Cronulla Sharks fear missing out on James Segeyaro as hooker’s legal battle with Leeds draws on
CRONULLA fear the drawn out legal battle between Leeds and James Segeyaro will cost the club the hooker’s signature.
CRONULLA officials privately fear the drawn out legal battle between Leeds and James Segeyaro will cost the club the hooker’s signature.
The Sharks have been courting Segeyaro for some months, but haven’t been able to finalise a deal due to his bitter dispute with the Rhinos.
The Papua New Guinea-born hooker is claiming he isn’t contracted with the English club for 2017, which Leeds have denied and demanded he pay a hefty transfer fee to depart.
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The drawn out conflict now looks set for the courts, with Leeds calling on their lawyers to be involved.
This leaves Cronulla’s plans to sign Segeyaro in a precarious position with the NRL season just 10 days away.
Of greater immediate concern, the retirement of Michael Ennis has left the Sharks with a lack of experience at hooker.
The defending premiers recruited Manaia Cherrington (Tigers) and Daniel Mortimer (Titans) in a bid to fill Ennis’ sizeable shoes.
Cronulla also have utility Fa’amanu Brown on their books, but lack a recognisable starting hooker.
Brailey, a former Australian schoolboys international and Holden Cup player of the year for 2016, was thrown in at the deep end in front of a frenzied home crowd of over 21,000 at the DW Stadium.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan was pleased with what he saw from the 19-year-old Aquinas Colts junior.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Flanagan said. “To come into an environment like this in front of a full house in a World Club Challenge and make your debut in the middle, it’s a fair ask.
“He hasn’t played NRL before, he’s come out of the 20s system.
“He is going to be a good player and playing against Test footballers in that environment is going to be good for him.”
Brailey may have been impressive in the World Club Challenge, but the reality is he faces a steep learning curve to make the transition from the under 20s to the NRL. You only have to look at fellow Cronulla junior Michael Lichaa to discover as much.
Lichaa was highly touted during his days at the Sharks after dominating junior representative sides, but his rise to the NRL ranks has been a challenge.
After playing 15 top grade games with Cronulla in 2014, he moved across to Canterbury and it has taken time to play consistent football.
Lichaa’s story highlights the tests emerging hooker’s face trying to secure their future in the NRL.
Brailey, though, is certainly a player with plenty of promise and he proved it in a hostile World Club Challenge environment in England. The young hooker’s last game was in a Holden Cup semi-final defeat by the Sydney Roosters in Canberra with only a handful of fans watching.
It was in complete contrast to what greeted him in Wigan but he said he relished the opportunity to play on the big stage.
“It was pretty crazy, you didn’t stop hearing that crowd the whole game. I’ve never experienced that before, not even for a home game,” he said.
“It was an intense ... and I had to get used to the conditions. The boys were really good with me and I felt comfortable coming in.”
Wigan’s big forwards tried to target Brailey throughout and he said the experience gave him a taste of what he can expect in the NRL each week.
“Every tackle you have to put everything into it,” he said.
“They have big blokes like Frank-Paul (Nuuausala), (Ben) Flower and (Sean) O’Loughlin and they’re coming at you every set and tackle. Being smaller they went for me but I thought I handled it well and will learn from this.”
Originally published as Cronulla Sharks fear missing out on James Segeyaro as hooker’s legal battle with Leeds draws on