A week ago Andrew Fifita thought his season was over. This week, he captained Cronulla to what Shane Flanagan described as their bravest win in some time.
The Sharks held off Penrith 26-22 for a gutsy victory at Shark Park on Sunday that could kick start their season. Already without captain Paul Gallen and Wade Graham through injury, Cronulla also lost Luke Lewis early on to a calf strain.
Fifita limped off against St George Illawarra last weekend and was devastated to learn the initial diagnosis – a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
But scans revealed only severe bone bruising and swelling. Against Penrith he played almost the entire match making 35 tackles and 130 metres with the ball, his dangerous offloads causing the Panthers a number of problems. He also took the responsibility of captaincy when Lewis hobbled off.
But it was some tough love from his dad and round the clock treatment during the week that got Fifita fit enough to start – and the giant prop delivered.
“To be honest I was fearing it. I was that scared to take the field. But a little help from my dad pushed me over the line on Tuesday night. But it’s a credit to my physio working night and day, got me in on my days off and got me ready for a match. Last week I was thinking my season was finished until next year and here we are the following week,” he said.
“Just that old school Tongan treatment. It’s not the best of treatments, you feel like crying when [dad] does it. But it is what it is and it got me to play today and I’m grateful I got to be on that field with the boys.
“It’s up there with one of the best [backs to the wall victories] but I know we can be better. It was a good scrambling win and credit to the boys that stood up. Flano brought in some boys and they knew they had some big shoes to fill but they did it perfectly.”
Cronulla will travel to the Gold Coast to take on the Titans on Saturday night. The performance against Penrith was the kind of brave effort that can define a season. It is something the Sharks will look to build on.
“If it went a bit longer who knows they might have come and got us. But we were brave,” Flanagan said.
“Obviously the week we’ve had, four senior players, probably our four highest profile forwards being injured last week. Behind the scenes seeing how much work they put in with our physio staff it was amazing. It was one of our bravest wins for a long time.
“That’s the Cronulla Sharks. We know it’s there and we see it more often than not.
“[Our senior players] all made a huge contribution and we needed them today. We’re pretty battered at the moment… I’m just proud of the whole group.”
