As Cronulla flirts with missing the NRL finals for just the second time in a decade, a former teammate of coach Craig Fitzgibbon says the 48-year-old’s side is in urgent need of a spark.
Despite spending four seasons alongside Fitzgibbon at the Roosters, premiership winning five-eighth Braith Anasta has called out the Sharks boss for resisting much-needed changes after his side fell to the Dragons in Round 23.
“I watched the game against the Dragons, I thought for a team fighting for a top four spot, they were stale,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“They were poor, really poor, deer in the headlights.”
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‘Is he making the right decisions?’
Doubling down, Anasta went on to question the Sharks’ squad composition, particularly in relation to its current spine which is one of the most established in the NRL.
While Will Kennedy, Nicho Hynes, Braydon Trindall and Blayke Brailey have played 37 games together since 2023, the quartet boasts the lowest winning percentage of the NRL top-eight spines at a shade over 50%.
“With no Origin players and no injuries compared to any other team in the competition, here we are again watching the side do the same thing year after year,” Anasta lamented.
“Is he (Fitzgibbon) making the right decisions?”
“What move is he going to make next? He is going to have to spice something up or change something soon.”
Sitting just one win ahead of both the Dolphins and Sydney Roosters, the Sharks meet the Gold Coast Titans in a must-win match at Sharks Stadium, a loss could see them fall out of the top eight.