The way Shane Flanagan handles the Andrew Fifita situation will define Cronulla’s season

THE way Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan decides to handle the explosive Andrew Fifita situation will show the very foundations of his philosophy as a coach, writes PAUL KENT.

CRONULLA coach Shane Flanagan has a decision to make that will go to the philosophy of his job.

His decision might be reflective of our times.

Rugby league’s original great coach, Jack Gibson, was strong on discipline and team first mentality.

Gibson tolerated individuals so long as they remained within the team dynamic.

He had no use for players who brought unwanted attention to the team’s objectives.

Few have any doubt how he would have handled Fifita.

Son, head down to the end of the field and introduce yourself to the reserve grade coach.

Times change, though.

Fifita lost his cool against North Queensland. Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images.

Among the more alternative coaches in world sport is former basketball coach Phil Jackson.

Jackson believed in Zen principles, his three most important principles seemingly counterintuitive to modern coaching.

They were giving up control, trusting in the moment and living with compassion.

Jackson’s alternative methods were ridiculed at first but gained credibility when he used them to handle wayward defensive genius Dennis Rodman to help Chicago win three NBA championships in the 1990s.

Before he signed Rodman to Chicago Jackson watched him, an impulsive figure like Fifita, play for Detroit under his friend Chuck Daly.

Daly was a big personality too.

The more animated Daly became on the bench, Jackson saw, the more Rodman absorbed that energy and so became animated himself and, ultimately, a liability.

So he went the other way.

Dennis Rodman was another sporting wild man.

And when Rodman began to act irrationally and with poor discipline Jackson resisted the urge to come down on him and instead sat back and allowed Rodman to pas through whatever emotions he was experiencing until he finally became “centred” again.

Jackson was too smart for Rodman.

He knew he needed Rodman to win the championship, and Rodman knew he knew, but he refused to indulge him by punishing him the way Rodman expected and eventually it worked.

Fifita is different to Rodman but presents similar problems.

He was called to Flanagan’s office to explain his wild rant after scoring against North Queensland on Saturday.

Several f … youse, a bizarre hand gesture, and another fruity little swear word as teammates tried to calm him down have thrown a different narrative around the Cronulla Sharks two weeks out from the finals.

It is exactly what the Sharks don’t need.

Fifita is a troublesome player.

What will Flanagan do? Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images.

Flanagan has to wear the white gloves whenever he handles him.

His career is marked by abusive clashes with junior referees and a campaign to free the one-punch killer Kieran Loveridge that almost derailed their 2016 premiership charge.

The Sharks were lapped in their final premiership game by eventual grand final opponents Melbourne the week it emerged what Fifita’s “FKL” armbanding meant.

Neither warmed him to the wider rugby league public.

Yet at the same time he rejected a place in Australia’s World Cup team to play for Tonga, where his heart was.

It is easy to dismiss the decision as more rebellion.

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But the test of Fifita’s conviction of the heart was the cost, in the vicinity of $100,000, that he sacrificed to play for Tonga.

At worst it can’t be doubted.

The Sharks need Fifita fit and firing.

Fifita laughed off his outburst after the game. It was nothing more than a retort to assistant coach Jim Dymock, he claimed. Dymock had told him at halftime that he was not running hard enough.

More suspicious minds have wondered about an alternative version.

Fifita was replaced at about the 20-minute mark instead of about 28 minutes in when he normally gets replaced.

The Sharks can’t win the comp without Fifita. Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images.

The replacement came the set after a silly Fifita mistake.

He did not look pleased at being replaced. He looked less pleased when vision cut to him sitting on an exercise bike and then again at halftime, when a dark scowl descended.

He seemed apart from the team.

After the game Flanagan said the replacement was a tactical to have Fifita play the first 20 minutes and final 20 minutes of the game.

It was in response to the Cowboys’ strong opening 20 and final 20 when they beat Brisbane a week earlier and Matt Scott, Jordan McLean and Jason Taumalolo ran rampant.

It makes complete sense, except Scott and Taumalolo didn’t play the Sharks.

It was impulsive and undisciplined.

The Sharks were quietly going about their business of trying to take until Saturday and now yesterday and today the spotlight will be on how they handle it.

Big Jack would have removed the problem for everybody’s benefit.

Jackson would have sat back and crossed his legs until it passed.

Fifita can be a hard sell.

But Flanagan has to find a way to sell him.

Originally published as The way Shane Flanagan handles the Andrew Fifita situation will define Cronulla’s season