Perth Bears’ Assistant Criticizes Cronulla Sharks’ Performance
Ben Gardiner, the assistant coach of the Perth Bears, has recently made some pointed comments about the performance of the Cronulla Sharks. His remarks come in the wake of a challenging season for the Sharks, who have struggled to find consistency and maintain a strong defensive record.
On Saturday night, the Sharks faced off against the Rabbitohs and suffered a 36-12 defeat. The Rabbitohs were without several key players due to injuries, including Latrell Mitchell and Jamie Humphreys. Despite this, the Sharks’ performance was lackluster, raising questions about their overall form and strategy.
The Sharks currently hold the seventh-worst defense in the league, allowing an average of 27 points per game. Their recent results have been disappointing, with only one win in their last four matches. As the competition moves into the Magic Round, the Sharks are sitting outside the top eight, which is a worrying position for a team that has high expectations.
Gardiner took the opportunity to discuss the Sharks’ struggles during an appearance on SEN’s Front Office with Vossy. He highlighted the inconsistency in their approach, noting that the team often talks about grinding through the week but fails to follow through when it matters most.
“I think they prepare to grind when they talk about it, but when they don’t talk about it, they can’t go back to it when they need to,” Gardiner said. “On the weekend, they looked lacklustre and actually looked tired, which was unusual.”
He also examined the Sharks’ recent schedule, considering whether travel or other factors might be affecting their performance. “They went to North Queensland a few weeks ago, and that was a hot game. You sort of wonder if that impacted how they’re performing. But then I looked at last week, and they had that big high-scoring game against the Wests Tigers. It’s completely up and down.”
Criticism of Key Players
Gardiner also expressed his concerns about the performance of the Sharks’ halves combination, specifically Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes. He pointed out that the pair were not effectively engaging the line during the match, which hindered the team’s ability to create scoring opportunities.
“Talking about engaging the line, I just didn’t think their halves engaged the line one little bit,” Gardiner stated.
Nicho Hynes, who is ranked 16th in the NRL for lines engaged with 32 times, averages 3.55 per game. Meanwhile, Braydon Trindall is 28th in the league with 25 engagements, averaging 2.77 per game.
“When they are doing that and when they’ve got speed going to the line, I think they’re at their best, but they just didn’t have any of that on the weekend,” Gardiner added. “It’s sort of like half of this and half of that, and they need to really invest in it.”
Looking Ahead
As the season progresses, the Sharks will need to address these issues if they hope to improve their standing in the league. With the Magic Round approaching, there may be opportunities for the team to regroup and refocus. However, as Gardiner’s comments suggest, significant changes may be necessary to turn their fortunes around.
