Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan upset after Sharks handed seventh Monday night game of the season

CRONULLA's nightmare week with NRL officialdom deepened yesterday when the Sharks were handed their seventh Monday night game of the season.

Shane Flanagan

CRONULLA's nightmare week with NRL officialdom deepened yesterday when the Sharks were handed their seventh Monday night game of the season.

Still furious over a refereeing blunder that cost them victory over Penrith last weekend, the Sharks begged for their round-25 fixture against Melbourne at AAMI Park to be spared from Monday night.

But their pleas fell on deaf ears, igniting further anger from coach Shane Flanagan last night.

It's Cronulla's fifth away game in the dreaded slot, which is traditionally tough on visiting teams because they have to combine travel with a shorter turnaround the following week.

Flanagan is now fearful of having just three days to recover before a potentially season-defining clash against North Queensland at Toyota Stadium in the final round.

He wants the game to be played on Sunday, September 2, but that date has already been coveted to celebrate the farewell games of retiring champions Petero Civoniceva and Nathan Hindmarsh.

"No disrespect to those players, but are the NRL going to put individuals over teams?" Flanagan asked.

"It's our seventh Monday night game of the year and we specifically told them we didn't want it.

"They say they try to take requests, but TV gets the final say.

"It's especially tough because we'll lose a day travelling back from Melbourne.

"So now it's more about the following round.

"Surely they can't stuff us around two weeks in a row.

"We need our last game on a Sunday afternoon. They have to give us something."