Ask Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan who’s behind the Sharks’ spectacular NRL revival and he won’t say Paul Gallen or Todd Carney.
No, Flanagan will credit unsung heroes like journeyman centre Colin Best, no-frills halfback Jeff Robson, unheralded back-rower Jason Bukuya and comeback hooker Isaac De Gois for helping transform the Sharks from wooden spoon candidates to surprise 2012 title contenders.
Flanagan accepts Gallen remains Cronulla’s “rock” and that Carney has added the necessary attacking polish since arriving this season to resurrect his own career.
“But it’s not just a one-man team anymore,” Flanagan said as the Sharks look to extend their decade-best winning streak to seven matches with victory over Souths on Monday night.
“The big important thing – and Gal recognises this now – is that it’s not about Paul Gallen anymore; he’s just part of a team.
“Last year it was basically all about him. We needed Gal to do something, we needed him to create something at times. He was the centrepiece of our team.
“He’s still a big part of it, but we’ve got some other people who are contributing really well.”
Proof that the Sharks have success stories across the park can be found in statistics revealing not only Gallen as topping the NRL for hit-ups, metres gained and offloads.
Best and his oft-maligned centre partner Ben Pomeroy also feature in the top 10 for offloads, while Bukuya ranks first among NRL forwards for tackle breaks, ahead of Gallen in second spot.
“Stats can be manipulated in whatever way you want but, if you go back to last year, we would have only had Paul Gallen in any kind of stat in the top 20,” Flanagan said.
“If we’re going to be in the top four and top eight at the end of the year, we need to have a lot of players in different categories.”
So far so good – but it’s early days.
Flanagan sees the upcoming State of Origin series – when his side will be without NSW skipper Gallen and probably also Blues debutant Carney – as a big opportunity for the Sharks to break down more barriers.
“There’s still competition games before that and hopefully we’re nine (wins) and two (losses), but during that Origin period we need to be just as competitive and have the same attitude towards games while Gal’s away – and I think we will.
“I don’t think anyone goes ‘oh shit, we can’t win without Paul Gallen’ anymore.
“If Gal doesn’t play or he’s not the best player, we’re still a chance of winning. In previous years, we haven’t been.”
Flanagan says De Gois, who returned to Cronulla this season after a three-year stint with Newcastle, “typifies the attitude and culture” at the Sharks.
That may be true, but former Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne prop Glenn Lazarus, the only player in history to win premierships with three different clubs, has no doubt Gallen is the heartbeat of the Sharks.
“And I think Paul’s a reflection of how the team’s going and the feeling there is at the club,” Lazarus said.
“What I think when I watch them play is that they are playing for each other.
“They are going to be very hard to beat each week and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Flanagan agrees.
“I go into every game and I know that we’re going to bust our arses to win, there’s maximum effort and mentally we’re approaching games really well,” he said.
“If we get those combined 17 efforts, we’ll win most of our games now.
“In previous years, we had to play exceptionally to win games. Now we just have to do our job.
“So that’s the difference.”
That and the arrival of Carney, of course.
“We just haven’t had that quality of skill, that next step of player, which now we’ve got,” Flanagan said.
“We’ve got more attacking options and we don’t have to go to Gal as much.”
Flanagan coveted a world-class half ever since taking the reins from Ricky Stuart in late 2010.
“We had Tim Smith and Scott Porter last year and their contracts weren’t renewed,” he said.
“I signed Jeff Robson early days as more of a utility – nine or seven – but in the back of my mind I would have loved to have gone out and signed a top-quality No.7.
“The likes of the Cooper Cronks were off contract the year before but unfortunately we just weren’t in the financial position to go out and compete for players like Cooper.
“So when a top-line half came off contract, I was always hoping that we could get it.
“Then Todd come off in different circumstances.”
When the Sydney Roosters sacked the 2010 Dally M Medallist last year, the Sharks pounced and they haven’t looked back.
“People questioned Cronulla about signing him, but he’s fitted in really well there and I would think Paul Gallen would have something to do with that too,” Lazarus said.
“Paul probably reflects and relates to what Carney was going through and has probably been a bit of a mentor for him.
“Paul has transformed himself from being known as a bit of a grub to being respected across the league.
“I love the guy and he’s just a wonderful footballer.”
But while the inspirational Gallen is doing everything but kick 40-20s for Cronulla, coach Flanagan is clearly ticking the right boxes too.
His high-risk gamble on Carney shows the 46-year-old is strong enough to make the big call.
“I take the approach that I’m hard but I’m fair,” Flanagan said.
“In this game, you can’t take soft options.”
Having served his apprenticeship under Stuart at both club and Test level and learned from Roosters coaching director Phil Gould as well as Craig Bellamy in the Origin arena, Flanagan has tapped into some of the great minds in rugby league.
The legendary Ron Massey has also been a “massive influence”, as has defensive pioneer Warren Ryan.
It’s no coincidence Cronulla are third on the ladder and boast the third best defensive record in the competition, conceding an average of less than 15 points a game over the opening eight rounds.
“Sides that don’t defend well just don’t win football games,” Flanagan said.
“You can have the best attacking players but, if you have a good defence, you’ll end up winning more football games than you lose.”
The Sharks are indeed winning more than they lose – but their level-headed coach isn’t spruiking a fairytale maiden premiership for The Shire just yet.
“We haven’t even played in a semi-finals series since 2008,” he said.
“That’s a different competition again. It all starts again when that comes around.
“We’ve got to be there first and then be in good shape mentally when we get there.”
