Andrew Fifita apologises to Sharks over post-try outburst against North Queensland Cowboys
PAUL Gallen has revealed Cronulla teammate Andrew Fifita has expressed remorse for his post-try outburst against North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday.
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CRONULLA star Andrew Fifita has apologised to the club for his post-try outburst on Saturday, captain Paul Gallen has revealed.
Fifita is believed to have fronted the Sharks’ coaching staff after gesticulating towards assistant coach Jim Dymock following a crucial try in the win over North Queensland.
Gallen believes the ends justified the means.
“To be fair, if that’s the result, if what Jimmy says to him provokes that sort of performance, I’m happy to sit back and let Jimmy do it,” Gallen said on the Nine Network’s 100% Footy show.
“If it’s going to bring on a performance like Saturday night that’s great,” Gallen said.
“He came on and won the game for us.
“I’ve got no issues with what happened. We know what Andrew is like. We know he can lose his cool sometimes.”
The temperamental Fifita was summoned to a meeting with coach Shane Flanagan on his day off on Monday to explain himself.
The Sharks closed ranks and were desperately trying handle the situation privately.
“We’ll deal with it in house,” Flanagan said, “It’s a matter between Andrew and the coaching staff.”
Asked if Fifita accepted he had done the wrong thing, Flanagan said: “Yes, 100 per cent.”
Gallen denied recent speculation he had fallen out with the former Blues and Kangaroos forward.
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“I’ve never had a blue with Andrew,” he said, “it’s really not an issue for the players.
“I guess you’ve got to respect the staff and Andrew probably let himself down.
“It’s caused a couple of days of phone calls and a bit of angst. Just a pain in the arse but we’ll move on.”
In an interview over the weekend, veteran forward Luke Lewis revealed Fifita apologised to the coaches and players following the game.
“It’s definitely not the way to react, and it’s not the thing we want to be sending out there to kids,” Lewis told Triple M on Sunday.
“But he’s done it now, and I suppose they will have to have a good conversation about it on Monday or Tuesday and clear the air to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“It wasn’t a good look for the game and it wasn’t a good look for our side either. It’s very disappointing because we had a good win.
“That’s just the way Fifita is. He sort of just goes with the flow and acts how he acts and then thinks about it later.
“He doesn’t think about it at the time and make the right decisions.”
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