Shane Flanagan is hopeful his Cronulla side’s tough and ruthless edge will rub off on Aaron Woods, which will see the former NSW and Australia prop produce his best football in the shire.
The Sharks announced the signing of Woods from Canterbury last Tuesday, with the 27-year-old thrust into his first appearance in the black, white and blue 72 hours later.
Woods put in a strong performance off the bench in Cronulla’s late 18-15 win over the Warriors in New Zealand, giving a glimpse of what an astute bit of business he could prove to be for the Sharks in the lead up to the finals.
Woods spent last Tuesday morning training with his Canterbury teammates but by midday was a Sharks player, training again in his new colours with his new teammates at Shark Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Woods had played every game of the season for Canterbury before his mid-season switch, brought about by the Bulldogs’ salary cap pressure, having only been a Bulldog for half a season after his much-publicised move from the Wests Tigers.
While some have been sceptical as to whether Woods can reproduce his best form for Cronulla, Flanagan believes the Sharks’ winning culture built over the last four years will be beneficial to Woods.
“Without a doubt he hasn't played well at the Bulldogs this year. He's tried his butt off but he's been in a side that's been trying hard without things going really well for them,” Flanagan told Fairfax Media.
“I look back at what Aaron Woods is about and he's played for Australia, he's played Origin and I think this team and this club can get the best out of him. We've got a certain style and we like to think we're tough and ruthless. If a little bit of that rubbed off on Aaron Woods then I think he will be great [for us].
“I've been a little bit short of a genuine front-rower to be honest. Ava [Seumanufagai] has been out injured and he's just come back now. Joseph Paulo has been playing in the middle but he's not really a front-rower and more of a ball-playing utility. We just unfortunately lost a young kid called Jack Williams for the season.
“We're starting to lose some genuine middles… it [was] Woodsy coming off the bench [against the Warriors]. You take Andrew [Fifita] off and bring Aaron Woods on, that's a fair swap.
“It's not going to happen straight away. [The Warriors game was] a bonus. We know he'll contribute but we just want him to do his job.”
Flanagan said it had been a case of remaining patient to capture Woods, with Canterbury’s well-known salary cap issues putting Cronulla in the box seat.
“It was interesting. From a negotiation point of view we had a limit and we stuck to that the whole time,” he said.
“They had to sell and we were the only buyer at the end and all the cards, I believe, were in my hands. I just sort of sat back and waited and it's landed in our lap.
“We're really happy about it. He's a quality signing. Hopefully in eight to 10 weeks we look back and say what a crucial signing it was at this time of year. For someone to come in of that quality as a Test and Origin player is a big bonus.
“When he was put on the market with Canterbury one thing we said to him straight away is you're going to come to a side that's a chance of winning footy games and end up winning a competition. You'll add to that. It's not solely about Aaron Woods now in our team, we've got a lot of big name players in our squad and he's just got to do his job.”
Flanagan gave his players five days off after the win in Auckland, with the first grade squad to return to training on Thursday.
A bye weekend, with Valentine Holmes the only Cronulla representative to play in State of Origin III next Wednesday night, should see the Sharks refreshed ahead of their trip to Penrith to face the Panthers next Friday night.
Wade Graham and Josh Dugan are considered certainties to return from injury against Penrith, with Luke Lewis rated a 50-50 chance to make a comeback from a calf problem.
Meanwhile, young back-rower Williams, who is out for the rest of the season after suffering a torn pectoral, has signed a two-year contract extension with the club.
