Cronulla - Foldy McFold Fold?

[BIKER_DRAGON]

I wouldn't like to see the Sharks fold but the fact of the matter is, they've been a basket case for many years now and have been bailed out more than any other club.

If they do fall over, the Dragons and the Roosters will be picking over the carcass in no time at all and it will only benefit these two, already strong teams.

Ideally, it should have been the Sharks and the Dragons that were merged back in Super League days and Illawarra should have been left on their own. That would have been a much better fit for the competition.

A Dragons Sharks merger that would of been a reclaiming takeover of some of the area taken off the Dragons in 1967. You would have to put it up there with the Beatles getting back together. (only 2 bullets required now)

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

I wouldn't like to see the Sharks fold but the fact of the matter is, they've been a basket case for many years now and have been bailed out more than any other club.

If they do fall over, the Dragons and the Roosters will be picking over the carcass in no time at all and it will only benefit these two, already strong teams.

Ideally, it should have been the Sharks and the Dragons that were merged back in Super League days and Illawarra should have been left on their own. That would have been a much better fit for the competition.

A better fit for the competition? It would be perfect if you and Easts got together, for the benefit of the competition, wouldn't it? Makes perfect logistic sense, if thats what you're basing it on.

f**k the competition. Saints did what was right for them, as did every other team at that time, including the Sharks heading to SL & the Rabbitohs sticking to their guns. Bad luck to the Sharks. They chose their path.

Dickhead.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

I did say "Ideally", meaning in a perfect world, that would have been the best solution. Of course, the best solution is not always the one that is taken. Sometimes this can work out good, i.e. Souths are now stronger than they've been in many years by not taking the ideal solution. Sometimes, it works out poorly, i.e. Dragons and Illawarra are both now entities that are probably strong enough to stand alone and the Sharks would probably have best been served with merging. Now we have One "Superclub" in St George Illawarra and another club who looks like it will fold.

In the real world, a Sharks and Dragons merger would never have floated, just like a Rabbits and Roosters merger would not have left the ground, even though we can all agree that if you take the "supporters" hat off and put the "best case scenario" hat on, both would have been ideal for Rugby League in this state.

Necessity brought Russel Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court to Souths, lets see if necessity can find a similar saviour (or group of saviours) for the Sharks.

 

[Jankuloski]

Oh no... please.. what about the history!?!? Boot the entire NRL - none of those teams were there in 1895!

edit: wow this topic moves fast..

 

[Feej]

Cronulla call for partners in bid to save club

CHRIS BARRETT

April 21, 2010

CRONULLA officials are set to step up their grand plan to save the embattled club by launching a public campaign for commercial partners in the proposed $110 million development next to Toyota Stadium.
Without the estimated $7m a year it could attract to Cronulla’s coffers the debt-ridden Sharks may go under, club insiders say.
The future of the Sharks has been the subject of constant speculation, with Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club having an estimated debt of $12m.
The development, which would include 145 apartments for over-55s as well as a hotel, a supermarket and speciality shops, is the cornerstone of the Cronulla board’s goal to shore up the club's future.
The Sharks have spent the past five months working with a property consultancy firm in an effort to complete the details of a package to put to prospective joint venture partners.
That process is almost finalised, the Herald has been told, and the club will soon begin an expressions-of-interest campaign in a bid to attract potential commercial partners to take to members at the next annual general meeting at the end of next month.
The extent of the cash crisis at Cronulla was reignited on Sunday when coach Ricky Stuart said in the wake of a 44-16 loss to Brisbane – the Sharks’ fifth in six games this year – that the club was not spending to the full amount of the $4.1m NRL salary cap.
Sharks chief executive Richard Fisk has since said that the club had in fact cut spending on its NYC and NSW Cup sides, not its top 25 players.
But the clarification has done little to dull the spectre of gloom surrounding Toyota Stadium, where cash previously leaked by the football club – including pay-outs to past coaches Chris Anderson and Stuart Raper – has left the Sharks in a precarious financial position and led to mounting speculation that the club could fold.
Cronulla chairman Damian Irvine would not comment on the Sharks' latest efforts to get the hotel and residential development moving but he has conceded previously that the ambitious project, which received approval from Sutherland Shire Council last August, was not "the panacea to our financial problems".
But unless the development goes ahead, the club’s future is bleak. The development, club sources say, would be irrelevant if the Sharks continued to spend in the unrestrained fashion that landed them in a financial heap.
The new administration, headed by Irvine and Fisk, has made no secret of its mission to alleviate the club’s cash-flow problems since they took over the reins in the Shire.
In their efforts to correct their revenue streams there have been staff cuts, reworking of flawed commercial deals, a vigorous membership drive and cuts to spending on their lower-grade teams.
However, it is acknowledged that it will all come to nothing if the development – on land next to the Sharkies Leagues Club car park – does not attract commercial partners and proceed as planned.
The club has ruled out selling the land in a straight-out fire sale, with the move seen by the board as a short-term fix that would likely keep them afloat for only two to three additional years.
They have 18 months to act on their development application before it expires


http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...rtners-in-bid-to-save-club-20100420-sruu.html


The end is nigh!

Had the Sharks been 4 or so wins from 6 starts, the story headline would most likely be along the lines of "Sharks Move To Secure Future" or something like that. And the body of the story would have been more positive.

But, you all know how the media works......

 

[Ausguy]

Yeah kick us out... cos losing a club is good for the game.

those who support other sydney based teams shouldnt be spruiking our demise, it wont be the last if it starts.

