What Happened To The Sharks? (2017)

If you ask Cronulla Sharks coach Shane Flanagan, the Sharks were destined to go back-to-back and claim top honours again in 2017, making them the first side to do so since the Broncos in 1992-93.

But, in his view, a diabolical performance by the officials cost his side that opportunity.

Did they though?

Every team cops some rough calls through the course of the season, which means every side will get the rub of the green. Some calls have a bigger impact than others undoubtedly. But relying even somewhat on imperfect humans to be perfect so as to get the result you want is essentially quite lazy. Players make mistakes but they aren’t hauled before the media post-match and harangued by their coach for such.

If a coach can accept less than perfection from his players, why do they expect nothing less than perfection from the officials?

The Sharks in 2017 have been a dismal shadow of their all-conquering outfit in 2016. They averaged 3.2 tries per game, down from the 4 per game last year. They averaged 3 runs less per game this year, but still managed to average 25 metres more per game.

Cronulla also averaged nearly a whole try assist less in 2017, over 1 offload less per game, and just over 1 line break assist per game. They were also close to 2 tackle breaks per game worse off in 2017.

Despite making 4 tackles per game more in 2017, they also missed 5 and a half tackles more per game, which saw them make 90.23% of all tackles, better than only Wests Tigers (90.12%), Manly (89.55%) and Penrith (89.45%). The Sharks also had nearly 2 handling errors more per game. Despite conceding less penalties this year, Cronulla were still the most penalised team in the competition, not to mention having the worst completion rate.

Only 5 teams were worse than Sharks when it came to switching off before halftime. The Sharks conceded 24 of their 68 tries in the final 20 minutes of the first half, with just Penrith (25), Wests Tigers (26), Souths & Newcastle (28) and Manly (30) worse. This often saw the Sharks enter the sheds behind on the scoreboard. To their credit they found ways to win as indicated by their competition best record in the second half.

That’s a lot of numbers that show the Sharks played a more restricted style in 2017, a style they abandoned somewhat to great effect in 2016. And sure enough, the return to this style has seen the side return to an early exit in the finals.

Flanagan’s 2017 roster has an average age of 27.59 years old, older than other squad. He has 3 men who all brought up their 300 game milestones this year and just 5 players in his side under the age of 24. His side is naturally going to be the one showing less improvement, as his squad is either at their peak or past their peak. Naturally they are still a very competitive outfit and one of the top teams in the competition, but as the game continues to improve, his side will slowly start to get left behind.

He needs an injection of youth and some ad-lib footy needs to creep into their game to break up the predictability of the machine he has assembled. His side have become easier to compete against in 2017.

None of this is the referee’s fault.

Susan (2013)

I was only eight years old when I first saw a game of Rugby League on our old TV in rural NSW. It was a finals match between Balmain and Cronulla in 1988. I was intrigued by this game but it wasn’t until I heard the name of a player that was the same as mine that I became hooked.

In the tiny community I lived in, this was amazing. I thought I was the only person alive with this name. It was then that I decided I would support Cronulla. That player was Andrew Ettingshausen.

The following year I saw the game between Balmain and Souths and a young player for the Tigers who, in my 9 year old mind, would become a future test player and I instantly became a massive Tim Brasher and Balmain fan.

Ever since then I have always supported both sides, but always considered myself a Tigers fan first.

In 1996 I was given a Cronulla footy jumper for my birthday. Little did I know how important that jumper would be in my life.

Seemingly in another world far from me, the 20 year old Susan watched an NRL game between Cronulla and the Roosters with interest and immediately had a liking for Cronulla, her favourite player quickly became the Sharks winger Mat Rogers. As a Queenslander, she had always watched Origin and was brought up to follow the Broncos, but she grew tired of seeing them everywhere all the time.

Later that year she moved to Sydney before returning to Brisbane. In 2004 I left my hometown for Newcastle before relocating to Sydney later that year. It was in 2005 that Susan ventured to Sydney to watch her beloved Sharks play their rivals, the Dragons, at Kogarah. I too ventured to this game wearing my old Sharks Jumper.

It was at this game that Susan and I met. Over the next year we got engaged, moved in together and started exploring the country. We later moved to Melbourne, got married and settled down.

Along came 2013, the most promising year for premiership glory for the Sharks the entire time Susan had followed them. And then disaster struck.

An investigation into alleged illegal drug use engulfed the Sharks, which lead to the sacking of four staff and the standing down of popular coach Shane Flanagan. The developments all happened just three days prior to the Sharks first game of the year.

On Friday morning, Susan started considering a whirlwind trip to Cronulla to support her team in their opening match of the year. By Saturday morning she was adamant she wanted to be there. I was certain that I wanted to join her in her pilgrimage from the land of NRL obscurity and our home, Melbourne, to the home of the Sharks, by car.

So we set off at 5pm on Saturday afternoon, hearing and reading all about the implications of the troubles surrounding the Sharks, every hour was met with a myriad of more damaging rumours and speculation. After staying overnight in my childhood hometown, we travelled to a friends place in Wollongong in the mid-afternoon, hopped in his car and travelled to Shark Park in time for the game.

The crowd was by far the loudest, most passionate and pumped up I’d ever seen or been a part of at Shark Park. The roar they gave when the Cronulla players came onto the field to do their pre-match warm-up was the first time the players knew that they weren’t alone, that they had a 17,500 odd family who felt their pain.

I could have worn my newer Sharks jumper. I instead felt utterly compelled to wear my old Sharks jumper instead. It’s got some loose threads and it’s shrunk a lot, okay okay, I’ve added a fair amount of girth over the years, but I was with my wife, in the jumper of this club she supports solely, that brought us together.

I felt it was my duty to thank the club for inadvertently bringing us together, by being here for them when they needed support the most.

Susan was driven entirely by the unjust and unceremonious actions of the past three days. She could have travelled by air to the game, but she wanted to make a big sacrifice and go through the rigours of a long car drive to show to her club just how committed she was to them and what lengths she will go to just to support them in times of need.

The result was secondary. It was the lap of honour the players did, showing their utmost gratitude and thanks to all fans for supporting them.

Susan didn’t care that the players had no idea about how far and long she travelled for to get to the game, that didn’t matter. She wanted to be there when they needed it most.

The drive home was just as long, but seemed to be so much better. The negativity of the media had subsided substantially, the rumours had dissipated, speculation dwindled.

We both knew that this sordid affair wasn’t finished and we accepted that there may well be more to come, but we both knew that the Sharks family is a strong and close one and if any family can pull through adversity such as this, it will be theirs.