The 2022 NRL season isn’t far away so Oscar Pannifex and Jason Oliver are previewing all 16 clubs before Round 1. Up next, it’s the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2022 Season Preview:
- The 2021 NRL Season In 200 Words
- Predicted Profile In 2022
- Breakout Season Candidates: Blayke Brailey, Nicho Hynes
- Sections Wishlist: Wade Graham staying injury-free, Franklin Pele
- SuperCoach Game Theory
- Notepad: Finding the first-choice halves
- Predictions: Peak, Pass & Pit
The 2021 NRL Season In 200 Words
We’re looking back at the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2021 Season Review for a quick recap on how it all played out.
Another slow start to the season put the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on the back-foot in 2021. A horror first ten rounds saw John Morris sacked and the Sharks win just two games. However, like 2020, they bounced back to make a run at the Top 8, falling just short after the Warriors lost to the Titans in Round 25.
A Top 8 team at their best (thrashing the Titans in Round 12, Bulldogs in Round 19 and Tigers in Round 23) but mind-bogglingly bad at their worst (Losing to Bulldogs in Round 7, Panthers in Round 9 and Warriors in Round 21), the Sharks struggled for consistency all season. Much of that had to do with the turnover of players in key playmaking positions.
Chad Townsend, Matt Moylan, Shaun Johnson, Braydon Trindall, Connor Tracey and Luke Metcalf all spent time in the halves, disrupting development and stalling momentum. Will Kennedy and Blayke Brailey stood out at fullback and hooker to offer hope of a cohesive spine in 2022 while playing behind a pack that still managed to get up the field despite the turnover of game-managers.
A frustrating season, it’s one Craig Fitzgibbon will be able to learn from heading into 2022.
Predicted Profile In 2022
What will the Sharks attack look like this season? We take a stab at profiling their playing style ahead of Round 1 of the 2022 NRL season.
Nicho Hynes, Braydon Trindall and Will Kennedy linked up in the spine for the Indigenous NRL All-Stars earlier this month and gave us a sneak peak of how Cronulla might look with the ball in hand this year. The Indigenous forward pack matched it with the Maori in the first quarter of that game and we saw the Sharks’ trio – with Hynes in the driver’s seat – combine effectively off the back of that.
Hynes had 41 possessions that night and the stats breakdown gives us a hint as to what sort of involvements he might be looking to have in 2022.
Thirteen runs for 106 metres is a tidy return and proof that Hynes will always be a running threat in the halves, but the 20 passes thrown and 11 kicks offered is encouraging too. Hynes looked comfortable in a playmaking role and most pleasing was his ability to play both sides of the ruck and multiple times in a set.
This action to finish the first quarter didn’t end in points but it was as good as the Indigenous side looked all night. It starts with Hynes directing traffic at first-receiver, passing Shaquille Mitchell into a specific area of the field.
You can see Hynes pointing at Mitchell forward from behind the ruck and telling him not to offload – there’s a plan for this set and Hynes takes a leading role in seeing it unfold.
His next involvement is again at first receiver but this time on the open side of the field. Hynes squares up the defence and manages to engage a few Maori players despite Andrew Fifita over-running the decoy line off his hip. It’s enough to create the space out wide for Trindall and Kennedy and Ramien goes close to finishing it off in the corner.
The key takeaway from all this is the type of involvements Hynes is having here. Most of his highlight actions for the Storm last year came a few passes wide of the ruck in fullback-like positions where he used his speed and skill to take the space and sum up overlap situations on the edges.
For the Indigenous All-Stars however, Hynes put himself in halfback positions and took charge of directing their sets from start to finish. He was the guy creating the space instead of the one finishing things off with some flair out wide, and he looked pretty good doing it too.
The point of difference Hynes can bring to this new playmaking role is how dangerous he will always be when he drifts wider.
Hynes’ pass in the leadup to that David Fifita run in the All-Stars game is a perfect example. His ability to identify space, call a teammate into first-receiver (think: Cameron McInnes) and put himself in a position to make the play bought Fifita a one-on-one matchup and Ramien scored 70 metres later.
The other benefit to Hynes filling that halfback style role is that it complements Cronulla’s roster. I’ve already covered this in detail here, but with Hynes at first receiver the Sharks have a few genuine options at five-eighth in Trindall, Matt Moylan or even Luke Metcalf. Throw in Kennedy at fullback and the Sharks are blessed with running threats out wide and it looks like they’ve got a guy in Hynes who can get the ball there.
Hynes looks set to play an on-ball role at the Sharks this year but has the likes of McInnes and Dale Finucane to slot in at pivot to play wider. When it’s Hynes taking possession one off the ruck, it’s Moylan and Kennedy providing the finishing touch out wide. With a strong back to lay the foundations and a side laden with players than can move the ball, expect the Sharks to spend a lot of time searching down the edges all the way up the field.
