Yesterday the Herald, today the Tele. It's a Pomful week.
Great news for the club and it's supporters.
Suck it up schizoid.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-make-den-a-home/story-fni3gol8-1226722313092
HE'S pulled on the Sharks jersey on more occasions than club favourites Rick Bourke, Michael Porter, Nick Graham and Brett Kimmorley.
And after eight years and 157 first-grade matches, Sharks centre Ben Pomeroy is finally ready to call Cronulla home, with The Daily Telegraph learning the 29-year-old is poised to sign a new deal for the 2014 season.
It's a relief, according to the powerful centre, who suffering from a crippling groin injury midway through this season, considered if it was all worth it.
"It was a tough time," Pomeroy said.
"Mentally I was struggling because the pain was just constant. It got to the point where Flanno (coach Shane Flanagan) decided to rest me for a few weeks.
"It wasn't ideal to miss games, but in the end it was exactly what I needed. That time off allowed me to get my body right.
"I suppose the biggest thing at that time was being off-contract and not knowing if I would be here next year.
"But now I know something will be done next year, it's a relief.
"I've been here eight years, my wife loves it here and I've got another baby on the way and we've got a team that believes we can do something special."
Pomeroy is a long way from being the flashiest centre in the NRL finals series.
But he's certainly one of the most feared.
He relies on his imposing 98kg frame to dominate his opposite number, using strength and size as opposed to speed and footwork.
His match-up with hard-running Manly centre Steve Matai will be a beauty.
"It's always a good battle," Pomeroy said, who outside metre-eating captain Paul Gallen, has made the most metres since David Peachey left the Sharks in 2005.
"I like to play against blokes like that. He s (Matai) a big strong centre, so he'll look to run over me. It should be fun."
After missing last year's finals loss to Canberra due to suspension, Pomeroy believes this current Sharks outfit is the best side he has played with and superior to the Ricky Stuart coached squad that were beaten by Melbourne in the grand final qualifier of 2008.
And despite the anticipated loss of five-eighth Todd Carney to injury, the opportunity to move one step closer to the grand final, was one his teammates weren't about to let slip.
"It would be a massive loss, but I think we've had Todd out a few times this year and whoever does come in I'm confident in them," Pomeroy said.
"It's a huge opportunity. Given all the stuff that has been going on during the year I don't think too many people thought we'd be here.
"We certainly know how big it could be if we got there (grand final).
"We've got some confidence after beating Souths and the Roosters late in the season.
"We lost a close one to Manly early in the year and weren't playing our best footy by far, so we'll take a bit out of that too.
It's probably the best team I've been involved in a finals series with.
"The last finals team I played in was 2008 and we had a good side that year, but looking at the players we've got now this a real chance for us to get the job done."
