10 minute read
Get some insight into the SHARKS
CLUB PREVIEWS: SEASON 2020 CONTINUED
CRONULLASUTHERLAND SHARKS
GOLD COAST TITANS
MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
LAST YEAR: ELIMINATION FINALIST HEAD COACH: JOHN MORRIS CAPTAIN: WADE GRAHAM HOME GROUND: REMONDIS STADIUM WEBSITE: www.sharks.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500028 CONTACT: 461 Captain Cook Dr, Woolooware, NSW 2230 POSTAL: PO Box 2219, Taren Point, NSW 2229 PHONE: +61 2 9527 8200 TAB ODDS: $19.00 For the first time since 2001 a Cronulla Sharks side will be without Paul Gallen who has finally retired after 348 NRL games. The ultimate one-club man will be sorely missed on and off the field. It will be interesting how the players react to not having the grizzly veteran defend for his life in the front line and to intimidate young halves who fancied running down his alley. Someone who played 105 games in five years with Gallen at the Sharks is head coach John Morris who had his first season in charge in 2019.
LAST YEAR: SEMI-FINALIST HEAD COACH: DES HASLER CAPTAIN: DALY CHERRY-EVANS HOME GROUND: BROOKVALE OVAL WEBSITE: www.seaeagles.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500002 CONTACT: Sydney Academy of Sport, Wakehurst Parkway, Narabeen, NSW 2101 POSTAL: PO Box 994, Narrabeen, NSW 2101 PHONE: +61 2 9970 3000 TAB ODDS: $12.00 LAST YEAR: 16TH PLACE HEAD COACH: JUSTIN HOLBROOK CAPTAIN: TBC HOME GROUND: CBUS SUPER STADIUM WEBSITE: www.titans.com.au TICKETS: www.titans.com.au/ticketing CONTACT: 76-122 Napper Road, Parkwood, QLD 4214 POSTAL: PO Box 841, Gold Coast Mail Centre, QLD 9726 PHONE: +61 7 5656 5650 TAB ODDS: $101.00 Prior to last season the Gold Coast Titans had the most impressive recruitment spree in the club’s history creating quality depth in nearly every position. Shannon Boyd, Tyrone Roberts and Ryley Jacks and marquee signing Tyrone Peachey were part of a strong side on paper. But they managed just four wins from 24 matches to finish last in 16th place, as much a shock to the players as the fans. The Titans have pinned their hopes on new head coach Justin
It did not take one of Manly Sea Eagles favourite sons to turn things around last season. Des Hasler, who guided Manly to two Premiership titles in his first spell as head coach and also won two titles as a player, stepped into the breach after the club’s worst ever finish of 15th in 2018. Last season Hasler took his beloved Sea Eagles all the way to the semi-finals where the South Sydney Rabbitohs put a He says young guns Jack Williams and Billy Magoulias are most likely to wear Gallan’s famous 13 jersey. Former Warriors playmaker Shaun Johnson had what can only be described as a mixed season at best in his first season away from Mt Smart. But now settled in Sydney and feeling injury free with a season in blue under his belt, expect to see the match winning capabilities of Johnson back on display in 2020. In 2019 he missed seven games with quadriceps and hamstring issues stemming from an old back injury. “I actually had it 2010. I did it in the captain’s run before our Toyota Cup grand final for the Warriors. And then I missed the pre-season in 2011 when I debuted and sort of managed it, then every now and then it would just flare up. It was a pretty bad one last year,” he told www.sharks.com.au. Johnson is back goalkicking for the Sharks but does not get too carried away about the importance. “I’ve never, ever once claimed winning a game through goal-kicking and I’ve never, ever once claimed losing a game through goal-kicking. There are so many other factors that go into a game.” The Sharks are used to playing finals footie. Whether they can kick on to a Grand Final may come down to how well Johnson plays.
stop to any notions of a third title for the little maestro. It was an impressive return to Brookvale Oval with Hasler a positive influence on captain and key playmaker Daly Cherry-Evans. The brilliant playmaker is expected to resume his excellent partnership in the halves from last season with Dylan Walker with the talented Tom Trbojevic at fullback. Manly’s 2019 top-point scorer Reuben Garrick and hardworking forwards Jake Trbojevic, Martin Tapau and Addin Fonua-Blake are all key men in what looks a finely balanced Manly squad. The loss of two hookers in Api Koroisau and Manase Fainu have been offset by the signing of former Newcastle Knights and Warriors rake Danny Levi who will be desperate to impress. Arguably the two most improved centres in the competition proved their worth last season. Brad Parker and Moses Suli showed their best form after struggling at times in the NRL. Look to them to set up some quality tries for their wingers. One area Hasler will have worked on during a rigorous pre-season is how his team deals with kicks. The Sea Eagles conceded the most tries from kicks during the regular 2019 season with 27 at an average of 1.1 per match. That amounted to 36 per cent of the 75 tries they allowed overall. Holbrook, who recently won the Super League title with St Helens, to obviously improve results on the field and try to bring a culture of success to the club. No easy task indeed with a lack of confidence throughout the whole club. The one signing that has given fans hope is Beau Fermor from the Newcastle Knights. The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the best young backrowers in the NRL. Fermor was the NSWRL and Newcastle Jersey Flegg player of the year in 2018 and he was a key member of the Queensland under-20 team that won its maiden interstate clash with NSW. “Beau is an exciting prospect as evidence by the fact he is on the radar with the Queensland selectors. He will bring depth to our playing pool,” head of performance and culture Mal Meninga told www.nrl.com. Another good signing is experienced England international centre Kallum Watkins who is back to full fitness after suffering an ACL in 2018. He won three Super League grand finals, two Challenge Cup finals and a World Club Challenge title with Leeds and has played in two World Cup campaigns for England. Things may get worse before they get better with captain Ryan James likely to miss most of the season with a serious knee injury suffered at pre-season training.
