20 of the Best: Cronulla Sharks
As we wait for season 2011 to get underway, the Making The Nut team will take a look back over the last 20 years to name the 20 best players at all sixteen teams. Merged teams will take account of both clubs pre-merger and the only rule is that a player must have played at least three years post-1990. A player's time at the club is the only time that is taken into account.
Here, Nathan Boss breaks down the poor old Cronulla Sharks.
20. Richie Barnett
Combining great hands with amazing speed, Barnett was one of the Sharks major attacking weapons during the mid 90s. Barnett will be remembered by Sharks fans for his 1996 try against the Broncos where he majestically flew through the air to pounce on another perfectly weighted kick from the Bomb Squad.
19. Dean Treister
Treister was one of those players that others loved to play with and hated playing against. Prior to Treister’s arrival the Sharks had difficulty finding a long term solution to the hooking role. This fiery, aggressive pest acted as a perfect foil to the generally cleanskin Sharks pack. Treister was just starting to reach his potential when he was sent to reserve grade for daring to question Supercoach Anderson and subsequently left the club shortly thereafter.
18. Luke Douglas
The Ironman of rugby league, Luke Douglas has amazed rugby league fans by playing an amazing 115 straight games for the Sharks since debuting in 2006.
17. Luke Covell
In what appears to be a common theme among this list, Covell came to the club as a virtual outcast from the Wests Tigers. Within a few years, however, Covell had become a cult hero out at Cronulla, leading to the establishment of groups such as the Covell World Order. Along the way Luke managed to break numerous records becoming the only player in rugby league history to play for both Country Origin and New Zealand, a truly momentous achievement. He was also given the captaincy of the Sharks, becoming the first player to captain a first grade rugby league team from the wing in many years.
16. Preston Campbell
If the Sharks teams of the late 90s lacked anything it was unpredictability in halves. That was until unknown former Gold Coast Chargers winger Preston Campbell was given an unlikely opportunity by Johnny Lang a few rounds into the 2001 season. Presto turned out to be a revelation, winning the Dally M award on the way to bringing the Sharks to within a game of the grand final. In recognition of his efforts incoming Supercoach Anderson made him play fullback, hooker, winger or basically anywhere but halfback before finally settling on reserve grade. The following season Presto deservedly won a premiership with the Panthers, whilst the Anderson-coached Sharks finished 11th.
15. Martin Lang
Fearless Marty was inspiration for Sharks fans and players. I doubt that any player has willingly received as much punishment as Langy. One of the highlights of many Sharks supporters’ lives would have to be Marty Lang’s try off a Jason Stevens pass in a 2001 semi final demolition of the Bulldogs.
14. Mitch Healey
The leader of the Bomb Squad, Healy made up for his limited linebreaking ability with one of the best kicking games in modern rugby league. Healey’s pinpoint kicking combined with the athleticism of the Sharks outside backs provided many highlights for Sharks fans during the 90s.
13. Paul Green
Paul Green arrived at the Sharks in 1994 following his coach Johnny Lang down from Brisbane Easts. Green was possibly the most important player at the Sharks during the mid to late 90s, with his pinpoint bombs and uncanny ability to break the line being instrumental to him winning the Rothmans Medal in 1995.
12. Danny Nutley
Nutley was yet another unheralded signing originally from the Crushers. The Nut was very much in the typical Cronulla forward mould, in that he loved to run it up and loved to tackle and be tackled. His love of league was highlighted in the hit 2003 romantic comedy “Hit It Up With Danny Nutley”. Nutley endeared himself to Sharks fans for life after standing over perennial diver Simon Woolford and asking him, in less than flattering terms, if he would mind getting to his feet.
11. Les Davidson
Davidson was one of the most important signings in Sharks history. Prior to his arrival the Sharks pack were regarded as willing, but not particularly intimidating, which all changed once the man they call Bundy arrived. It still brings a tear to my eye every time I think of him knocking out two overmatched Dragons pansies with consecutive punches in 1994.
10. Paul Mellor
I’m not usually one to rely too heavily on statistics but, in this case the stats speak for themselves. In the six years Mellor was with the club the Sharks made three prelim finals and two semi finals. In the two years the Sharks were without Mellor they finished 11th in both seasons. From this I take that Paul Mellor was probably the most influential player of the 2000s.
