The Sharks reached agreement yesterday with Andrew Gray to become the clubs’ NRL Physical Performance Manager for the next three years.
Currently the Performance Director at the St George Illawarra Dragons, Gray will join the Sharks prior to the start of the 2015 pre-season, bringing with him a wealth of experience in the areas of strength and conditioning, athlete development and performance management.
His appointment was welcomed by Sharks CEO Steve Noyce, who had no doubt that with his credentials and expertise Gray would be an enormous asset to the Cronulla club.
“Andrew has very strong and relevant qualifications and experience for the position and is extremely well thought of within the NRL industry,” Noyce said. “In relation to GPS data and technology he is certainly considered amongst the leaders in that particular area in Australia.
“Add to that he lives in the Shire and his son plays in our Junior League, so we are confident he will be an extremely good fit and a valuable addition to our football operations.”
An elite strength and conditioning professional and a qualified physiotherapist, Gray began his career in top level rugby league with the Dragons back in 1999 and has been an integral part of their NRL operations ever since.
Since 2012, he has been responsible for all aspects of strength and conditioning, sports science, injury management, allied health services, recovery and athletic development at the Dragons and worked with the NSW Origin team as their sports science specialist and physiotherapist in 2011-2012.
Gray expressed his enthusiasm for the new role and was looking forward to putting his 15-years of experience in the NRL to good use at the Cronulla club.
“I am really excited about being a part of the Sharks from next season,” Gray said. “I’ve been a Shire resident my whole life and share the vision that Steve Noyce has for the future of the club.
“My role will be focussed on all aspects of physical preparation across the club - from NRL down to our junior representative teams.
‘’I strongly believe in an integrated and systematic approach to physical development for rugby league players and my goals are to ensure that our NRL team is in peak condition for the start of the 2015 season, and also that we provide our younger players with the best chance of having a successful NRL career.”
While welcoming the appointment of Gray, Noyce expressed his thanks to outgoing High Performance Manager David Boyle for his service to the club over the past two seasons.
“We certainly thank David for his efforts. He is a professional and an expert in his area and we appreciate his commitment during his time here, especially this year throughout what has been a difficult season. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” Noyce said.
Boyle is moving on to work with the Penrith Panthers in a similar strength, conditioning and high performance role.
Gray will continue is his role with the Dragons until the completion of the 2014 season, then begin planning the Sharks 2015 physical performance program and start in his new position prior to the commencement of pre-season training.
