Sharks News Today and the pages of Sharks.com.au have detailed a lot of what has taken place this week in regards to the NRL playing group and other happenings in and around the club.
The #SharksWeekThatWas pulls it all together in a Friday report, covering off on the training week for the NRL squad, while rehashing some of the good bits from #SharksNewsToday and the various Sharks-related items which have made the news.
NRL training week – January 12-17
We start with the Sharks training week, which was a long and physically demanding one for the NRL squad in warm conditions.
As is a part of their pre-season schedule, the Sharks had full days which included field and weights sessions, this week utilising the new training fields at Cronulla High for their conditioning, skills and ball work.
The strength component of their training week was conducted in the HPU, where the boys worked under the guidance of High Performance Manager Andrew Gray and his team.
See following the Sharks training week.
Monday
AM – field session - outside fields Remondis Stadium
PM – strength (weights) session – Sharks HPU
Tuesday
AM – field - Cronulla High School
Midday – Educational seminar
PM – Strength – Sharks HPU
Wednesday
AM – recovery-stretching-individual extras
Throughout the day – various players – study courses
Thursday
PM – strength – Sharks HPU
PM – field – scrimmage with NYC – Cronulla High
Friday
AM – video analysis
AM – field – Remondis Stadium
PM – strength – Sharks HPU
Saturday morning - individual extras scheduled in the Sharks HPU
Gallen’s RAOK
An evening at the movies with wife Anne turned out somewhat differently to what he had expected for Sharks skipper Paul Gallen who came to the aid of an elderly man who fell on an escalator at Westfield Miranda.
Gallen assisted a female nurse and another man who were also on hand when 87-year-old Norman Walton was injured after falling heavily on Monday night.
Thankfully it turned out Norman wasn’t seriously injured and while looking somewhat beaten and bruised the next day he was in good spirits when Gal dropped by to visit him in Sutherland Hospital.
Recognising Gal’s random act of kindness the Daily Telegraph dedicated the front page to him and Mr Walton.
Channel 9 also followed up on Wednesday with an interview with Mr Walton, who was appreciative of not only Paul, but the assistance given to him by his two other helpers on the night and the staff at Sutherland Hospital.
To read the Tuesday Daily Telegraph report – CLICK HERE
Gallen also gave his thoughts as to the impact be believes new buy Michael Ennis is set to have at the club next year. CLICK HERE to read the SMH article.
Young Sharks recognised
We reported that in an indication of the talent coming through in our junior ranks, four Sharks Under-18 SG Ball squad members had been included in Origin Pathway camps.
Local juniors Daniel Vasquez and Brock Ilett were chosen to be part of the NSW Origin Pathways Camp, while two of the Sharks new recruits in Keenan Yorston and JustinTimu were named in the Emerging Maroons Under-18’s camp set to take place in Brisbane.
Yorston, a centre who has only recently returned after representing the Australian Schoolboys in the UK, and Timu an impressively built front rower, will fly north into camp in Brisbane this weekend, while Vasquez and Ilett, both young props, attended the NSW Camp at Narrabeen during the week.
And while on the subject, two of the Sharks Under-16 SG Ball players have also been recognised with De La Salle juniors Lachlan Smith and Luke Metcalf to go into a NSW 16’s Camp on Wednesday, January 21.
The not-so-young in camp as well
While the young guns go into camp so too do the old stagers, with Paul Gallen and Luke Lewis today attending a NSW Origin get together.
The pair this afternoon attended a familiarisation event with coach Laurie Daley and other potential NSW Origin players and lqater tonight were to also be a part of a Blues dinner.
All things going well Gallen would be expected to lead NSW once again, while having recovered from the injuries which plagued his 2014 season, Lewis at his best is close to an automatic selection for the Blues as well in 2015.
And we wait
The Sharks are expected to announce their Nines team next week with coach Shane Flanagan whittling his squad down from 32 full time squad members to 22. The final number in the travelling party will be 18 with Flanagan likely to name his team early next week for the special event which kicks off on January 31.
Flanagan has announced his intention to hold back the likes of Michael Gordon, Jeff Robson, Paul Gallen and Michael Ennis, however it came as somewhat of a surprise that Ben Barba is still in the mix to make the trip across the ditch later this month.
Barba, who is also likely to play a part in the All Stars game on February 13, would relish the open spaces in a format that certainly suits his skills. Will he or won’t he travel to the Nines? All will be revealed next week when the Sharks announce their Nines squad.
Stay tuned the Sharks website for the team announcement.
If you missed it….
The Sharks website this week threw open for debate which players just might be in the Sharks NRL 17 come their round one match against the Canberra Raiders.
With an extremely deep and talented roster, the job for coach Shane Flanagan in selecting a round one team will be a difficult one.
This week we looked at the fullback, wing and centre positions. Do you agree with our assessment?
Fullbacks – CLICK HERE
Wingers – CLICK HERE
Centres – CLICK HERE
Upcoming events
This week the Sharks announced and alerted fans to a number of upcoming events.
Firstly on Saturday and Sunday this weekend Remondis Stadium will be the host venue for the Trans Tasman Series, bringing together the best under 18 and under 20 touch football players from Australia and New Zealand.
A two day carnival, entry is free. To read more CLICK HERE.
Next Thursday, January 22, the Sharks will hold an Open Training Session. Due to get underway at 5.00pm, training will run for around two hours. For more details CLICK HERE.
While the Sharks will also play a part in Sutherland Shire Council’s Australia Day celebrations at ANZAC Oval on Monday, January 26.
High profile NRL squad members will be in attendance, so mark down the day, date and venue and the Sharks website and social media channels will communicate times and just which players will be at the special event.
As for Sharkies Leagues Club…..
Today marked the first edition of ‘What’s the Buzz’, a new weekly entertainment segment on Sharks TV covering all shows, promotions and special events at your Club, presented to you by our new reporter Jacqui Doran.
CLICK HERE to watch and see what the ‘buzz’ is at your club in the next few weeks.
For more information please visit the new Sharkies Leagues Club website at http://www.sharkies.com.au.
