There’s only one outcome for the NRLW grand final on Sunday according to Sharks coach Tony Herman, and that’s a Cronulla victory.
Never mind that their opponents, the Sydney Roosters, gave them a 40-0 walloping the one and only time they’ve met this season. In the words of Herman, “I think it will be a different result”.
“We won our first six, and the Roosters, they’re a really, really good footy side. They taught us a bit of a lesson that day, and I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a group,” Herman said ahead of Sunday’s grand final.
“They’ve got strike power across the park, a big, strong middle, and the way they played the game, we took that on board and went back to the drawing board. I thought our next two games we started to get back on track, and then last week defensively I thought we were really, really good and we’ll take that mindset into Sunday. I think it will be a different result.”
Leading the Sharks to a premiership in the team’s second year in the NRLW would be a massive achievement for Herman.
“We look back to last year, and we were probably a little bit inconsistent, and you get 24 people together and expect them to interact on the field and off the field in a particular way, and it’s not easy, and that brought inconsistency,” Herman said.
Sharks fans pose with Emma Tonegato and Brooke Anderson at the NRLW fan festival.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“And then we got into this year and we realised we had a special group, we won our first six, and talking to the guys in the 2016 team [NRL premiers], the buzz around the Shire, I think it would be amazing if we could win it.”
Fullback Emma Tonegato didn’t mince her words when asked about the prospect of adding a NRLW premiership to the Olympic gold medal she won with rugby sevens back in 2016.