will start to take notice of Hannay when this season finishes. He was in charge for 2/3 wins in NQ last year and has a good chance at a greater than 50% win rate this year. He has plied his trade in Q cup and junior rep teams. He is building a decent resume without having mates in high places.
Nat
Roar Guru
For your sake I hope you're right. For his sake I hope he is treated better than the last 2 if he doesn't get straight up success. 7 of the bottom 8 are either 1-2yr rookies or NRL restarts. It takes time to build what you want but does the club have the patience?
The Barry
Roar Guru
For all the fourth tackle pain Tolman causes at times, he’s a bloke the Dogs have really missed. Give me his 130 metres and 40 tackles every day of the week than some of the garbage guys like Napa dish up…
The Barry
Roar Guru
I think too much one on one defending for him out there
JVGO
Guest
But the Sharks have been coached by an assistant for the last three years. So Fitzy even though he is an assistant has a better roster and just has to be a better coach than those two assistants one of whom is going to be his assistant anyway. Appears the only way would be up unless Fitzy who is lauded as the best assistant around utterly duds.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Has Fitzgibbon shown that he can coach? Has he done the week to week grind of preparing a team (State Cup, Super League, etc)? Has he had to deal with all the drama of player egos, managers, media, etc every week? Sure, he has the right people talking him up. But so did Trent Barrett, Adam O'Brien, Stephen Kearney, etc. And not one of them had head coaching experience at a lower level
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Think the positions will sort themselves out. Initially can see McInnes as an 80 minute player possibly starting at 9 then rotating with Finucane at 13 to bring Brayley on who’s sharper in 25’ sessions. Moylan’s an 18, an understudy to Hynes not competitor. Trindall plays 7, Kennedy 1. Hope they keep Tolman he’s made a valuable contribution this year.
Paul
Roar Guru
Your last sentence is particularly right, Nat. I think we've tended to expect miracles from new coaches in recent times and when they haven't delivered what people have expected, they're labelled as failures. As you say, he may well need a season or two to get his approach right, so hopefully Sharkies fans and the media give him a chance, before piling on
Phil
Roar Rookie
Along with what TB has stated I too am scratching my head over Moylan. He was being shown the door a few weeks ago and now he's staying, injury history and all. Then they have McInness, Hynes and Finucane all recruited to play in positions other than what they specialise. The way it looks, Hynes and Moylan to compete for six with Rudolph, Finucane and McInness for 13. Fitzgibbon is obviously a magnet for players as Morris couldn't attract anyone so it's up to him to prove his worth. If Fitzgibbon can turn himself into a head coach then Cronulla could be finals contenders next year. If not, he will be another assistant unable to step up.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Hynes has always had good ball skills but his running game has been exceptional this season. I'll be interested to see if he can keep making breaks as I think defences have handled him poorly this season and the Cows showed the way to do it last weekend.
Nat
Roar Guru
It's a good point about Fitzy, not many assistants succeed in the big gig straight away. I'm sure O'biren thought it would be a simple 'copy and paste' tactics taken from the Storm system but that's not the case. In fairness, we should judge him from yr 2 or 3 but assess his 1yr standards more than scores.