Capital_Shark
Kitty Master
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Its his nephew
Where do we go from here?
- Thread starter apezza
- Start date
Its his nephew
egg
Jaws
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2010
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'Hobbling' Sharks Stars Facing Grim Reality As Club Ushers In Next Generation
WRITTEN BY
ED CHISHOLM
As Cronulla ushers in their next generation of talent the club are faced with some tough questions to answer over the off-season regarding two of their highest-paid players.
The Sharks dived out of the finals with a crushing 32-20 loss to Canberra last weekend, pulling curtains on a campaign many would describe as inconsistent.
However, there were also plenty of positives for John Morris and his side to take, perhaps none more so than the emergence of the club's next line of young guns.
It was a year in which the likes of Toby Rudolf, Siosifa Talakai and Connor Tracey announced themselves to the NRL, while players like Sione Katoa, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Braden Hamlin-Uele continued their rise.
And amidst what is shaping out as a changing of the guard, Morris is now left with some tough decisions around his roster for 2021.
Off-contract duo Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan, whose injury battles have been well-documented, come off-contract in 2021 and are free to speak with rival clubs as of November 1st, while Andrew Fifita, who comes off-contract in 2022, is nowhere near the player he once was.
Aaron Woods is another on top dollar star whose performances at times were questioned throughout 2020, with the former NSW Blues and Kangaroos prop another player off-contract next year.
According to rugby league great Steve Roach, of most concern for the Sharks is the steep decline of Fifita's output.
Fifita was once the most damaging front-rower in the game, dominating the Origin and Test arena, but this season only averaged 33 minutes across 12 games plainly primarily from the bench for Morris.
With the Sharks now spoilt for choice with up and coming prop's, Fifita is fast falling down the pecking order and Roach said it was hard to watch him play at times this year.
“It’s sad for me to see Fifita the way he is compared to what he was,” Roach told The Matty Johns Podcast.
“Remember that State of Origin game he blew everyone away? They said here’s the new Arthur Beetson.
“To see him now hobbling around, you talk about him [potentially] being medically retired, they just didn’t have the ammunition to beat the Raiders.”
Fifita has two years remaining on his current contract and his performances this year haven't reflected the salary Cronulla are paying him.
However, The Daily Telegraph 's Paul Kent noted that although Fifita wasn't pushing out as big numbers, he had a bigger voice this season than in those past.
“We heard all summer his knee was gone [and] he played on one leg all year,” Kent said.
“I saw that he really tried to rally the blokes around him. He took a real leadership role, which [in the past] he’d really struggled with.
“You can see him try to make a difference, you could see when the energy wasn’t there, Fifita took control and said this is my area I’m going to try and get the energy up.
“He was on one leg, he couldn't do it all the time but you could see he was trying to do it.”
Kent, in turn, flagged the ineffectiveness of Moylan and the fact the injury-prone fullback lacks the work ethic to command the dollars he's on at Cronulla.
Moylan only featured in eight games this year and was constantly pegged down by hamstring complaints that have cruelled the former Origin and Test star's career since he arrived in the Shire in 2018.
There are rumours Moylan is being shopped round to rival clubs with the Cronulla keen to offload him with a year still remaining on his current contract.
Kent suggested Moylan's NRL career was quickly fading away and until he can get his body right and start working hard, he's proving a burden on the Sharks.
“When he was at Penrith coming through, everyone identified him as a tremendous talent there was a knock on him that he didn’t have the work ethic,” he added.
“When you said to people what’s Moylan like they’d talk about how good he was but if there was a criticism it was that he didn’t like to work hard, you’ve got to get him going.
“I think he’s paying the price for that now. His body isn’t as strong as it needs to be and it’s out of balance.
“He’s not a noted trainer so he’s got to go away – because generally hamstring problems are tightness in the back somewhere – and reinvent his body otherwise it’s all over.”
WRITTEN BY
ED CHISHOLM
As Cronulla ushers in their next generation of talent the club are faced with some tough questions to answer over the off-season regarding two of their highest-paid players.
The Sharks dived out of the finals with a crushing 32-20 loss to Canberra last weekend, pulling curtains on a campaign many would describe as inconsistent.