 

[BIKER_DRAGON]

Yeah kick us out... cos losing a club is good for the game.

those who support other sydney based teams shouldnt be spruiking our demise, it wont be the last if it starts.

Why the f**k do you want to be kicked out?

The Sharks should stay in the comp but you have to relocate to secure your long term in the game. The Swamp land project is a no goer as far a long term solution to the Sharks problems. All it will ever be at the most is a 10 year quick fix band aid. Stay in Cronulla and be gone within 10 years or last till the end of the game in a new area. It is an easy answer to decide what path to take. Don't be like Newtown that waited to long to relocate to Campbelltown.

 

[BIKER_DRAGON]

Oh no... please.. what about the history!?!? Boot the entire NRL - none of those teams were there in 1895!

edit: wow this topic moves fast..

If only those bloody poms had agreed to pay insurance money to injured players back in 1895 EH?:lol:

 

[Goddo]

And it will take around 3 years before the project would be finished, and even longer before profits start comming in, which now will be split with an as yet to be found investor. What if there are cost over runs? What if you have problems with the investors or builder? What if its delayed?

Can the club stay solvent for that long? No, probably not. A poor year on the field last year and likely again this year mean that $12m will keep growing. When will St George bank say enough is enough? They were almost there 12 months ago.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

Yeah kick us out... cos losing a club is good for the game.

those who support other sydney based teams shouldnt be spruiking our demise, it wont be the last if it starts.

:?

No one is kicking anyone out?

 

[bazza]

If only we had a proper second division where clubs that are in financial trouble could go and get their act together and the smaller clubs like Cronulla could play similar smaller clubs

 

[Ausguy]

you guys cant sense sarcasm can you?

 

[BIKER_DRAGON]

If only we had a proper second division where clubs that are in financial trouble could go and get their act together and the smaller clubs like Cronulla could play similar smaller clubs

It's called the NSW CUP and yes the Sharks play Newtown there.

 

[BIKER_DRAGON]

you guys cant sense sarcasm can you?

stubbornness more like or is it an emu dressed as a shark with it's head in the sand.

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

there will bo no bootings. the NRL have at least learnt this.
as for this latest story. the midia ain sh*t

and as for the so called insiders around here spruiking our demise.

well.

good luck to you and your teams prospects

 

[dannyboy]

...Necessity brought Russel Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court to Souths, lets see if necessity can find a similar saviour (or group of saviours) for the Sharks.

Tried that, he was found to be an insurance fraudster.

 

[Danish]

Has anybody actually thought the game doesn't have the money or the talent to warrant any more than 16 teams?

Of course it does.

We have a couple teams worth of 1st graders currently in the ESL which would not be the case if we had a couple extra NRL sides.

The talent is not spread thin. It is simply incapable of being contained with current restrictions. An extra 2 teams gives our comp an extra $8-9 mill to keep the talent here.

 

[Iafeta]

Obviously financially there's huge issues at Shark Park, but I just don't see the seeming culture of acceptance of mediocrity. The coach seemingly thinks its ok and makes excuses for it, reading some of the fans talk in their own forum there seems to be a divide between those who aren't happy and those who just accept it as gospel. Cronulla should be doing far better on field.

I know the coach of Cronulla has basically thrown in the white towel and indicated his squad isn't cashed up enough to compete. But I think that's outrageously short sighted on his behalf. Sure, it's not a squad like Melbourne has, but there are still some top players who look either bemused by the structure they're playing within or are completely unmotivated:

Anthony Tupou - rep second rower
Trent Barrett - rep five eighth
Tim Smith - started his first grade career brilliantly
Kade Snowden - him and Luke Douglas do a fantastic job up front for them
Paul Gallen - rep back rower
Blake Ferguson - played in the Aboriginal side, good prospect
Nathan Stapleton - the kid has a future, except Stuart punts him to the wing to play a bloke who can't catch a cold at fullback

Even Scott Porter, last year he went real good, he was punted quickly this year. Young Gordon showed against the Broncos he has some serious pace but he hardly ever sees the ball. Pomeroy a few years ago played City-Country (although I think he is grossly overrated), and the young front rower they got from the Gold Coast was outstanding in U20s. On top of that Cuthbertson was a great impact player for Manly, now he's struggling big time at the Sharks.

I wouldn't say they recruited especially well, John Morris, Paul Aiton and Josh Cordoba in particular don't sit well with me. Not one of them is that hard nosed player who won't cope mediocrity.

But I don't think they've got a team that should be getting lapped week in week out. There is some gross underachievers, whether that be their own personal motivation, whether it be they see the coach has seemingly thrown in the towel, whether they see it that the structure is horrible, I'm not so sure, but for them to accept mediocrity I think is a great shame for their club. The type of player they should now look at recruiting for next year is the type of impact the Warriors got from Kevin Campion - someone who has won premierships, would gladly spill a pint of blood to get a win, someone who won't accept mediocrity. The folklore tales of Campion at the Warriors are legendary, I'm not sure how true it is but the bloke would drop for push ups at training should he have dropped the ball, because it was unacceptable practice.

 

[babyg]

Bondi-Cronulla Roosters

 

[franklin2323]

See it's a catch 22. Sharks certainly aren't spending their full cap. Yet need to at least play exciting footy to get the fans in.

Need an attacking Centre Every other team has 1 except them has a star centre for starters