History says that the Sharks cannot retain the title they won in 2016. In the modern, salary cap era, the competition is so tight that teams just haven’t been able to win back-to-back combined titles since the Broncos in 92/93.
Having lost two members of their title-winning spine, in Michael Ennis and Ben Barba, the Sharks face an uphill battle as they look to buck history, in their 50th NRL season.
That said, their all-star forward pack remains, while Valentine Holmes is set to become even more involved after shifting to fullback on a fulltime basis.
Jack Bird is ready to announce himself as one of the game’s next genuine superstars, while Sosaia Feki continues to improve every single game.
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Weakness: Number Nine
It’s near impossible to replace a player of the talent and experience of Michael Ennis, and unfortunately the Sharks plan A seems to have fallen through, with James Segeyaro’s arrival at the club being held up.
There are four number nines on the books in the Shire, however although Mortimer, Brailey, Brown and Cherrington are all players with plenty of positives in their games, they have huge boots to fill.
The likes of Gallen and co. have already said they are not looking for another Ennis, but his kicking game and leadership took pressure off the halves, and gave the Sharks a huge advantage over most teams in the competition.
Brailey showed plenty in his baptism of fire in England, and Nu Brown has shown enormous potential during his time in the top grade, but the pressure is going to be on front round one.
Strength: Forward Dominance
There are few better back row combinations in world football than that of Gallen, Lewis and Graham, while Andrew Fifita is arguably the most dominant prop in the game on his day.
Matt Prior had an absolute wow of a season and has rounded out the best forward pack in the game.
Bukuya, Heighington and Tagataese all offered something off the bench last season, with Jeremy Latimore and a reportedly reenergised Tony Williams also in the ranks.
Teams had a tough time getting on top of the Sharks up the middle in 2016, and similar dominance this season will ensure the likes of Holmes, Townsend and Maloney can continue to run riot.
Best Player: James Maloney
Maloney proved to be the missing piece of the puzzle for the Sharks to unlock title success, continuing his incredible run of success across multiple clubs.
He was at the heart of everything the Sharks did last season and will be the chief destroyer once again in 2017.
The Sharks pivot didn’t produce the 18 try-assist season of the likes of Thurston or Milford, but he directed his big men around, and dominated territory with his kicking game.
His goal-kicking was the difference across multiple games, including the biggest game of the all, the decider.
Pressure On: Valentine Holmes
The supremely talented, and recently re-signed, Valentine Holmes will step into a fulltime fullback role, a year earlier than the original plans to do so, following the departure of Ben Barba.
Barba’s attacking prowess and defensive communication cannot be overstated. Simply put, he was a major cog in the Shark’s title-winning machine.
Holmes will be expected to provide similar service from very early on. Despite the fact there aren’t many who doubt he will be a genuine superstar in the role, the switch back to fullback is going to take time to perfect.
The Sharks relied heavily on Barba’s second phase play last year, and the plans for most of the off-season would have been to revert to a similar game plan.
Prediction: 4th
Despite two key losses, the nucleus of the Sharks successful 2016 side remains in contact, most importantly their halves combination that outplayed the likes of Thurston and Cronk across a fortnight.
Valentine Holmes has limitless potential and moving to fullback could very well be the club’s blessing in disguise. The signing of Edrick Lee offers a different route of attack, filling the vacated wing spot.
It would take a brave individual to say a side in this era could go back to back, but the Sharks have retained enough of their side to maintain a top four spot.
If the Sharks fan sign Segeyaro, or young Brailey can discover his potential really quickly, and if Holmes can settle into fullback just as quickly, perhaps they can do what the Cowboys did and challenge again.
The one tangible now is the belief this side, and club, gained last season. Sharks teams have had to read headlines and be reminded of the club’s failures for 40+ seasons. That is now gone and the pressure is off.
How they react to that will have a huge say in how they fare this season, but for mine they still have the power to be in the running for a top four spot.