The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks hung onto a spot in the NRL’s Top 8 last season, but face a tough task if they’re to do it again in 2021.
2020 Wrap
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks were rocked by the Bronson Xerri saga early in 2020 but responded tellingly, finishing in eighth place before bowing out to the Raiders in Week 1 of the finals.
The Sharks finished the season with the fifth best attack in the competition, but their 480 points conceded (11th) meant they simply made it too hard for themselves to win games.
Despite the early finish to their finals campaign, there were plenty of positives to take from 2020 in what can be reflected upon now as a development season.
Lengthy injury layoffs to big names like Matt Moylan, Shaun Johnson and Andrew Fifita also took its toll, but for the most part, their replacements delivered. Rookies like Toby Rudolf, Will Kennedy, Siosifa Talakai, Royce Hunt and Ronaldo Mulitalo finished the year as recognised first graders, and will complement a squad retaining almost all of its talent heading into 2021.
Predicted Profile
What will the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks look like and how will they play? We take a stab at profiling their playing style ahead of Round 1.
John Morris deserves more credit than he gets for transforming the way Cronulla go about their footy. The tough, gritty premiership team of 2016 is no more, and Morris had the modern day Sharks playing to their strengths in 2020.
Chad Townsend told the ‘Bloke in a Bar’ podcast the Sharks were top three in shifting the ball across-field last season. We’re expecting more of the same in 2021.
The natural ball-playing abilities of Shaun Johnson, Matt Moylan or rookie Braydon Trindall in the halves means Cronulla are well equipped to spread the ball quickly and often, whether in sweeping backline shifts in good ball or when working out of their own end.
Swinging to the left, Wade Graham is a key man in attacking shapes when playing alongside halfback Townsend, who offers a very structured brand of footy. If Townsend is replaced by a more creative attacking half – someone like Moylan, for instance – we might see Graham revert somewhat to a more traditional edge back-rowers role.
On the right, Briton Nikora has forged a wonderful partnership with Johnson over the past two seasons, and it’s one we will be looking for in good ball sets. With all comers watching and waiting for the next soaring long ball, Nikora is always a dangerous option close to the line, running off Johnson’s hip. Entering his third NRL season, Nikora could be in for a big year.
Out wide, destructive running centres in Josh Dugan and Jesse Ramien suggests the Sharks may look to shift early in yardage sets and work up the tram lines, rather than bash-and-crash through the middle. They also have Ronaldo Mulitalo and Sione Katoa on the flanks – powerful wingers more than capable of getting Cronulla’s sets off to a good start.
But it is at the other end of the field that Mulitalo and Katoa truly shine. Both wingers are excellent finishers, whether chasing a kick or flying onto yet another one of those silky Johnson cut-out passes.
The Sharks shouldn’t struggle to find the try-line in 2021. It’s how they defend their own that will be the biggest challenge.
2021 NRL Notepad
Jason Oliver cracks open his notepad to find a key player, style or stat to keep an eye on this season.
Shift, or not to shift?
The Sharks are going against the grain with how they move the ball. They don’t have the ball-playing middle’s other clubs have installed into the attack over the last 12 months. Instead, they’ve got big bodies that are tasked with trucking the ball up the guts and getting the team up the field.
However, as Oscar mentions a little bit further down, they aren’t short of ball-players overall. We just don’t know who is going to be out there, when, and for how long.
Matt Moylan is expected to start the year at five-eighth. Form depending, he could then make the move to fullback upon Shaun Johnson’s return.
“If Matt can get off to a real good start and can get a number of games at six, I’m sure you could slot him right in at fullback.” – John Morris to NRL.com
The Sharks look dangerous at full-strength. Moylan, Johnson, Townsend and Blake Brailey did share the field for a brief period last season. Cronulla moved the ball well when all four players were involved too.
Here, Townsend and Johnson link up before Sione Katoa goes close in the corner.
Johnson, Brailey, Moylan and Townsend are then all involved in shifting the ball in search of space on the left side.
Following an Aaron Woods settler around the left post, Brailey provides Townsend with a crisp ball from dummy-half, the defence gets out a little bit too laterally with Johnson in mind out the back, and Braden Hamlin-Uele exposes two flat-footed defenders to crash over the line.
All of Cronulla’s key play-makers influenced the set to manufacture a well-worked try. But when Moylan went down in the 28th minute a week later, that was the last we saw of these four playing together.
After being so reliant on Johnson to create down the right edge last season, I’m eager to see how the Sharks go without him, and the adjustments they make if the first-choice spine can keep fit and play well from Round 5 onward.
“Heads In” 2021
Oscar Pannifex unpacks a scrum of three key questions ahead of the 2021 NRL season.
Centre-Field Scrum – What’s centre-frame in the Rugby League lens this season?
The Sharks are flush with talent in the playmaking department coming into the 2021 season. The question remains how to fit so many pieces of the puzzle in without things getting messy for coach John Morris.
Barring injuries, we can lock in Blayke Brailey for hooker and Shaun Johnson in the halves, at either six or seven.
