Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan will hope the Gold Coast rain washed away any last remains of the club's State of Origin hangover on Saturday night.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Sharks can at least rejoice in having their full squad back on deck as they pick up the pieces from a 30-10 drubbing at the hands of the Titans on Saturday night.
Flanagan admitted it had been a struggle to negotiate the Origin period with five of his best players away from the club, but knows there are no longer any excuses at the back end of the season.
"We can set sail for home now," he said after the loss.
"Three Origin camps, 10 days for a camp and we're missing five players. It's not great for a footy team to train like that but we're over it now."
It has been a big week for many different reasons for his Origin representatives.
Valentine Holmes celebrating a hat-trick and series win, while Andrew Fifita moved on quickly from defeat to welcome the arrival of his third child.
Watching from the sidelines has been former Blue and current teammate Paul Gallen, who knows the toll of the Origin period well.
"Flanno's summed it up; we've handled it (the Origin period) OK considering it's probably our biggest representation probably ever," he said.
"But to train without your five best players for 30 days out of the past six weeks is very distracting. Thankfully it's over and we've no excuses anymore from next week."
Not that he was offering any up after Saturday's heavy loss.
Trailing 30-0 until two late tries saved their blushes, the second-placed Sharks were outplayed by a side sitting 14th at the start of the round.
"The Titans played better than us," he said.
"They're going to be a handful for a number of sides coming into the back end of the season."
Titans coach Neil Henry would argue they are only where they are on the ladder because they too have suffered from not having their best cattle on the paddock.
"We've had a fairly disrupted squad, but for the last few weeks we've had the nucleus of the team there," he said.
"The Origin boys have been busy, but we're building and it can turn into something special if we want it, we have a bit of luck and are hungry every week."
Share
