Even though he had to do Cronulla's review of their round-one loss to Canberra through video call, new Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has wasted little time in setting standards for the club.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After contracting COVID-19, Fitzgibbon was absent for what should have been his maiden NRL game as head coach as the Sharks went down 24-19 to the Raiders.
Yet to return to training, the club is hoping Fitzgibbon will be present for Saturday's game against Parramatta which doubles as Cronulla's first game at Shark Park in over two years.
Lock Dale Finucane, who is used to straight-shooting coaches following his time under Craig Bellamy at Melbourne, said Fitzgibbon didn't pull any punches when assessing the Sharks' first-round loss.
"I think I probably saw a little bit of a different side to Fitzy when we did our review via Zoom," he said.
"You don't want to disappoint him but he does have a side to him that is quite intimidating as well.
"I probably didn't see that until our review over the weekend.
"There's definitely a level of respect that you don't want to let him down."
Cronulla had a round-high 42 missed tackles across the competition and allowed the Raiders to run off to an 18-6 lead at half-time before clawing back into the game.
After starting the season with many pundits predicting them to be a force for the finals, Finucane said Fitzgibbon had been stressing the importance of tightening up their defence.
"He was an assistant there (at the Roosters) for a good decade," Finucane said.
"He's obviously a lot of the reason why they've been so successful.
"I don't think there's been a team that's not been a top-four defensive team that has won a competition outside of a handful in the last decade.
"He's brought that defensive mentality to us. Obviously we're still learning the system and implementing it throughout our games."
Finucane is expected to pack down at lock despite Cameron McInnes being included in their extended squad to face the Eels as he makes his way back from a knee injury.
Australian Associated Press
