Somewhat lost in the fanfare around the mid-year signings of Nicho Hynes and Dale Finucane, has been the Sharks acquisition of former Dragons skipper Cameron McInnes for the 2022 season.
A training accident back in early February saw McInnes required to undergo a knee reconstruction, forcing him to frustratingly sit out the entire 2021 season.
However after eight months of hard work, with the rehabilitation of his knee going to plan and with McInnes also adding 6kgs of muscle to his 90kg frame, the 27-year-old is ready and raring to go ahead of the start of the upcoming pre-season.
“I feel strong, fit and fast. Every day is one day closer and I need to be ready for that,” McInnes said in an article published in the Sunday Telegraph.
“From a conditioning point of view, I’m ahead of where I’ve been for a few years. I just can’t wait to get back to playing footy at training.”
McInnes joins the Sharks after an NRL career which began at Souths in 2014, saw him move to the Dragons in 2017 and has spanned 130 top grade games.
The 18th man for the NSW Origin team in 2019, McInnes led the way at St George Illawarra, being named team captain ahead of the 2020 season after scooping the pool of club awards the year prior.
McInnes won all four end-of-season awards in his first three seasons at the Dragons, including the Immortals Trophy (2017), then in a standout 2019 the Red V Members Player of the Year, Geoff Selby Memorial Trophy and Dragons Medal. He won a second Dragons Medal as his team’s best performer in 2020.
Eager to pull on a Cronulla jersey in 2022, McInnes will bring class, attitude and leadership to complement the new Storm pairing and the returning Sharks players, for what is shaping as an exciting season under incoming coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
“I love the fact for the last 10 years they’ve (the Sharks) been competitive every single year,” he said.
“There’s been times where they’ve had injury dramas, but they find a way to be there in the Finals. That’s a cultural thing. I love that.”
McInnes, who signed a long term deal at the Sharks, one that will see him remain at the club through until at least the end of the 2025 season, has settled into the Shire and into a Caringbah home with his wife and two children.
The Sharks NRL squad return for pre-season training in early November.
