Official Craig Fitzgibbon

[bort]

Repeat sets are also more of a lottery these days... short drop outs are getting the ball back plenty of times.

Yep, strong trend towards many sides being happy to have a dig and get tackled in the corner as the worst case.
Let opposition try force their way out of there instead of giving them a lottery ticket to the short kick jackpot.

 

[Blair]

Yeah I don’t get the our attack is so good argument.

It’s actually not ; if you can’t score against top teams then it’s not that great is it

I'd argue it is good. Its just not consistent. I think its our defence that lets us down in big games.

When on song, our attack is one of the best to watch in the league. Part of that was due to Moylan, but a moot point - because he can't tackle.

Fitz is on record saying he wants Nicho to reel it in a bit and play with more structure, so hopefully that sinks in over the offseason, after an 'up and down' 2023. If Nicho can choose his moments better I think we will continue to be one of the best attacking teams in the comp.

 

[BurgoShark]

I'd argue it is good. Its just not consistent. I think its our defence that lets us down in big games.

When on song, our attack is one of the best to watch in the league. Part of that was due to Moylan, but a moot point - because he can't tackle.

Fitz is on record saying he wants Nicho to reel it in a bit and play with more structure, so hopefully that sinks in over the offseason, after an 'up and down' 2023. If Nicho can choose his moments better I think we will continue to be one of the best attacking teams in the comp.

When did Fitz say that mate?

 

[Blair]

When did Fitz say that mate?

Oof good question. I’ll have to go back and have a look, but pretty sure it was a press conference. Media was discussing Nicho’s good form, and how attack was humming - Fitz said how it’s good but wished he (Nicho) would reel it in/ play higher percentage… I’m paraphrasing, but I’ll see if I can find it.

 

[Gards]

There's a bit of criticism going around in regards to our lack of involvement in the transfer/recruitment market of late but I think it's a big show of faith from club and coach that they believe us to have the pieces available for success and it's more about just fitting them together.

There are advantages to having a large portion of your playing squad having been together for a long time and frankly I prefer our approach to retention and recruitment compared to whatever the **** it is the Dogs and Tigers are trying to do.

We are going to have alot of mid to late 20's players come into their peaks around the same time. Old enough to have their heads on straight and young enough to still be as strong and athletic as they will ever be.

Let me ask these 2 questions:

1. Who have we actually missed out by not hitting the market? Keeping in mind we are competing with basket case clubs with big checkbooks so there is no guarantee we would have secured a player on the market anyway.

2. Who would have been better than we already have and was realistically in a position to sign with the Sharks in the last 2 seasons?


I don't think we could do much better in our spine - Maybe Jack Whighton to come in for Sifa in centres or @ 5/8 instead of Mozza/Trindall. Expensive player though so we would have to move on more than just Mozza and Tracey.

I wouldn't replace Kennedy, Katoa or Ronnie, hard to do much better for the price. Ramien going well, Sifa good player just need to find the right position for him.

Forwards - yea maybe (AFB obvious but that is recent news). Maybe a better second row option was out there over Tieg but Wade came good anyway. Our forwards are big and talented they just need bit of a rocket to fire up.

Hooker - maybe Mahoney over Blayke

Benchies - are bench is pretty solid/strong when coach picks it properly

Depth - we have some talent coming through and have already promoted the likes of Hazelton, Dykes, Colquhoun with some other youngsters on the cusp. Need second row depth though. Tracey has been very useful as a Mr Fix it across the park

 

[Seenoevil]

There's a bit of criticism going around in regards to our lack of involvement in the transfer/recruitment market of late but I think it's a big show of faith from club and coach that they believe us to have the pieces available for success and it's more about just fitting them together.

There are advantages to having a large portion of your playing squad having been together for a long time and frankly I prefer our approach to retention and recruitment compared to whatever the **** it is the Dogs and Tigers are trying to do.

We are going to have alot of mid to late 20's players come into their peaks around the same time. Old enough to have their heads on straight and young enough to still be as strong and athletic as they will ever be.

Let me ask these 2 questions:

1. Who have we actually missed out by not hitting the market? Keeping in mind we are competing with basket case clubs with big checkbooks so there is no guarantee we would have secured a player on the market anyway.

2. Who would have been better than we already have and was realistically in a position to sign with the Sharks in the last 2 seasons?


I don't think we could do much better in our spine - Maybe Jack Whighton to come in for Sifa in centres or @ 5/8 instead of Mozza/Trindall. Expensive player though so we would have to move on more than just Mozza and Tracey.