~ Oscar & Jason
Breakout Season Candidates
Some started to breakout in 2021 while others are ripe and ready to announce themselves to the NRL in 2022. Oscar and Jason highlight one player they think will take a leap this season.
Oscar: Blayke Brailey
He’s been a reliable performer across four seasons of first-grade so far but 2022 is the year we start to see the best of Blayke Brailey. The tough little hooker has navigated through a tumultuous period for the Sharks and emerged as a classy rake with strong defensive technique and excellent service from dummy-half. The gap between his best and worst game is slight but I think we’ll see Brailey push that ceiling a little higher in 2022.
Scheming in attack and orchestrating scoring chances around the ruck is where Brailey has upside in 2022. In attacking field position, all eyes will be on Nicho Hynes in the halves, Cameron McInnes at lock or Will Kennedy sweeping out the back but don’t sleep on Brailey from dummy-half. If his junior form is anything to go by then Brailey’s running game is an untapped resource at NRL level but I think he can develop into an elite playmaker from dummy-half – think peak-Josh Hodgson but with more toe.
The Sharks scored just 18% of their tries through the middle third last year. Only the shift-happy Rabbitohs (15%) scored less through that channel in 2021. With a backline that will demand attention from the defence in good ball there’s easy points to be found around the ruck if Brailey is good enough. I think he will be.
Jason: Nicho Hynes
So, Nicho Hynes has broken out already. He did that in 2020, somehow went unsigned at the end of the season, and put himself in a position to sign a career payday in 2021.
However, breaking free from the negative ‘players the Storm let go’ narrative would be his true breakout season.
It’s a bit lazy but the assumption is that the Storm don’t let good players go. They do, however, sometimes need to. Craig Bellamy and the Storm didn’t want Hynes to leave in the same way they didn’t want Brandon Smith to go either. This is the salary cap working in the way it is intended to work.
Sure, there is a lengthy list of players who haven’t kicked on after leaving the club. How many of them did Melbourne actually try to keep, though?
Clubs get caught in the trap but so do fans. In the case of Hynes, plenty expect him to fall to pieces after trading purple for blue and white.
There’s little to suggest he won’t excel at a new club. He has the skills to dominate in the halves and excelled at the position in reserve grade before being elevated into the first-grade Storm side. While most of his experience in the NRL has come at fullback, a lot of those skills translate directly into the halves. There are concerns about how he organises the team and moves them around the field. But, again, he has proven capable of picking things up and embracing the role he has been given.
Hynes won’t be the best half in the competition in his first year but he’s going to add a lot to this Sharks attack.
Section Wishlist
Whether it be likely or unlikely, good or bad, Jason and Oscar have a couple of players on their selection wishlist in 2022.
Oscar: Wade Graham to stay injury-free
Graham is up there with one of my favourite players in the NRL. He’s a tough bastard who loves the tough carries and the niggle but he can also finesse it with the best of them. Graham’s got a lovely short kicking game and can pass at the line as well as any half in the competition.
He’s also got a horrible record with injury.
Graham hasn’t played more than 20 games in a season since 2017. It’s a factor that cannot be understated in regards to the Sharks’ on-field performances during that time – who knows in how many close games he might’ve been the difference. Craig Fitzgibbon is assembling one hell of a squad and at 31-years old Graham is a guy who can lead them into a new era.
The skip staying injury free in 2022 is my #1 wish for the Sharks this year.
Jason: Franklin Pele
Need I say more than this?
He did find himself in the bin towards the end of the first pre-season trial but had picked up 70 running metres on six carries in the lead-up. The 21-year-old has all of the tools physically. He’s big, has great footwork and dangerous acceleration. While he has some work to do in the more subtle areas at the position, he’s more than capable of having a positive influence on this side off the bench.
Get him out there, Craig.
SuperCoach Game Theory
RLW is venturing into the fantasy space this year and Oscar will be keeping a rolling watch list from week-to-week. Not everything translates from field to fantasy but if something catches my eye or there’s value hiding somewhere, it’ll go on the list.
Nicho Hynes ($685,900) – The one everyone’s looking at, and for good reason. I thought we’d see Cronulla work Hynes into fullback-like involvements this year but if the trials are anything to go off then Hynes looks like playing a bit of everything in 2022. He distributed like a halfback but ran like a fullback in the All-Stars game and it all spells SC points for me. He’s a fair crack at Cronulla’s first-choice goal-kicking duties too.