LAST YEAR: 11TH PLACE HEAD COACH: ADAM O’BRIEN CAPTAIN: MITCHELL PEARCE HOME GROUND: McDONALD JONES STADIUM WEBSITE: www.newcastleknights.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500003 CONTACT: 32 Industrial Drive, Mayfield, NSW 2304 POSTAL: PO Box 152, Wickham, NSW 2293 PHONE: +61 2 4028 9100 TAB ODDS: $23.00 The Newcastle Knights have finished 11th in the last two seasons following three consecutive wooden spoons. Last season the Knights spent most of the campaign in the top 8 only to end with a disastrous run of eight losses from their last 10 games to slide out of playoff contention. New coach Adam O’Brien takes over from the popular Nathan Brown. O’Brien has worked with the very best spending several years in Melbourne as an assistant to Craig Bellamy before LAST YEAR: 14TH PLACE HEAD COACH: PAUL GREEN CAPTAIN: MICHAEL MORGAN HOME GROUND: QUEENSLAND COUNTRY BANK STADIUM WEBSITE: www.cowboys.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500012 CONTACT: Golf Link Drive, Kirwan, QLD 4817 POSTAL: PO Box 577, Thuringowa Central, QLD 4817 PHONE: +61 1300 462 692 TAB ODDS: $17.00 The Queensland Cowboys have a magnificent new home to play in this season with the opening of the remarkable Queensland Country Bank Stadium in South Townsville. The stylish design of the stadium is sure to impress all who visit there with the Cowboys hoping it will rejuvenate their performances on the pitch after a poor 14th placing in 2019. Much will rest on the dazzling speed of major off-season signing Valentine Holmes. The former Cronulla Sharks fullback LAST YEAR: PRELIMINARY FINALIST HEAD COACH: CRAIG BELLAMY CAPTAIN: CAMERON SMITH HOME GROUND: AAMI PARK WEBSITE: www.melbournestorm.com.au TICKETS: www.tickets.nrl.com/team/500021 CONTACT: 60 Olympic Boulevard, Melbourne, VIC 3001 POSTAL: PO Box 155, Richmond, VIC 3121 PHONE: +61 3 8412 4900 TAB ODDS: $6.00 The Melbourne Storm have featured in eight of the past 14 grand finals under the coaching of master tactician Craig Bellamy. But last season was not one of them with Melbourne beaten in the Preliminary Final 14–6 by the eventual champions Sydney Roosters. Only the harshest critic could consider that anything but a successful season but the bar has been raised so high for so
shifting to the champion Roosters last season to work alongside Trent Robinson. Mitchell Pearce will captain the side after sharing the leadership duties last season with Jamie Buhrer. If he can remain injury free Pearce will become the second youngest player to make 300 NRL appearances in round 25. He would dearly love to follow Melbourne’s Cameron Smith into the 400 club. The Knights have a talented roster, no doubts about that. Fullback Kalyn Ponga, halfback Pearce, new hooker from the Sharks Jayden Brailey and utility Connor Watson are set for successful campaigns. Others to set high standards week in and week out are front rower David Klemmer, fellow Origin reps Tim Glasby and Daniel Saifiti, and Mitch Barnett who can play second row or lock. Two of the younger backs have bright futures and should push for regular game time this season. Left centre Bradman Best is a potential Rookie of the Year if he can get a chance to show his all-round talents while right wing Starford To’a is another promising player to watch out for. The far more experienced Hymel Hunt and Tautau Moga are fine attacking players and no doubt will be keen to keep the youngsters on the sideline a bit longer. long by Melbourne that anything other than a Grand Final appearance has to be seen as a disappointment. Once again the remarkable Cameron Smith will lead the Melbourne team. The 36-year-old hooker not only shows no sign of slowing down but if it is possible seems to be getting better. Last year in his 18th season he was rated the best hooker, best captain and best player in the competition. He eclipsed the NRL all-time points-scoring record and became the first player to reach 400 NRL games. What’s more he played in every game for Melbourne, averaging a full 80 minutes of game time. Smith is not shirking the tough stuff either. He made 1059 tackles last year at a very high 93.7 percentage rate. Truly one of the game’s greats. At the other end of the experience scale is Nicho Hynes who is one to watch in 2020. He impressed in his NRL debut last season and is the ideal utility player. Hynes has trained at fullback, centre and in the halves over the summer and looks set for regular game time. “Getting a taste has definitely left me wanting more for sure. I’m just really, really hungry,” Hynes told NRL.com. And that is what every coach loves to hear from his players. returns to the NRL after a less than successful attempt to make it in the NFL with the New York Jets. Townsville-born Holmes is expected to play at fullback where he was a sensation in his last NRL season in 2018 for the Sharks, scoring 22 tries in 26 games including a league-leading 26 line-breaks. The 24-year-old has also scored eight tries in five State of Origin games for Queensland and an incredible 17 tries in 13 tests for Australia. There is an opportunity for new props to establish themselves in the team after the retirement of Matt Scott and Scott Bolton who between them played 514 NRL games for the Cowboys. Green is hoping 25-year-old prop Francis Molo can build on a breakout 2019 campaign and 20-year-old front-rower Peter Hola can show further progress after playing five games at the end of last season. Molo was playing 30-plus minutes off the bench by the end of the season. Coach Green is impressed with his development. “Frank Molo has improved out of sight in the last few years and got our coach’s award last year,” Green told NRL.com. “He’s always had that physicality about how he plays and he has a good offload and can get good second phase going for us.”
