Sharks finally sign major sponsor

NRL club Cronulla has finally attracted a major sponsor – ironically, it seems, as a direct result of their woes on and off the field.

Labour Health, whose services include conducting drug and alcohol testing in workplaces throughout Australia, has reportedly committed to paying a six-figure sum to feature on the front of the Sharks’ jersey for the remaining 10 weeks of the season and possibly next year.

The sponsorship will start with Saturday night’s clash with the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.

It’s a commercial agreement that clashes starkly with the traditional sports marketing mantra that companies should align themselves with clean-cut and stable brands.

The Sharks of 2014 are anything but.

In the last week, Cronulla five-eighth Todd Carney was sacked after an unsavoury image of the star playmaker at a nightclub urinal went viral on social media.

Then interim head coach Peter Sharp, who was replacing the banned Shane Flanagan, resigned.

And the dark shadow of ASADA’s investigation continues to hang over The Shire club, who are last on the NRL ladder despite a shock come-from-behind win over Brisbane last round.

But all that hasn’t fazed Labour Health managing director Regan Brown, who was asked whether he agreed that the company’s decision would shock most people.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Brown told News Limited. “And that’s why were coming in to help. We know what we’re doing.”

The Sharks have been without a major sponsor since 2012.

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