However, there were also plenty of positives for John Morris and his side to take, perhaps none more so than the emergence of the club's next line of young guns.
It was a year in which the likes of Toby Rudolf, Siosifa Talakai and Connor Tracey announced themselves to the NRL, while players like Sione Katoa, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Braden Hamlin-Uele continued their rise.
And amidst what is shaping out as a changing of the guard, Morris is now left with some tough decisions around his roster for 2021.
Off-contract duo Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan, whose injury battles have been well-documented, come off-contract in 2021 and are free to speak with rival clubs as of November 1st, while Andrew Fifita, who comes off-contract in 2022, is nowhere near the player he once was.
Aaron Woods is another on top dollar star whose performances at times were questioned throughout 2020, with the former NSW Blues and Kangaroos prop another player off-contract next year.
According to rugby league great Steve Roach, of most concern for the Sharks is the steep decline of Fifita's output.
Fifita was once the most damaging front-rower in the game, dominating the Origin and Test arena, but this season only averaged 33 minutes across 12 games plainly primarily from the bench for Morris.
With the Sharks now spoilt for choice with up and coming prop's, Fifita is fast falling down the pecking order and Roach said it was hard to watch him play at times this year.
“It’s sad for me to see Fifita the way he is compared to what he was,” Roach told The Matty Johns Podcast.
“Remember that State of Origin game he blew everyone away? They said here’s the new Arthur Beetson.
“To see him now hobbling around, you talk about him [potentially] being medically retired, they just didn’t have the ammunition to beat the Raiders.”
Fifita has two years remaining on his current contract and his performances this year haven't reflected the salary Cronulla are paying him.
However, The Daily Telegraph 's Paul Kent noted that although Fifita wasn't pushing out as big numbers, he had a bigger voice this season than in those past.
“We heard all summer his knee was gone [and] he played on one leg all year,” Kent said.
“I saw that he really tried to rally the blokes around him. He took a real leadership role, which [in the past] he’d really struggled with.
“You can see him try to make a difference, you could see when the energy wasn’t there, Fifita took control and said this is my area I’m going to try and get the energy up.
“He was on one leg, he couldn't do it all the time but you could see he was trying to do it.”
Kent, in turn, flagged the ineffectiveness of Moylan and the fact the injury-prone fullback lacks the work ethic to command the dollars he's on at Cronulla.
Moylan only featured in eight games this year and was constantly pegged down by hamstring complaints that have cruelled the former Origin and Test star's career since he arrived in the Shire in 2018.
There are rumours Moylan is being shopped round to rival clubs with the Cronulla keen to offload him with a year still remaining on his current contract.
Kent suggested Moylan's NRL career was quickly fading away and until he can get his body right and start working hard, he's proving a burden on the Sharks.
“When he was at Penrith coming through, everyone identified him as a tremendous talent there was a knock on him that he didn’t have the work ethic,” he added.
“When you said to people what’s Moylan like they’d talk about how good he was but if there was a criticism it was that he didn’t like to work hard, you’ve got to get him going.
“I think he’s paying the price for that now. His body isn’t as strong as it needs to be and it’s out of balance.
“He’s not a noted trainer so he’s got to go away – because generally hamstring problems are tightness in the back somewhere – and reinvent his body otherwise it’s all over.”
HaroldBishop
Megalodon
A crushing loss to Canberra? OK.
stormshark
Jaws
Laurie Lawrence?
CrazyMatt
Jaws
Yeah 12 points is a crushing loss apparently.
Cage
Bull Shark
If we had won 32-20 the news wanks would have reported that Cronulla scraped home against a valiant Raiders.
Tatus
Not-So-Great White
Emotionally crushing?
CrazyMatt
Jaws
Nah. We had low expectations going into that one.
egg
Jaws
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2010
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- 12,895
- Reaction score
- 1,089
Tatus
Not-So-Great White
HaroldBishop
Megalodon
Achieved nuffin in the game.
TheMexican
Tiger Shark
Parts of this are starting to sound like an alternative Rumour Mill thread.