Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon believes his side’s trending slow starts is “not crucial yet” — but it’s something they need to fix quick smart.
Cronulla were upset by Gold Coast 20-16 on Friday night. It was their third-straight loss and they’ve now lost five of their last six games.
In each of their three losses on the trot they’ve conceded two tries in the first 13 minutes, which is why Fitzgibbon said after the Titans game that it “feels exactly the same as last week.”
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“It’s happened throughout the course of the year,” he conceded.
“We’ve been addressing it but at the end of the day sometimes it’s fundamental errors, sometimes it’s discipline.
“Needless to say it keeps happening so it’s a bit of a trend we’ve got to address otherwise we’re just giving up too much and chasing down.
“Sometimes you focus too much on it, a little too much energy going towards it. (We’re) probably a bit uptight.
“We started the game really wanting to play well, the guys’ attitude, our effort is really good.
“There’s a lot of parts to like but you just can’t hand over that much possession and field position and expect to win.”
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When asked if it’s a crucial part of their game that needs fixing, Fitzgibbon said: “It’s not crucial yet, we’re still sitting in a strong position. But what is crucial is we’ve got to address it otherwise it will be.”
“We’re not shying away from it, we’re getting back in the fight… but it’s a lot of possession to give up. We’ve just got to do better than that,” he added.
Meanwhile, a very disappointed Sharks skipper Cameron McInnes summed up the game by saying: “The energy is there but we’re just not icing our moments.”
The 30-year-old then put his hand up for not being good enough as a captain.
“I’ve got to do a better job as a leader, doing my job and also working with the refs a bit better,” he said.
“I’m just not doing my job good enough trying to see the picture they’re seeing.
“What the other teams are doing we’re not doing well enough so I need to pick my game up there with how I talk to them and get messages and understanding what they’re seeing that we’re not. Because… we need to be better.”