I wouldn't replace Kennedy, Katoa or Ronnie, hard to do much better for the price. Ramien going well, Sifa good player just need to find the right position for him.

Forwards - yea maybe (AFB obvious but that is recent news). Maybe a better second row option was out there over Tieg but Wade came good anyway. Our forwards are big and talented they just need bit of a rocket to fire up.

Hooker - maybe Mahoney over Blayke

Benchies - are bench is pretty solid/strong when coach picks it properly

Depth - we have some talent coming through and have already promoted the likes of Hazelton, Dykes, Colquhoun with some other youngsters on the cusp. Need second row depth though. Tracey has been very useful as a Mr Fix it across the park

I've had a couple of tequilas, so I am going to bite on this

I understand appreciate the points you are making, want to say that upfront.
It is results that matter I would contend, theory and good faith are important of course,

For me personally, i do not get the hiring of Kaufusi at all, I read the comments on here and bow to the wisdom shown, but he looks mid at best, but maybe he is a work in progress, how long? Who knows.
But i would question that recruitment, I get that there are cap issues, no idea how the sharks seem perpetually in some sort of bother about that

Is it just paying overs continually? No idea myself.

I have said this before, but cannot , at all, fathom , playing Sifa in the centers, I know he is popular and did have a purple patch a long time ago, but seriously when will Iro get a shot?

But to refer back to your question, who could we have got?
Likely nobody, either because we are not an attractive destination or we have no pots of gold or cannot arrange 3rd party stuff, who knows

I think overall the recruitment has been lackluster, I get we needed an old head and somebody who could be an exemplar for younger players , but Dale , on the field , at least, when he is on it, is a shadow of his former self.

I still do not think Nicho is a halfback but better judges than me , will say he is.

For me at least, I need to see results before I make up my mind about the Coach, but I have been disappointed, 2 seasons , same result.

I will await the pushback to cheer me up haha

 

[Proud Shark]

Let me ask these 2 questions:

1. Who have we actually missed out by not hitting the market? Keeping in mind we are competing with basket case clubs with big checkbooks so there is no guarantee we would have secured a player on the market anyway.

2. Who would have been better than we already have and was realistically in a position to sign with the Sharks in the last 2 seasons?

1. Big* movements over the last two years:
Reynolds, Capewell, Fogarty, Hodgson, Burton, Fox, Tpj, Meaney, Elliot, Sj, Coates, Gagai, Townsend, Leilua, Api, Smith, Kikau, Katoa, papalii, Walsh, CNK, Mahoney, Foran, Walker, Marzhew, Barnett, Klemmer, Gilbert, Hopgood, Flegler, Wighton, Crichton, Curran, Farnsworth, Leniu.

Obviously lots more re-signings, but let's just assume those would have stayed on anyway. Not saying we should have gone for all these, just putting the market out there. Will go into more below.

2. I don't think there's many. I can make a case for having any of Gagai, Fox, Coates, Marzhew, Wighton, Crichton or Herbie in the outside backs, but I can't say any of them would have been value for money. The only one that didn't go for overs, or to an elite club is Marzhew, and I don't think anyone would have called for him over our wingers, and many may still not.

Forwards, Flegler, Barnett, Gilbert, Kikau, Klem and Papalii all went for way over what we should have and could have offered. Lenui and Hopgood would both have been elite signings, but one went to the chook$ and the other is just another piece of good rookie recruitment.

Spine is the only place I wish we'd gone harder. Arey, Api, Sj or Walsh make this a top 4 side IMO. And I would have tried anything to get or keep one of them. I know many would disagree on SJ. Also Arey supposedly wanted out of Sydney and Walsh could only sign with Brisbane.

TLDR:
- SJ
- Api
- Leniu
- Hopgood
- Marzhew

They are the only ones I think we could have kept or gotten.

 

[bort]

Marzhew also was traded by titans needing a hooker. Berrell maybe could have got it done although as our only backup we weren’t in much of a position to do it.

 

[Proud Shark]

For me at least, I need to see results before I make up my mind about the Coach, but I have been disappointed, 2 seasons , same result.

I will await the pushback to cheer me up haha

I've been thinking about this a bit lately and I think the short time frames for coaches to deliver results is why there aren't many 'good' coaches in the nrl.

Realistically, if you wanted immediate results, the only coaches you could probably bank on are Bellamy and Bennett. Ones not leaving till he retires and the other is 100. Flanno maybe another option, but for obvious reasons he's never coming back here.

