Cronulla Sharks 2021 NRL preview: John Morris under pressure as tough opening month awaits
They may be tied up in a number of massive contracts, but Cronulla will soon have money at their disposal - lots of it - and John Morris is under pressure to be the man to spend it.
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They reached the finals last season, but that’s no guarantee of John Morris holding onto his job.
The 40-year-old coach is under extreme pressure - and the first month of games will probably reveal whether he is the right fit for the long haul.
David Riccio takes a look at the key questions facing the Sharks in 2021.
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2020 ladder position: 8th, eliminated in week one of the finals by Canberra
Ins: Jack Martin (Broncos), Aiden Tolman (Bulldogs), Luke Metcalf (Sea Eagles)
Outs: Jason Bukuya (retired), Cameron King (retired), Scott Sorensen (unsigned), Bronson Xerri (suspended)
Players in the 2020 Rich 100: 7 — 16. Josh Dugan ($850,000), 17. Andrew Fifita ($850,000), 19. Matt Moylan ($850,000), 30. Shaun Johnson ($800,000), 39. Wade Graham ($750,000), 72. Aaron Woods ($600,000), 88. Chad Townsend ($520,000)
Coach status: A summer of uncertainty surrounds John Morris with the coach off-contract at the end of the season and needing a fast start to 2021.
They have a relatively tough opening month, which includes a round-one local derby against the Dragons, a “home” game on the Sunshine Coast against the Cowboys and clashes against Canberra and Parramatta.
Helping matters is that Morris’ men will face five of this year’s bottom eight twice in the Broncos, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Dragons and Warriors.
While he produced a commendable job to make the finals the past two years, the Sharks are weighing up whether the young coach has the profile and pulling power to attract the game’s best talent ahead of a club-defining 18-month period where they will have more than $6 million to spend in recruitment.
What is their game plan, and how do they need to tweak: They desperately need a strike fullback, with a quick glance at any of the top-four sides proving just how significant a marquee no.1 is.
Rookie Will Kennedy, Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan have all been tried at the back. The Sharks are already shopping for something special at fullback in 2022.
How did they go in free agency: Poor. The Sharks are the least active club in the NRL recruitment space due to the plethora of massive money contracts they have tied-up in Johnson, Fifita, Moylan, Dugan and Graham.
Tolman from the Dogs is a clever pick-up when you factor in his experience, work-ethic and cheap salary of $140,000. Metcalf is a local junior who returns to the club and who could prove an answer at fullback. Having come through the Broncos development system, the 19-year-old Martin is a highly regarded front rower who represented Queensland in under 18’s State of Origin.
Will development contract upgraded kids make an impact: Yes. The Sharks are renowned for their junior nursery and rookie identification and here’s two seriously talented teenagers that will push for NRL in 2021; prop-forward Franklin Pele and outside back Jensen Taumoepeau.
Standing 190cm tall and tipping the scales at around 130kg, Pele played alongside the likes of Bradman Best from the Knights, Broncos half back Tom Dearden, Panther Stephen Crighton and Tommy Talau from the Wests Tigers in the 2018 Australian Schoolboy’s team.
Taumoepeau, arrived at the Sharks from New Zealand in 2017, representing at SG Ball level for two seasons before progressing to the Jersey Flegg squad and then up a level again with his debut for the Newtown Jets in 2019.
Weighing in at over 100kg, Taumoepeau, 20, has the size and power to become a success at NRL level.
What players can they reinvent: Backrower Briton Nikora.
A Dally M rookie of the year nominee in 2019, Nikora’s stunning breakout season also included Kiwi Test selection. But on the back of such a demanding season, Nikora never got going in 2020 – dropped at one point by Morris.
A brilliant hole runner with speed and power to bust tackles, Nikora can’t afford another dip year with fellow backrower Teig Wilton breathing down his neck. The addition of champion edge-forward Luke Lewis as a coaching consultant to the club in 2020 could prove instrumental for Nikora’s game.
Who takes the next step: Connor Tracey. Agile, powerful for his size and capable of playing in the halves or fullback, Tracey finished 2020 like Octagonal would the Randwick Mile – stronger and better than anyone else.
It wasn’t until round 10 last season that Tracey began to see some regular first-grade – and then he didn’t miss another game again. Tracey is one of those players who doesn’t wait for the game to come to him – he goes after it. If Matt Moylan starts the season in the halves as expected due to the absence of Johnson, watch for Tracey to start the year at fullback.
The best 17 for 2021:
1 Matt Moylan
2 Sione Katoa
3 Josh Dugan
4 Jesse Ramien
5 Ronaldo Mulitalo
6 Shaun Johnson
7 Chad Townsend
8 Bradon Hamlin-Uele
9 Blayke Brailey
10 Aaron Woods
11 Briton Nikora
12 Siosifa Talakai
13 Wade Graham
14 Connor Tracey
15 Andrew Fifita
16 Toby Rudolf
17 Aiden Tolman
2021 squad: Blayke Brailey, Josh Dugan, Andrew Fifita, Wade Graham, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Royce Hunt, Shaun Johnson, Sione Katoa, William Kennedy, Billy Magoulias, Matt Moylan, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Briton Nikora, Jesse Ramien, Toby Rudolf, Aiden Tolman, Chad Townsend, Connor Tracey, Jack Williams, Teig Wilton, Aaron Woods, Bronson Xerri (stood down), Nene Macdonald, Siosifa Talakai
Fox Sports Lab’s Aaron Wallace says: Cronulla have missed the finals just once in the past nine seasons (2014), although they were perhaps lucky to scrape into the eight in 2020.
The Sharks lost all nine games they played against the other top eight teams, the last five of which were all by double-figure margins.
Losing Shaun Johnson certainly put in a dent in their finals chances, because the Kiwi maestro was directly involved in 35 of the Sharks’ 88 tries, despite playing only 16 games.
Finish the last five years: 3rd (premiers), 5th, 4th, 7th, 8th
Odds are: TAB premiership odds $29, top-four finish $8, top-8 finish $3, most losses $13
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