We will be lucky to keep any of them... except for Flanno Jr. of course...
Managing a premiership roster: Shane Flanagan admits future is the price paid by current success
CRONULLA coach Shane Flanagan is expecting to lose a handful of talented kids at the end of this season as he confronts the difficulties posed when managing a premiership roster.
The Sharks have so far done outstandingly well to retain their top priorities, starting with Valentine Holmes on a big money deal early this year, and more recently extending the contracts of star veterans Paul Gallen and Luke Lewis.
Jack Bird is the only notable premiership player to have been lost, with the star centre moving on at the end of the season to link with Wayne Bennett at the Broncos.
The pain of that loss has been diminished by the signing of Josh Dugan but Flanagan still has some big decisions to make before the 2018 puzzle neatly fits together.
There’s 34-year-old Chris Heighington who will almost certainly hang up the boots if he can’t secure a one-year extension.
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Then there’s James Maloney, who has repeatedly made headlines over the last couple of months as he agitates for a pay rise that could lead to a release should the Sharks secure the signature of Cooper Cronk or a half of that calibre.
With all that to weigh up at the top end, Flanagan admits there are youngsters who inevitably grow impatient and seek opportunities at other clubs.
When a decision on Heighington is made, that’s one of the outcomes Flanagan expects to be thrown into the mix.
“Some of those young blokes are a little bit impatient and if they don’t get a game sooner rather than later they’ll find another club and they’ll go,” Flanagan told the Fox Sports Market Watch podcast.
“We’ve got a few players like that who are probably going to be leaving next year and especially with players who have had fantastic careers, you’d rather them go a little bit earlier than hanging around and challenging the coach, ‘should I be in the team or should I not be in the team’.
“We’ve got to make sure that they’re still playing their best football and that is the case with most of our boys.
“I’d rather them go a little bit early than a little bit late.”
The balance of regenerating an ageing side while still competing for premierships is an almost impossible one, with Flanagan admitting he finds it difficult to hand out games to fringe players when there’s so much at stake.
A call on Chris Heighington’s future is still to be made at the Sharks.Source: Getty Images
It makes the Origin period a vital time of the season, with sides that are heavily represented like the Sharks forced to throw rookies into the deep end to find out whether they’ll sink or swim.
“Definitely during Origin it does give you the opportunity to give those blokes who have worked really hard and are on the fringe, to give them a game and we’ve seen that time and time again,” Flanagan said.
“Last year Kurt Capewell got his opportunity during that period and he’s kicked on, Nu Brown, he’s got his opportunity over the last couple of years and he’s kicked on, so definitely most players need the opportunity and once given it they usually don’t let you down.”
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With six rounds to play and a top four position on the line, however, the experimenting has to go on the backburner, which Flanagan says can be costly for a team’s long-term development.
“I think at different stages, obviously if you’re not in semi final stages there’s an opportunity to look to the future a little bit and if you give someone three or four games of first grade then they’ll be a lot better off for it the following year,” Flanagan said.
“But still at this time of the year there’s not too many clubs who aren’t fighting for a spot in the eight, or to get off the bottom, so it’s really hard at that stage but probably in the next couple of weeks sides could probably do that.
“But for us and all the sides around us, you’ve got to focus on getting top four — so you’re either in a cycle of development or looking at the current moment.
“It’s a tough one so I’d probably lean more to the side of when you’re ready you’ll get your chance, every game you’ve got to earn and you’ve got to be the best player in your position to play for the club.”
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