Minutes after a rousing rendition of Up Up Cronulla that thundered down the Shark Park tunnel, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon was still coming to terms with the magnitude of his side’s heroic 36-22 come from behind Easter surprise over Canberra.
Seemingly without a clue in the opening stages as Canberra destroyed his patched up middles, a jaded Fitzgibbon appeared to still be wrestling the demons of a week earlier following the Sharks capitulation at Leichhardt.
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“We’ve been guilty of being our own worst enemy and none more so than in the initial stages of today,” said Fitzgibbon.
“You can’t play an opponent like Canberra and not respect them.”
Pressed on what triggered the turnaround from 18-0 down, the coach pointed the finger at skipper Cameron McInnes who stood tall in a typical workaholic performance.
“Everyone eventually started getting their jobs done, and none more so than Cameron
who played the full 80 minutes,” said Fitzgibbon of the reliable lock who churned out 150m and completed a game-high 47 tackles.
And with a semblance of normality in the midfield, playmakers Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall set about reeling in the deficit.
“I thought they really complimented each other,” said Fitzgibbon, of the pair who combined for two try assists and gave Canberra back three plenty to think about of their boots.
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“They’ve only played around 10 games together so they are still developing understanding. It’s easy for them to train, but they are still getting used to working out who goes where when the pressure is on.
“Nico does what Nico does but Tricky is creative with the ball and I thought he kicked well too and he had a couple of really nice passes.”
Now sitting on three wins from four starts, next week’s bye couldn’t come at a better time for the Sharks who are still sweating on the return of several key middles including Dale Finucane (facial injury), Royce Hunt (calf) and Toby Rudolf (ankle).
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