I also think this short term thinking is what leads clubs into constant cycles of mediocrity. If you expect coaches to get things happening quickly, they will hit the market as such. Potentially pushing players out and paying freight, signing players for overs or front/backloading contracts. This might get you a crack at a title if you're lucky, but more often leaves a mess that can take 5-10 years to repair.

I think the clubs backing Fitz for the long term, and so he's been able to recruit as such. Going for youth and trying to develop guys into the side. Say in 2025/6 we have Dykes/Healey/Iro/Stonestreet/Colquhoun ripping it up on peanuts, all of a sudden you can pinch hit in an elite player for a year or two to win a comp like the chooks did with cronk.

I believe in the long term plan, and I'll judge Fitz along the way by how he improves as a coach rather than purely the results.

Look at Parra, most other clubs would have fired Arthur but he took them to a GF. Just a shame they had Penrith to beat.

Long winded posts over.

 

[Shortfin Mako]

I've had a couple of tequilas, so I am going to bite on this

I understand appreciate the points you are making, want to say that upfront.
It is results that matter I would contend, theory and good faith are important of course,

For me personally, i do not get the hiring of Kaufusi at all, I read the comments on here and bow to the wisdom shown, but he looks mid at best, but maybe he is a work in progress, how long? Who knows.
But i would question that recruitment, I get that there are cap issues, no idea how the sharks seem perpetually in some sort of bother about that

Is it just paying overs continually? No idea myself.

I have said this before, but cannot , at all, fathom , playing Sifa in the centers, I know he is popular and did have a purple patch a long time ago, but seriously when will Iro get a shot?

But to refer back to your question, who could we have got?
Likely nobody, either because we are not an attractive destination or we have no pots of gold or cannot arrange 3rd party stuff, who knows

I think overall the recruitment has been lackluster, I get we needed an old head and somebody who could be an exemplar for younger players , but Dale , on the field , at least, when he is on it, is a shadow of his former self.

I still do not think Nicho is a halfback but better judges than me , will say he is.

For me at least, I need to see results before I make up my mind about the Coach, but I have been disappointed, 2 seasons , same result.

I will await the pushback to cheer me up haha

To be honest with you, I am generally happy with Fitzy. The only disappointment for me was last year - it felt like we stalled. Hoping for a better year (footy-wise, at least having a plan B and C)

 

[Wiz]

To be honest with you, I am generally happy with Fitzy. The only disappointment for me was last year - it felt like we stalled. Hoping for a better year (footy-wise, at least having a plan B and C)

I struggle to see what he’s added to this footy team that John Morris wouldn’t of added

For a defensive genius our defence isn’t great at all and our attack largely relies on Hynes magic when we come up against a decent team, his bench decisions have been questionable, he cannot get his players up for big games, sharks are the new chokers is now a thing and his recruitment policy has not provided any positive gains

Now that he’s shedded Moylan after wrongly extending him, Tracey and Graham retiring let’s see what he does with the extra $ ; He is in a perfect position to sign one of the games best props which is what this team needs more than anything but does he ignore that and keep extending players we already have like Uele and Hunt making that same mistake ?

We’ve also had two soft draws and two early embarrassing exits in the finals

 

[Gumby]

I struggle to see what he’s added to this footy team that John Morris wouldn’t of added

For a defensive genius our defence isn’t great at all and our attack largely relies on Hynes magic when we come up against a decent team, his bench decisions have been questionable, he cannot get his players up for big games, sharks are the new chokers is now a thing and his recruitment policy has not provided any positive gains

Now that he’s shedded Moylan after wrongly extending him, Tracey and Graham retiring let’s see what he does with the extra $ ; He is in a perfect position to sign one of the games best props which is what this team needs more than anything but does he ignore that and keep extending players we already have like Uele and Hunt making that same mistake ?

We’ve also had two soft draws and two early embarrassing exits in the finals

Spot on. I’ve said this a few times, this year he has no excuse. It’s his squad now. He’s re signed 80% of them. Hasn’t added anyone when he could have. If he shits the bed this year then it’s going to be another painful few years with this bloke at the helm.

 

[Sharkfox]

Change the assistants, start with Hannay, shouldve let him go after being interim. Both him and Fitz seem similar in their manner, decision making and approach to coaching. Not blaming Hannay for our failures, but need someone new in the coaching staff, with a fresh view and footy brain that can add something new or switch up how we play.

