The ‘ridiculous’ reality for sliding Sharks... as one ‘horrible’ word rears its ugly head again

It’s happening again at Cronulla.

Fears of a late season fade-out appear to be coming true as the men from the Shire bumble their way into the finals after looking like minor premiership chances just weeks ago.

Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

The Sharks were riding high a month ago, on a five-match winning streak, and many were predicting they could finish first given they weren’t scheduled to play a top eight team during the final five rounds.

But shock losses to the last-placed Dragons, Raiders, Eels and an unconvincing win over the 16th-place Titans a fortnight ago have shattered their top four hopes.

They will finish fifth and host the Cowboys in week one of the finals, but already critics are saying they’ve blown a golden chance to win a premiership.

“They seem to have fallen off a cliff,” NRL 360 host Braith Anasta said on Monday night’s show.

“They’ve just been sitting idle. I don’t know whether they’re waiting for the finals, I don’t know what’s inside the dressing room, but they’ve always pushed and stumbled in the finals,” Gorden Tallis added.

“Maybe they’ve gone, ‘let’s ease up a little bit, let’s get ourselves right, and then try to turn it back on at finals time’.”

During the 38-18 loss to the Eels on Sunday, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon showed rare emotion in the coaches’ box, punching a TV monitor as he watched his side go down.

It was journalist Dean Ritchie who had the biggest crack at Fitzgibbon’s side, claiming they’ve bottled their season already.

“They’re capitulating again. I mean, do we say the choke word? Which is a horrible word to say in rugby league terms. Are they choking?” Ritchie asked.

“I don’t think it was the penalty count (last weekend). I don’t think the referee played a key role in that loss.

“I think Fitzy punched the TV because he realises something’s happening that’s happened every year now for the last 10 years since they won it in 2016.”

“We never see that out of Fitzy so that says a lot. Fitzy doesn’t show his emotions and I love that he did, and I probably would have punched it as well,” Anasta added.

The loss of five-eighth Braydon Trindall in the Round 24 loss to Canberra has had a huge impact on the Sharks.

He wears the No. 6 jersey, but in reality he is the team’s organiser and true halfback.

His dislocated shoulder is healing but he’s a week-to-week proposition.

MORE NRL NEWS

Robbo’s SOS to club great after Walker blow; big Yeo update as deadline revealed

Ex-$800K prodigy ends 18-month exile; high school freak stuns on debut

Journalist Brent Read thinks his injury has had a huge impact on the club’s title chances.

“It’s ridiculous how much this footy team misses Braydon Trindall at the moment. They just need him back,” Read said.

“I don’t think a team can win it from outside the top four. We’ve said that for a long time now, and they’ve let that opportunity slip for them. They’ve let it go.”

Anasta said the elephant in the room is the role of halfback Nicho Hynes.

The former Dally M Medal winner had a poor game against the Eels when his team really needed him.

As the Sharks were mounting a comeback and were peppering the Eels tryline, Hynes didn’t demand the football as much as he should have.

“I’m going to go there. Do they need more out of Nicho Hynes when a key player is out?” Anasta asked.

“I’ll be accused of being a Nicho basher again. You’ve got to say what you think and Nicho’s performances in the last three or four weeks haven’t been up to scratch. The Sharks need Nicho as their million-dollar man more than ever right now,” Ritchie said.

“They’re down a key playmaker and they’re a week out from the finals and Nicho’s performance last week against Parramatta was substandard, and that’s being very kind to Nicho.”

The Sharks have been one of the more consistent teams in the NRL since Fitzgibbon took over at the start of 2022 and have a fine winning record of 62.5 per cent under him.

But they’ve only won three finals matches in that time while losing nine, including the past two preliminary finals to Penrith and Melbourne.

The equation to going one better is simple – one of their spine players needs to step up and be the man of the match during high-pressure games.

“They miss an X-factor player. They just don’t have that player that can go bang,” Ritchie said.

“You talk about X-factor in key positions, we all know where that is. It’s a one, six, seven and nine,” Anasta added.

“Fitzy, that’s why I reckon he’s punching the monitor because he’s frustrated, and I dare say if they go out in straight sets, there’s going to be some big decisions to be made over the next couple of years.”

The Sharks have been the least active team in the player market in the past 18 months and Fitzgibbon didn’t add a single new player from another club to this year’s squad.

They will need to change that for 2027 with Sione Katoa, Siosifa Talakai and Jesse Ramien leaving.

If they don’t go all the way this season, the dreaded “rebuild” word may be a reality for Fitzgibbon.

“The worry is for them is that the window’s closing. They’re losing players. They need to make the most of it. If they don’t make the most of it, and it looks like they won’t this year, the window’s going to shut on them,” Read said.

Click here to read article