Cupboard is bare for Stuart
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday August 3, 2009
Parramatta 30 Cronulla 0 THERE were at least two lemons at Toyota Stadium yesterday €“ one to denote the home side's score and the other to help Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart explain the club's predicament. "The lemon is just about dry," he explained, referring to a horrific injury toll and the burden of substantial off-field dramas that have proved insurmountable for a young team this year.On the pitch, the Sharks were being squeezed some more by a competent Parramatta outfit, lifted beyond the mundane by another outstanding performance from fullback Jarryd Hayne.Stuart reckoned his side did a great job containing the NSW Origin star; most coaches would kill for a fullback so well "contained" he could score two tries, make three line breaks and run 223 metres. Such is the Sharks' predicament, and so ineffectual was their production yesterday, that Stuart probably has truth on his side.Maybe he was just looking for something positive after an effort that rarely reached beyond reserve grade level.With five weeks to play, Cronulla are running on diminishing reserves of pride while Parramatta are still dreaming of playing on into September €“ a fact coach Daniel Anderson admitted to viewing with some surprise. "A fraction, I have to admit," he said. "I didn't think we were playing well enough to generate consistency over 80 minutes week after week after week."[I] never wrote us off but thought we'd have to do something we hadn't done this year. We've done it now, with three in a row. Next week we'll have to do it again; we've never done four in a row but it's not beyond us now."Everything looked beyond Cronulla despite starting with some pep, bouncing out of the sheds with plenty of purpose about their play, looking sharp and kicking early in the tackle count to keep the Eels on their toes.Once on them, Parramatta set about making Cronulla suffer. Hayne's first flick of the day, combined with a clever Daniel Mortimer chip, had the Sharks caught in goal. From the drop-out, Nathan Cayless €“ whom astute judges don't recall ever passing the ball €“ threw a long ball worthy of a five-eighth to Luke Burt. Another Hayne flick, a barge by Eric Grothe and a dart by Joel Reddy and Parramatta had first points.It was simple, but it was enough to rattle the Sharks."We were poor today. The players are trying very hard but we just didn't have the ability today," Stuart said.Parramatta muffed plenty of opportunities themselves and, for much of the first half, the muffing went first one way and then the other, with the Eels having more ball and the Sharks running down their petrol as they defended.But just on half-time, Hayne's red boots, which were generally seen flashing out wide, were about all that could be seen under a pile of Cronulla bodies as he dived over beside the posts from dummy-half to push his side to a 10-0 lead at the break.The Eels then stole a page from Cronulla's song book, putting boot to ball rather than grinding through the gears. On the second attempt, the ball eluded Cronulla fullback Nathan Stapleton, Burt nabbed it and Krisnan Inu scored to make it 16-0.The Sharks were seeing stars €“ one in particular kept haunting them. Certainly, Paul Gallen €“ making a rare foray into football in a frustrating year that has matched his club's €“ was left gasping as Hayne went past him, swivelled and was strong enough to hold his balance and score for 22-0.That it didn't get much uglier is a tribute to the Sharks, although many of their 12,246 fans drifted away early €“ a trickle becoming a stream, especially after Hayne ran 90 metres, handling twice before Reddy scored his second. Hard to blame them with the sun still shining while it rained points at Toyota Stadium.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
