We keep hearing it’: Fitzy pours cold water on importance of looming title-defining run

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has poured cold water on suggestions the club’s next three games could prove if his side have what it takes to win a premiership in 2024.

With a 20-10 win over the Dragons, Cronulla once again finished the round as the NRL ladder leaders and delivered a solid performance against former coach Shane Flanagan.

But now the Sharks face three teams in the coming weeks who are all considered premiership contenders in the Storm, Roosters and Panthers.

So far in 2024, Cronulla have only played against one team who are currently in the top eight, beating the Bulldogs in Round 2.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Fitzgibbon was asked about the importance of the next three rounds for his side and he played down the idea it’s a defining period.

“Mate, we’ve got Melbourne next week and that’s it,” he said.

“That’s the be all and end all. We keep hearing it and it’s distracting. If you’re going to assess our premiership credentials in three weeks, do you think there will be a twist after that?

“It’s hard to tell, for us it’s a narrative around us and it’s a fair question because it’s a narrative around us.

“But we don’t do anything but try and be better than where we’ve been and we are constantly trying to work on things to get better.

“Where we are at after three weeks will be where we are at, but it won’t be the end of the year.

We are getting better, but whether we are there or not we will figure that out. But we’ve got Melbourne and that’s the only thing we will think about this week.”

Interestingly, out of teams currently in the top eight, the only outfit the Sharks will face twice throughout the season is the Bulldogs.

Fitzgibbon also hailed his team’s resilience after coming back from a 10-6 halftime deficit.

“Each week is different and we were under pressure there,” Fitzgibbon said.

“The back-end of the first half, the amount of six agains and penalties, then defence, defence, defence. Sometimes you hold your gloves up for long enough and then finally the dam breaks.

“They scored and sometimes it can rock you, but I was pretty pleased with the way we came out of that.

“But what is it, Round 9, assessing where we are at, there’s so much that can happen between now and the end of the year.”