Sharks smell premiership blood
August 23rd 2008 08:16
Gallen produced a captain's knock against the Roosters
If the Cronulla Sharks do not win this year’s NRL premiership, it won’t be through a lack of desire.
Sharks coach Ricky Stuart has transformed his side into a bunch of warriors resembling 300 muscular Spartans defending everything they hold dear despite overwhelming odds.
And his troops are loving every minute of it.
On Friday night against the Sydney Roosters, the Sharks were relentless, providing their opponents no chances to emphasis the structure that made them most potent team going forward.
They pressured the Roosters from minute one to minute eighty and came out of it very handsome winners.
Best believe the Sharks are sweet things come September.
Their defence is at times unbreakable.Their forwards and backs defend in unison.
Luke Covell and Ben Pomeroy provide the balance in both strength and decision making skills to constantly make the right plays whether it be defusing bombs or shut down a second man play.
With their defence now in check for the finals, Cronulla’s attack is improving with every passing match.
Sharks halfback Brett Kimmorley was simply superb in destabilising the Roosters. His kicks in behind their defence caused Brad Fittler’s men to stay on the back foot for the majority of the contest.
The Roosters never recovered from the torment of pressure the Sharks were producing.
Although the game started with a fair bit of argie bargie, the Sharks showed why they - along with Melbourne - can take punishment and use it to their advantage.
The men from Bondi tried everything to shock the Sharks into submission. Not even biff produced by David Shillington could disrupt Cronulla from a game plan provided by former Roosters mentor Ricky Stuart.
In the end, the Roosters forward pack started losing composure and patience as they were out muscled, out enthused and outplayed by a team now eyeing a possible minor premiership.
Things eventually reached boiling point for the chooks when Mark O’Meley was sin-binned in the 71st minute of the match.
By that time, the Sharks were in complete control and the Roosters were down for the count.
The dominance displayed by Stuart’s men around the ruck tore Fittler’s men to shreds.
Their forward pack, led brilliantly by Paul Gallen and Ben Ross, typified the influence coach Stuart has had in having three men in a tackle, effectively ending any hope of a quick play the ball.
Going forward, Cronulla were unstoppable. Their big men made 1342 metres compared to the Roosters low 888 metres.
Gallen gave out one of his usual Herculean efforts notching up 175 metres whilst also making 21 tackles.
Former Qld Origin prop Ben Ross was tough as well, producing 12 hit-ups for 130 metres.
The best a Roosters forward could manage was a poultry 96 metres by captain Craig Fitzgibbon.
As the Roosters head into finals football covered in a smog of uncertainty, the Sharks are circling that elusive premiership.
Cronulla’s victory on Friday night puts them in second position, leapfrogging Manly on the ladder.
History shows that teams finishing in the top two have a mortgage on at least a preliminary final birth.
Ultimately, the Sharks deserve every accolade coming their way. They lost so many games last season by close margins leaving the Cronulla faithful to question their teams capabilities in tough matches.
Thankfully for them, the Sharks are turning that suffering into the fuel that could send them on their way to perhaps experiencing that lap of honour over 40 years in the making.
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