It’s the weekend of masters versus apprentices.
After Jason Demetriou’s triumph over Wayne Bennett on Thursday night, Craig Fitzgibbon will be hoping for the same as he goes head-to-head with former boss Trent Robinson as Cronulla take on the Roosters at Shark Park.
Fitzgibbon spent 11 years as an assistant to Robinson at the Roosters and held his former club up as the example of what his team might become.
“They know what they’re about and we’re learning what we’re about,” he told The Roar. “That’s the interesting part of it. You know what’s coming and we have to stop it.
“They’ll bring a style of play that they’ve used for a long period of time and we need to be ready for that, but we need to bring ours.
“You look at the test as being against a team that’s known what it is about for ten years or more with Robbo. It’s a good challenge for us and we’re excited by that.
“As a team, as a club, you want to be part of big games against strong opponents to test where you’re at. We want to see if the work that we’ve put in is going to come out, all the while expecting a strong opponent. That’s the challenge for us.”
Fitzgibbon’s effect on the Sharks has been outstanding: he took the club from ninth to second in his first year, an achievement in itself, but also transformed the style of play into one of the most distinctive in the NRL.
Their attack, focused on back three metres, agile forwards and running halves, is near-unique in the competition and has delivered not only on-field success but also plenty of entertainment for fans.
The coach explained that he had a philosophy developed in his years as Robinson’s assistant at the Roosters, and then adapted it to suit hte unique challenges his found with the roster at Cronulla.
“You have a long time to think about what is a good style of footy and what is hard to defend and you want to bring that, but it wouldn’t suit to have a style that doesn’t suit the squad either,” said Fitzgibbon.
“We’ve got two former fullbacks in our halves, so a running style for those guys is important. The spine dictates the way that you play, so we want a style that complements their game.
Rooster Craig Fitzgibbon during his playing days. Digital Image by Robb Cox © Action Photographics
“There’s movement there, with our agility, and then power with the big fellas. Putting it together is a learning process for our staff and myself as well. Some weeks we see it working stronger than other weeks, but we’re not going to change, we’re going to keep trying to get better.”
“We believe in this style of play and we want to bring it to every contest. It comes with some risk as everyone is well aware. That’s the part of this season that we have been quite pleased with.
“Everyone has the right to set up how they want to play and we enjoy the way that we play. I think it suits our squad and the players, it allows them to bring their best attributes to it. You’ve got to bring it every week though, it’s a habit. We have to bring it this week too.”
The Sharks enter the Roosters clash off the bye, which has given the staff time to reflect on a topsy-turvy start to the year that saw the club win games they might have been expected to lose – coming back from 10-0 to win at Parramatta – but then lose games they were certainly expected to win, such as their most recent game against the Warriors.
“It’s been inconsistent,” said Fitzgibbon. “We’re playing some good footy at times – we’re getting ourselves into some really good games for people to watch! End to end, close scorelines and both teams throwing down.
“One thing we haven’t been disappointed in is our effort, which is important for this stage of the year. We’ve got guys working hard and we’ve been in good contests, but we need to address how we’re letting teams back in.
“There’s a good lesson in that. It’s been a little inconsistent but plenty of good effort in it too.”
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