As black, white and blue decorations swamped the Shire over the weekend, Sharks players insisted they wouldn’t be caught up in the hype of their first grand final appearance in a unified competition since 1978.
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In anticipation of the Cronulla Sharks reaching the Grand Final, one NRL fan has taken his team spirit to the extreme.
“When it comes down to grand finals, it’s whoever handles the occasion the best, goes out and executes their game plan to the best”. I’m sure his teammates want to send him out a victor but we aren’t focusing on any individuals or special occasions.
Smith will go toe-to-toe again with NSW foe Paul Gallen, but is relishing the opportunity of meeting in the NRL showpiece.
Both games will also be featured on channel nine.
But Smith couldn’t be any happier for his interstate counterpart. We both like to keep our eyes up and play footy and see what’s in front so we always bounce ideas off each other. “I see him a bit because we play in the middle”, he said.
“Hopefully the grand final won’t be the last game I play for this club”, Heighington told AAP.
“I thought we completed better than we have in a long time against the Cowboys”. He works hard every time he pulls on the jersey.
A feature of Cronulla’s win over the Cowboys was the potent left-edge combination between Maloney and Wade Graham, which frequently threatened to break the Cowboys apart, and Graham had plenty of praise for the 30-year-old playmaker.
While veterans like Smith and Cooper Cronk will be making a return to the grand final after playing in the club’s 2012 premiership, numerous side will be going into their first.
“I have spoken to a few guys around the club about that”.
“We are just excited about the year that we’ve had”.
“That’s what grand finals are all about, the best players against best players and best teams against best teams”.
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The Storm don’t appear to have any major injury concerns going onto grand final week.
