CHRIS Sandow's shoulder charges used to give Souths coach John Lang sleepless nights, but at Parramatta the newly-arrived halfback has been cleared to continue smashing players twice his size. Eels coach Stephen Kearney said the high-risk shoulder charge could at times inspire his teammates.
Star fullback Jarryd Hayne quipped he would try to help Sandow fine-tune the shoulder that featured on many NRL highlights reels.
"Sometimes it's not so much about pulling it off, but it's the reaction he gets from his teammates," Kearney said
"The bloke is knee-high to a grasshopper, but he's trying to inspire, and I've got no dramas with [doing it], but given it's the right time and place.
"When he's trying to do it to front-rowers, that's the competitive nature in him. He doesn't want to get run over the top of or beaten, and that's his way of doing it."
Sandow was concussed during Saturday's trial against the Wests Tigers but it was not from an attempted shoulder charge.
He was cleared to play in Friday's final hitout at Penrith - alongside Hayne and Nathan Hindmarsh - and said his shoulder charge was impossible to flick from his playbook.
"Sometimes you know when to do it and when not do it. I just try to spark the boys up, that's my job in the team," Sandow said.
Hayne went one further and offered to give him some pointers yesterday as they joked around after a game of lawn bowls.
"I'm laughing every time he does it, it looks funny," said Hayne, as Sandow walked past.
"He tried to do it to Matt Utai on Saturday but got his hip."