That leaves Chad Townsend, Matt Moylan, Braydon Trindall and Connor Tracey to battle it out for the other halves jersey. Townsend is the incumbent, Moylan’s ceiling is sky-high and Trindall has impressed in his few chances at NRL level. Tracey might have a better chance at an interchange role, where his utility value could see him jag a bench spot.
At the back, Will Kennedy surpassed expectations and converted the doubters (me) to finish his maiden NRL season with aplomb. Josh Dugan is another option at fullback, along with Moylan if he doesn’t secure a halves spot.
There’s plenty of talent on the roster, but it counts for nothing if Morris can’t get the mix right.
Right Scrum-Line – Who is feeling the pressure this season?
It feels wrong to be talking about Wade Graham in this segment, but after a below par year in 2020 by his own standards there’s some pressure on the Cronulla captain heading into 2021.
Pressure we expect him to welcome.
Graham managed 19 games last season for the Sharks, but whether due to niggling injuries or form he failed to consistently capture his gamebreaking best.
Graham averaged 3.3 missed tackles per game last season, a significant jump from his 2.7 per game average across 10 years in the Shire. There is always more behind statistics like this. Rugby league is a team sport and tackling is rarely (if ever) a clean-cut, one-on-one scenario. But there were contests Graham lost last year that we’ve seen him win countless times before, and his decision making in defence wasn’t elite as we’ve come to expect.
To miss out on Origin squad selection entirely was a bitter blow, and perhaps more a reflection of the back-row talent at NSW’s disposal last season rather than any major fall from grace on Graham’s part.
But 2021 is a new year.
Graham is one of my favourite players in the NRL. Tough, skillful and a fiery but fair competitor, he fits the bill for the modern day backrower. We’ve seen the lock position evolve in the past 12-18 months (more on that soon), and edge forwards might well be next.
The creativity and variation Graham plays with on the Sharks’ left edge is a joy to watch and a nightmare to defend. He’s equally adept at charging onto short balls close to the line as he is squaring up defenders himself and setting up fellow players with the silky skills of a veteran halfback:
Considering the host of ball-players at the Sharks’ disposal this season, Graham’s creative output with the ball in hand mightn’t be as prominent as in years past. But we won’t be surprised to see a few more moments of brilliance like this in 2021.
Left Scrum-Line – My left-field thought for the season
If you’ve been following RLW since early last year, you’d know Jase and I got very keen, very early on Victor Radley at the Sydney Roosters. In particular, his ball-playing from the lock position.
Maybe Trent Robinson really did get the jump on everybody else. Maybe Radley was just so well suited to the role that things simply fell into place for the Roosters. Whatever the case, 12 months on and we are seeing more and more NRL clubs line up with a ball-playing middle forward locking the scrum.
Tohu Harris seems to have been officially moved to lock for the Warriors, while South Sydney look set to explore every other option before moving Cam Murray from the middle third. Connor Watson as a full-time lock would have been ludicrous a few years ago, but he will line up there for Newcastle this season.
At Cronulla, John Morris opted for a barge-and-charge approach around the ruck last season, and it doesn’t look like changing much in 2021.
Toby Rudolf, Braden Hamlin-Uele and Aaron Woods form one of the biggest starting middle three combinations in the NRL. All have a run-first prerogative, and offer little variation in the way they work upfield. They are all also big bodies with poor lateral movement in defence. A refreshed and significantly trimmed down Andrew Fifita will help somewhat, but the Sharks are still lacking a genuine, mobile ball-player in the forwards.
There’s nothing yet to say this is necessarily a losing formula in the modern game. Jason Taumalolo seems to play OK in the #13 jumper up in North Queensland. But it’s something to watch out for as the Sharks progress through the season.
Peak, Pass, Pit
Oscar and Jason give their predicted peak for the Sharks in 2021 along with a pass mark and worst-case scenario.
Peak
Cinderella GF: If injuries are kind and key players hit form at the right time, this squad is good enough to make a Grand Final. Shaun Johnson is elite, their forward pack is tough and experienced and they have plenty of strike out wide. A GF appearance would be an incredible achievement, but not an impossible one. ~OP
Finals Week 1: The Sharks snuck into the Top 8 last season thanks to their attack. That came through Shaun Johnson’s right edge. Now, he’s out until at least Round 5 and players can take two years to regain full fitness following an Achilles injury. They’ll do well to repeat last seasons effort. ~JO
Pass
Finals Week 1-2: Even only a slight improvement from 2020 should see Cronulla battle it out in the first few rounds of the finals series. It feels like we haven’t ever really seen the best version of this Sharks squad, just as much as it feels like we mightn’t ever, either. The defence must improve if they want to go one further in 2021. ~OP
9th-10th: Even if Johnson returns fit and firing, it doesn’t look as though the Sharks will improve as much as other teams around them on the ladder. They’re going to need to unearth some young talent or have Graham and Moylan play at a level we haven’t seen for too long. ~JO
Pit
Miss Finals: Despite their talent across the park, Cronulla’s depth isn’t the greatest and there’s always a chance the Sharks miss out on finals altogether – although this does seem like a worst-case scenario. ~OP
14th: It could all get very, very bad for the Sharks if injuries hit. They don’t carry enough depth to deal with too many niggles. Another to Johnson after his return could put them in the wooden spoon conversation. ~JO