Stars aligning themselves?

[fan09]

As Bird and Gallen return from another succesfull Origin game, it has got me thinking.

With all this sudden of the field dramas about us folding and what not. Is it a matter now or never for Sharks fans to claim that one thing that has eluded us for 40+ years.

Over the last couple of months I have really began to think that the stars are finally alinging themselves to be in favour for us Sharks fans. Good Coach, finally a CEO that gets the job done and now two genuine superstars in Bird and Gallen I finally think that a premeirship is in the water and our luck turning.

It was great to sitback and watch a great game last night and be a Sharks supporter we have the two most feared players to QLD playing in our lineup who single handedly made QLD there Bitch.

With Tupou coming next year and the Rumour of Barret and whoever gets mentioned coming the Sharks prospects are looking good, not just for this year but the next and more than likely the one two follow.

Although many of us have learned that being a Sharks supporter means not counting your eggs before they hatch, but for me, this batch of eggs certainly has promise.

 

[Shark Crazy]

I do agree this batch of eggs lokks good, probably need just a little bit more before they are jumping out of the carton.

 

[Sir Chadley]

I have read a few articles recently on the Sharks where they are still bringing up the old chestnut that we struggle to score points. However, they still point out that we have won twice as many games as we have lost and if we continue to do that we will push for a top 4 spot and from there anything can happen.

The experts always say that to win a comp you need to have mettle in defence, intensity in your play and a good combination with your 1, 6, 7 and 9. Even though the players in these positions are not as spectacular as other teams they get the job done. And they have built up a nice combination this year. We certainly have the defensive qualities and the intensity to win. It may not be pretty but we keep getting the two points. Those close games we lost last year, we are now winning (except for the Panthers and Tigers I know).

I'm starting to think that Ricky may be playing the underdog card more than ever now. The experts are not going to take us seriously until we have more threat in attack but maybe we don't need to. Don't get me wrong, I hate all this heart attack stuff and not knowing right until the last minute to see if we're going to win but if it is getting us the two points then I'll try and put up with it. We will fly under the radar even more but still keep in touch with the top four.

Don't expect us to cream the Bulldogs Monday night. They still have a strong team and no matter his mood you cannot discount a side that has Sonny Bill in it. I do expect us to win but the margin will more than likely be the same 4 or 6 point margin that we always win by. It's tough but maybe us supporters have to toughen up a bit. Let's not whinge about our attacking style, let's support our boys. They are finally doing what the experts have wanted for years - to be mentally tough. So next time Gus Gould calls our win an ugly one, take it as a compliment. Teams don't like playing ugly teams like ours so we are more likely to win those games.

Let's support our boys more than ever. The chance of us sliding down the ladder this year has decreased now that this mental tough edge has been discovered. And while I'm at it, my criticism of guys like Simmons and Covell has been as big as everyone else on this forum but they are playing to Ricky's game plan and this is why he picks them every week. He wants them to be unfashionable, he wants them to defend at all costs and every Sharks player is playing for his team mates. They are truly a team, one that will stand by each other until the final siren. They have all gone through disappointments before and now they are not going to let that happen. We will lose more games this year but they won't lose too many.

Go you Sharkies!!!

 

[Shark Crazy]

The team mentality is definately evident as seen last weekend, without two of our main stars the younger guys stood up and played well, plus played as part of the team.

 

[Sparkles]

Stuart should print that and stick it on the wall in the sheds Chad!

 

[Sir Chadley]

Thanks Sparkles, nice of you to say so!

 

[Tigh]

Couldn't agree more Chad, Good to see some passion shown there !

 

[ouCh!]

u dA man chad.

our attack might be struggling a bit.... but not that much i jus dont think weve played a team whos let their defensive intensity drop off. last week we dropped two bals with the line wide open. 13-6 = poor attack, 25-6 = great attack. we just got a few lil errors to eliminate. i think simmos doin ok, but covell is making a lot of defensive errors (watch him run around in circles like a chook with no head every time someone tries to get around him), hes also sluggish and not kicking goals. get mitch brown in there and then we got a team!

 

[Shark Crazy]

Also we are finally starting to see the team "clicking" especially Noddy & Seymour, all we need is these set plays to start coming off with the outside backs.

Chad - Looking forward to your preview of the Bulldogs game after that.

 

[fancyman]

Ricky has us playing intense pressure games. to me, they may not be exciting during the year, but just think how handy that style would be in a grand final.
the G/F is a pessure game, and as the clock ticket away the opposing team would start to panic.
all we need to do is get their

 

[sutho-boy]

For many ,many,many years now I've been saying 'this is the year' only to end up copping heaps from all my non Sharks-fan friends.The one thing I have noticed repeatedly though, and I saw it again earlier this year- is that as soon as they get the slightest bit of positive press,be it from newspapers or magazines,they start to go downhill.After their great start to this season I read an article saying that the Sharks now know how to win the close games and have new-found toughness and so on and I said to myself that they would lose their next game - and they did.Maybe it's just horrible co-incidence, but I always feel much more confident when the Sharks are cruising along and don't get any good write-ups.
that's how I see it.

 

[Wibble]

Great, hopeful thread fan09, and awesome post Chad! It gave me goose bumps reading it!

I'd like to add that far more teams win the premiership on the back of excellent defense than excellent attack. Melbourne are probably the first team in a long time to be way above most teams in both areas, but you'd still say there defense is a better assett than their attack, compared to say the Cowboys or Eels (from last year).

Brisbane built premierships on dominant forwards, and we noticed their flashy backs but it was their defense that won them premierships. The Roosters, Panthers, and Bulldogs all won (without dominating all season) on the back of tough defense.

Going back further, Melbourne in 1999 smashed their way back in to the game, and the Manly and Bulldogs teams of the 90's were defense oriented.

Perhaps only Newcastle (due mostly to Johns) and the Tigers were more based on attack than defense.

I believe this shows that over the course of a few years, your team has a better chance of winning a premiership if it can play tough, make the top 4 or 5, and then smash other teams out of finals games with tackling. We do indeed have a team that can do that, and I am as excited as I've ever been as a Sharks fan.

However (sorry to say this), there is also a large element of luck in winning a premiership. Coaches and players don't want to say this because they can't control it; they want to focus on effort, which they can control. But all a team can do is play well enough to get in the finals, and hope things go well from there. The odds are good that the best team will win, but it is not guaranteed (think of 2006). Thinking on this, that might be good for this year, because we are still a step behind Melbourne, IMHO, but over the next few years we may well have an excellent team. I just hope we have some luck with that as well.