Cronulla cannot afford to let any bad blood they have with former teammate Kade Snowden overshadow their preparation for Monday night’s crucial NRL clash with Newcastle according to coach Shane Flanagan.
The giant Newcastle forward, who returns from a knee injury this week, left Cronulla on bad terms at the end of last season after defecting to the Knights – despite the club announcing a press conference signalling his re-signing earlier in the year.
That press conference descended into a farce when Snowden received a phone call at the last minute, causing him to abandon his decision to commit to Cronulla, eventually signing a hefty four-year deal with Wayne Bennett’s Knights.
But Flanagan insists that it would be detrimental to the team to focus too much energy on one player – even if that player is a former Australian international.
“We need to treat him with exactly the same respect as we would treat (Newcastle forwards Willie) Mason, (Neville) Costigan, the whole lot of them,” Flanagan told AAP.
“We’re not going to single Snowy out. He’s back from injury and we’ll show him due respect.
“I’m not too worried about what Kade’s thinking. I’ve got to worry about what our frontrowers are thinking.
“He’s at Newcastle now, he’s moved on, so have we. I’ve got to concentrate on my blokes, not Kade Snowden.”
The Sharks will head into the match full of confidence after erasing their winless July with a 45-4 belting of last year’s grand finalists the Warriors last round.
Flanagan said it was not so much a pressure-relieving victory as it was one which the Sharks simply had to win given their poor form leading into it.
“It had to happen, it was one of those games we had to win,” he said.
“We’ve got a few more of those in the next couple of weeks.
“To be able to go there under the pressure we were under to bounce back from a couple of losses was really important. It showed a bit of resolve about the team, and the qualities we’ve got to be able to handle that pressure.”
Forwards Bryce Gibbs (shoulder) and Wade Graham (sternum) both remain a chance of making their comebacks from injury against the Knights.