9. Greg Bird
The Birdman stormed onto the scene as an 18 year old with an outstanding debut performance in the Sharks 2002 drubbing of St Merge. From there Bird was quiet for a few seasons, due in part to injuries and an overreaction by the NRL judiciary to his accidental knee to Shane Marteene’s head. Bird was starting to come into his own as one half of the “Bash Brothers” before the incompetent NSW Police Force wasted valuable time and resources in bringing trumped up charges against the future King of Origin. Consequently, overbearing Cronulla sponsors, on the back of the ridiculous media beatup surrounding the baseless allegations, forced the club to cut their superstar, costing the Sharks the 2008 premiership in the process.
8. Tawera Nikau
Big T is quite possibly the most underrated footballer in history. Nikau arrived at the Sharks and immediately made the lock position his own, becoming one of the pioneers of the ballplaying locks so prevalent in today’s game. Nikau was one of the Sharks’ best in their Super League GF, and continued to star after leaving the Sharks, almost single-handedly winning the Storm the 99 title.
7. Danny Lee
“Club Keno” Danny held a mortgage over the title of the league’s top tackler for most of the 90s. One of the hardest working forwards in the game Lee was the model of consistency for the Sharks throughout the 90s, playing over 200 games in his storied career. Unsubstantiated rumours abound that the Sharks financial woes stem from having to constantly order new bar stools, as mild mannered Danny used them for tackling practice in preparation for the following week’s clash.
6. Chris McKenna
Hymie was another Shark to shine under the easy going coaching style of Johhny Lang. An unheralded signing from the short lived South Queensland Crushers, McKenna became regarded as one of the hardest hitters in the game and was a constant menace running out wide in attack. McKenna was rewarded for his outstanding performances with an Australian jersey in 2002, before being the first of many stars forced out of the club following a dispute with Supercoach Anderson.
5. Mat Rogers
The Son of Sludge may have surpassed his father’s reputation at the greatest shark in history had he not sold his soul for the dirty money being offered by rugby yawnion. Rogers burst onto the rugby league scene in 1995, quickly forming the most lethal centre-wing combination in the game with ET. He quickly became a crowd favourite and was influential in Cronulla’s run of success in the late 90s. In the minds of many Sharks fans the injury to Rogers early in the 1999 prelim final against the Steel Dragons may have cost both him and the Sharks their inaugural premiership.
4. Jason Stevens
The toughest celibate front rower in rugby league history, Stevens added another dimension to Cronulla’s attack upon his arrival from little brother Saint George. Steven’s offloading ability and tackle breaking ability complemented the other workmanlike forwards in the Sharks pack in the late 1990’s. His efforts in bringing the atomic wedgie back to prominence should also not be undervalued.
3. Paul Gallen
Rugby league’s version of Chuck Norris has quickly become the man that all Sharks supporters love and all other supporters love to hate. Gallen has overcome constant undeserved media slights from journalistic hacks such as Paul Sheehan to become possibly the greatest leader in Sharks history. Whilst the club was seemingly falling apart around him Gallen remained the one constant holding the Shire together. His unmatched workrate, combined with his aggressive defence and general ballplaying ability make Gallen the one indispensable player in the Sharks lineup.
2. Andrew Ettingshausen
Whilst the Peach was the pulse of the Sharks, ET was definitely the face. If anything ET’s only weakness was that he was too naturally talented. There was nothing he couldn’t do out on the field. His blistering pace, amazing footwork and vastly underrated defence led to ET establishing himself as a Shire Superhero. ET played a club record 328 games for the club which included 3 agonizing preliminary finals appearances and the super league grand final loss to Brisbane in 1997.
1. David Peachey
The Peach was the symbol of the resurgence of the Sharks in the mid 1990’s. Shark Park in the dark soon became the place to be for those in the Shire and a lot of this was due to the presence of possibly the most entertaining footballer of his generation. Peachey established himself as a star of the future by playing in the winning Cronulla Presidents Cup and Reserve Grade teams on the same day in 1994. He was soon a part of the lethal Sharks backline of the 1990s, picking up many accolades including the Dally M fullback of the year in 1999, before finally being awarded a State of Origin jersey in 2000. The Peach was rewarded for his efforts by being appointed captain of the club following ET’s retirement. In true Sharks fashion, this club legend was stripped of the captaincy for a rugby league nomad who was bum buddies with the “coach” at the time and was eventually forced out of the club for David Simmons.
The views of Nathan Boss, particularly in relation to Chris Anderson, do not reflect the views of this website.
Photo by Matt King/Getty Images AsiaPac