Briton Nikora ($482,200) – Looked very, very good in the All-Stars game. Five tackle breaks, three offloads and 37 tackles for two misses in 69 minutes is as good a first-stint for the season as you’ll see. He runs a killer outside-in line on a right edge that looks set to feature heavily for the Sharks in 2022. He’s cheap as chips and has plenty of upside for me this season.
Jesse Ramien ($552,900) – Ramien has always been in the conversation when it comes to centres but I’ve never had him in my team before. A little too inconsistent and a little too prone to suspension were two reasons for me to avoid previously. It’s obviously too early to tell at time of writing, but Craig Fitzgibbon profiles as a guy who can coach those issues out of Ramien’s game. Couple that with a dominant right edge for Cronulla in 2022 and Ramien is a prospect, albeit at a price. Don’t have him yet but I’m watching closely.
Blayke Brailey ($426,700) – I’m tipping him for a breakout year given the weapons around him in 2022. Brailey will have less attention from the defence allowing him to increase his output in key attacking areas like run metres, linebreak assists and try assists. I hope I haven’t jinxed him.
Cameron McInnes ($535,400) – I’m not as keen as everyone else but I’ll definitely be watching just as closely. A slow-ish return from an ACL injury seems more likely for McInnes, but there’s certainly plenty of upside about him this year playing at lock and at that price tag. I can see myself making a call on this within the first few rounds.
2022 NRL Notepad
Jason has pulled the wrapper off a fresh notepad and has a few pages filled already with the 2022 NRL season in mind.
Finding the first-choice halves
Craig Fitzgibbon has plenty of options in his halves which can be a luxury and a curse. Regardless of who he sends out for Round 1 – I’ve got Matt Moylan partnering Nicho Hynes – there will be two or three other options knocking on the door should the first pair not fire early.
We can lock Hynes into a spot. You don’t make a big play for him to then have him running around in reserve grade.
That leaves Moylan, Braydon Trindall, Luke Metcalf and Connor Tracey as the realistic options beside Hynes this season.
Moylan is the experienced option and displayed some encouraging form towards the back end of the 2021 NRL season.
Trindall is the traditional #7. He’s the option for Fitzgibbon if he’s looking for one voice to lead the side.
Metcalf is the x-factor. His departure to the Warriors next season may also play a part in when and where he’s selected this season. If the Sharks attack is lacking potency, Metcalf will be considered as a possible answer.
Tracey could be anything. His versatility might hurt him when it comes to selection in the halves given how useful he is in the outside backs or at #14.
The Sharks are a relatively cohesive side overall but the halves will need some time to gel. It’s important that Fitzgibbon gets the combination right for Round 1 and provides them with enough games to get comfortable. We’ve seen coaches move players in and out all season in the past, hoping to land on the right partnership. Those teams don’t often play finals football which should be the expectation for the Sharks in 2022.
Peak, Pass, Pit
Oscar and Jason give their predicted peak for the Sharks in 2022 along with a pass mark and worst-case scenario.
Peak
Prelims: I’m very bullish on the Sharks in 2022. They’ve had more excuses than most clubs since the 2016 premiership but have missed the finals just once in that time. They’ve got their coach in Craig Fitzgibbon and their main-man in Nicho Hynes, and while a grand final appearance might be just out of reach in their first season together, I don’t think it’s far away. ~OP
5th: One area that is almost always underrated in the NRL, but especially in this Sharks side, is cohesion. A large chunk of their side has played a lot of football together. That is going to make things a lot easier on the new additions who fill roles that really needed filling. There is a bolter up the ladder every season and I won’t be surprised to see it’s the Sharks in 2022. ~JO
Pass
8th: When the Sharks finished eighth in 2020 everybody called them the worst team to play finals footy in recent memory. Then the Gold Coast Titans made the finals the year after with a losing regular-season record. The ladder has been bottom-heavy for a few years now but Cronulla are on the upwards trend and they will expect to make the eight moving forward. I do too. ~OP
8th: This team must play finals football. Despite the disruptions last season and their two first-choice halves failing to finish the season at the club, the Sharks gave themselves a sniff and should go better this time around. ~JO
Pit
<9th: The Sharks are better equipped than most in the NRL to handle injuries in the spine but if one or two key players (Hynes, Brailey, McInnes) go down then the alarms will sound. There’s also not much depth in the outside backs if Connor Tracey, Jesse Ramien or either winger misses too many games. Throw in the growing pains of a new coach with new attacking systems and there is a chance I look very stupid by season’s end as Cronulla slip out of the eight. I’m not too worried, however. ~OP
10 wins: Everybody expects to improve on the last season but not everybody does in the end. Teams will fall short of expectations and perform worse than in 2021 but I can’t see any excuse why the Sharks can’t improve on their 10 wins. ~JO