 

[Western Sharkie]

Change the assistants, start with Hannay, shouldve let him go after being interim. Both him and Fitz seem similar in their manner, decision making and approach to coaching. Not blaming Hannay for our failures, but need someone new in the coaching staff, with a fresh view and footy brain that can add something new or switch up how we play.

Toovey!

 

[XGinga]

Change the assistants, start with Hannay, shouldve let him go after being interim. Both him and Fitz seem similar in their manner, decision making and approach to coaching. Not blaming Hannay for our failures, but need someone new in the coaching staff, with a fresh view and footy brain that can add something new or switch up how we play.

How many times does this need to be bought up?
Hannay is a sought after coach. He is our attack coach (not our weakness) and has been a qld coach for many years (who have done pretty well I think). Hannay ain't the problem.

Also just because the coaching staff are not critical and saying the things you want them to say to the players in front of the media does not mean behind closed doors they aren't doing just that.

 

[Proud Shark]

I struggle to see what he’s added to this footy team that John Morris wouldn’t of added

For a defensive genius our defence isn’t great at all and our attack largely relies on Hynes magic when we come up against a decent team, his bench decisions have been questionable, he cannot get his players up for big games, sharks are the new chokers is now a thing and his recruitment policy has not provided any positive gains

Now that he’s shedded Moylan after wrongly extending him, Tracey and Graham retiring let’s see what he does with the extra $ ; He is in a perfect position to sign one of the games best props which is what this team needs more than anything but does he ignore that and keep extending players we already have like Uele and Hunt making that same mistake ?

We’ve also had two soft draws and two early embarrassing exits in the finals

There's still a lot of improvement that needs to happen and you've hit the mark on a few aspects, particularly defence and big games.

However, regarding Morris, it's impossible for us fans to really know the ins an outs without being behind the scenes. Maybe his player management was ****, maybe there was division in the squad, who knows. There are too many factors to be able to say they'd do the same job, and I was a big Morris fan.

Also bit harsh on Fitz's recruitment given Hynes and Finucane came over under him. I know Dale hasn't been quite as good as we'd have liked, but at the time the recruitment decision was golden. If he's able to get AFB I'm not sure I could fault his recruitment at all.

 

[Western Sharkie]

How many times does this need to be bought up?
Hannay is a sought after coach. He is our attack coach (not our weakness) and has been a qld coach for many years (who have done pretty well I think). Hannay ain't the problem.

Also just because the coaching staff are not critical and saying the things you want them to say to the players in front of the media does not mean behind closed doors they aren't doing just that.

At least once more apparently…..

 

[Sharkfox]

How many times does this need to be bought up?
Hannay is a sought after coach. He is our attack coach (not our weakness) and has been a qld coach for many years (who have done pretty well I think). Hannay ain't the problem.

Also just because the coaching staff are not critical and saying the things you want them to say to the players in front of the media does not mean behind closed doors they aren't doing just that.

Get a new attack coach, he's over rated. Is our attack that great, most of it is focused on Hynes anyway, being involved in everything, where its like a one man show with the same moves which the inform teams shut down.

Most interim coaches move on when not given the Head Coach gig. Gives the new incoming coach a fresh start and outlook also. Its like we've continued on from how we were in 2021 just with new recruits. Hannay and Fitz are both laid back coaches also

He's got wraps, but dont hear much of his name when it comes to clubs looking for a new head coach

 

[Sharkfox]

Toovey!

Why not, coached manly to a prelim and a grand final following year, maybe he can help Fitz do the same he can work with Nicho and Brailey being an ex halfback and dummy half. Fitz is a rookie, so maybe an old head with him would work, atleast he's not laid back haha

 

[BlackWhiteBlue]

Get a new attack coach, he's over rated. Is our attack that great, most of it is focused on Hynes anyway, being involved in everything, where its like a one man show with the same moves which the inform teams shut down.

Most interim coaches move on when not given the Head Coach gig. Gives the new incoming coach a fresh start and outlook also. Its like we've continued on from how we were in 2021 just with new recruits. Hannay and Fitz are both laid back coaches also

He's got wraps, but dont hear much of his name when it comes to clubs looking for a new head coach

Our strike is pretty good. Like we score a lot of points per game. But i think its our attack in general that needs work in terms of patience, decision making and just simplifying the game plan at times

Defence has been an issue this year. Leaking a lot of soft points. Games against Manly, Warriors and Penrith especially we leaked bulk points on very quick periods in those games. Not good enough