Mermaids are ready to fire up the Sharks for glory

The year the Sharks win a premiership?

That's the question on everybody's lips as the rugby league season prepares to get under way.

And whatever the answer turns out to be, one thing is certain — the Sharks' cheer squad, the Mermaids, will be sure to shine.

This year's cheer squad sports 13 new faces as well as a new blue, black and white costume which they will show off on The Footy Show tonight (March 7).

The women have been in training almost as long as the football team, said choreographer Jacqueline Doran, who promises game-goers a "fresh new look" and lots of superb acrobatics.

For many young women being a Mermaid and dancing for the fans at the home games holds about as much cachet as playing first-grade footy for Shire boys.

And while they may look all dainty and feminine, beneath the pom-poms and brief costumes are trim, athletic bodies that only come with years of gymnastics training and exhausting dance classes.

Fitness is a very big and vital part of being a Mermaid.

The girls rehearse together for an hour each week on Mondays and they have regular training bouts at the gym to maintain their fitness. Several of the Mermaids are professional dancers or fitness

trainers and they are all a pretty smart, talented and ambitious bunch of women.

Tammy, 27, is a nine-year veteran of the troupe and she works as a paediatric occupational therapist.

The squad's university studies range from primary-school teaching (Katrina) to media (Monique and Brittani) and psychology (Melina).

Cronulla's football season this year is due to start on Sunday, March 10, with a home game against the Gold Coast Titans. The players, and the Mermaids, are preparing hard.