Bright lights and breakthroughs: Luckless Cronulla young gun out to establish himself in NRL

There’s bad luck and then there’s the hand young Sharks forward Jesse Colquhoun has been dealt.

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The Collegians club junior exuded plenty of promise as a youngster, with the Sharks snapping up the Wollongong product on a two-year deal back in 2022. An NRL debut followed just a month later against the Cowboys.

However serious injuries have derailed Colquhoun’s efforts to cement his spot in first grade.

Entering 2025, the now 23-year-old is working his way back from a ruptured ACL he suffered in his sole appearance last season.

“It’s very frustrating, anyone that gets injured in sport will know the feeling,” Colquhoun told Fox Sports News.

“At this stage it just feels like I get a bit of a taste of NRL first grade then it just gets ripped away from me.”

To make his season-ending ACL injury against the Wests Tigers sting a little more, the Shire forward had only just overcome a foot injury, where he’d broken his fourth metatarsal in Cronulla’s final trial game against the Bulldogs. That injury was a bout of deja vu for Colquhoun, having also broken his foot back in the 2023 pre-season trials.

“It’s hard, but it’s a part of the game,” he said.

But with 11 appearances under his belt, the Sharks still clearly see the upside of Colquhoun. Cronulla opted to re-sign the emerging forward before the 2024 season on a two-year deal, which runs through until the end of 2026.

Resilience has been shown in abundance for the injury-troubled youngster, who now has his sights firmly set on seeing the bright lights of Las Vegas when the Sharks open their season against the Panthers at Allegiant Stadium on March 2.

Rubbing shoulders with Todd Gurley – a three-time Pro Bowler and No. 10 pick in the 2015 NFL draft – at Shark Park ahead of Cronulla’s Vegas venture was a clear ‘pinch me’ moment for the NFL fan.

“It’s pretty exciting, it’s not every day you get to see an NFL legend like Todd Gurley,” Colquhoun said.

“When our manager put in the chat that there was an opportunity to link up with him, I was straight in there, couldn’t wait.”

Despite the excitement, Colquhoun isn’t sure yet if he’ll be on the plane to Vegas.

“I really hope I can go, but I think I’ve got to be realistic, and I think I’ll just stay here and do my rehab,” he said.

With Round 4 circled on the calendar, which will represent nine months since his heartbreaking knee injury, Colquhoun’s intentions this year are clear: Push the Black, White and Blue past their preliminary finals exit last season and all the way into the Grand Final.

“‘Fitzy’ (Craig Fitzgibbon) talks about levels each year, especially adding the likes of Addin Fonua-Blake into our team. I reckon we can go one more,” he said.

One thing is for sure: The Shire faithful and rugby league fans alike will be hoping 2025 is the year Colquhoun can shake his horrid run of injuries.