NRL 2024: Cronulla Sharks captain Cameron McInnes on the scars of NRL career, bleeding when he puts a shirt on

Cameron McInnes starts bleeding if he puts on a shirt that’s too tight, but every scab, scar and cut is a testament to the toughness of the Cronulla warhorse. See the pictures of the toll the NRL has left on the Sharks captain through the years.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 14: Cameron McInnes of the Sharks looks on during the NRL Qualifying Final match between Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks at AAMI Park on September 14, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Cameron McInnes is the face of the Cronulla Sharks.

Every scab, stitch and scar on the face of the warhorse is a symbol of the values which are the cornerstone of the shire club.

“Symbolism is important in life, and yeah Sharks teams have been known for that toughness and grittiness,” McInnes said.

“There is a lot of grit and toughness littered in our team, I’m not alone. Not just the team but the club in itself. That’s what the club is about. It’s important this weekend against the Cowboys that we display those values that the club is built in.”

Sometimes, a lot of the time, that same face is the butt of the joke.

Like when teammate Ronaldo Mulitalo noticed McInnes sitting in the stands of Pointsbet Stadium for a portrait for this masthead ahead of Friday’s semi-final showdown against North Queensland.

Cameron McInnes is wearing the wounds of a bruising NRL career. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“Who’d pay to see that face,” Mulitalo cheekily yelled towards McInnes.

The skipper didn’t flinch, even though Mulitalo’s ribbing drew chuckles from other teammates and media in earshot.

McInnes remained zeroed in and focused as the photographer snapped away.

The hard working lock forward tackles everything on the field, even off it at training, with that unwavering determination.

“He leads with his actions and his actions show on his face. It’s a reminder of what Cronulla and this club is about,” centre Jesse Ramien said.

“I don’t know a bloke that comes into the training on a light day, we might have a walk-through and somehow he’ll have cuts all over his face.

“There isn’t a session that we do where he is not bleeding.”

Cameron McInnes over the years.

There is also hardly a post-match press conference in 2024 when the skipper has not had claret streaming down his face.

Like after last weekend’s qualifier against Melbourne, where the 30-year old’s face was cut open on both cheeks, his nose and mouth.

“I was sitting there after the Storm watching back the press conference with Fitzy (Craig Fitzgibbon) and there’s Cam bleeding all over his face and cut up,” Ramien said.

“I’m thinking ‘how does he end up like that, week in and week out’. It’s crazy.

“It shows he’s the sort of player everyone wants to play alongside and loves to play alongside because of the way he goes about his business.”

Cameron McInnes during his time at the Rabbitohs, a time before the game has taken such a toll on his appearance. Picture: Gregg Porteous

McInnes can’t tell you the exact number of stitches he’s had over the years but he reckons 300 would be a fair estimate after splitting his brows at least 50 times.

McInnes added another three sutures to that tally in the loss against the Storm, when one of the 53 tackles he made cut open his right cheek.

“The skin around my eyes doesn’t have a lot of elasticity anymore because of all the hits I have copped over the years,” McInnes said.

“It was a knee to the cheekbone, I think it would split open most people though.

“But some of the ones I get are pretty innocuous. Sometimes it’s the smallest graze that will cut the skin open.”

The ‘graze’ on his nose has been there for a month.

“I did it in a tackle, honestly I think it might have been someone’s boot. I was going to make a diving tackle again and I just clipped a stud.

“But the scab keeps getting ripped off each week.

“I’ll put my shirt over my head and if it’s too tight, I’ll rip off a scab. It will heal hopefully after our last game in three weeks time.”

The sight of a busted-open Cameron McInnes has become a regularity. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

It’s the same story with two scabs McInnes has on his lips.

“It gets ripped off over and over,” McInnes said.

While McInnes is hazy on the details of what he calls ‘innocuous’ bumps and bruises, he isn’t as forgetful when it comes to his missing front tooth.

Ironically, the culprit was the Cronulla legend that played 247 out his 348-game career in the same no. 13 jumper McInnes now owns.

“It was Paul Gallen,” McInnes recalls.

“I had already copped a few hits to the tooth when I was a bit younger and it had all but died. Then in the 2015 semi-final when I was still at South Sydney, Gal ran off the back fence and I hit my tooth when I tackled him.”

But there is one wound that McInnes is desperately hoping will not only scab over but heal on Friday night – Cronulla’s finals record.

The Sharks have now lost seven straight finals games and the last four since coach Craig Fitzgibbon took over in 2022. Only a win against the Cowboys, for a spot in the preliminary final, will silence Cronulla’s detractors.

“Last week, everyone was so excited and up for the challenge. But we forgot what it takes to win the game in regards to our jobs on the field,” McInnes said.

“It’s nothing more, nothing less than that.

“It’s not a mental thing, we know the job we have to do this week and we are ready for it.”