After the emotion of seeing off club legend Wade Graham has faded, the brutal reality is finally starting to set in for those in the Shire.
That reality is, that despite yet another season of great promise, the club exit the competition without recording a finals win.
Not since 2018 has this side won a game come finals time. A one-point second week win over a very different Penrith side to the one playing now.
The questions were there all season as to the Sharks credentials. We all heard the shouts of "they can't win big games" and "they can't beat top eight sides".
We all know this to be true. Today we look at the "why?".
Below are the main factors of where it went wrong for the Sharks 2023.
Please note that I am a life-long Sharks fan. Therefore opinions and thoughts may be swayed. I may have gone in harder than others would, I may be too soft. Please just keep this in mind.
Over reliance on Nicho Hynes
Let's start with the obvious one - a massive and obvious over reliance on their star number seven.
The knock on Hynes is that he isn't "a big game player" despite dragging an average Sharks side to second spot en route to winning a Dally M medal in 2022.
Hynes was the Sharks best player again in '23, by a wide margin.
Ok he couldn't get it done in the closing minutes against the Roosters but it was only his two try assists and try saving tackle that kept them in the contest.
This after Hynes dragging his side over the finish line to secure a Finals finish.
Where in the Sharks bi-laws does it say it's against policy for others to chime in and help out?
If Cleary is having a below average day, he has Jahrome Luai to help bail him out. Reynolds has Reece Walsh. Moses has the King.
Who does Hynes have?
Sure, Trindall played well at times while Will Kennedy was setting up tries for fun against bad sides, but when the going gets tough the "throw it to Nicho" game plan is easy to shut down.
Kade Dykes suffering an ACL injury in the pre-season didn't help but with Moylan on the out, one of either Dykes or Trindall are going to have to step up and provide that genuine helping hand to Hynes.
Botched bench rotations
For all of my proclaimed love for "Sir Fitz" Craig Fitzgibbon, the second year head coach simply cannot use his bench properly.
I was screaming the house down for the club to sign Justin Holbrook and appoint him as an assistant coach. Simply put, we need an experienced second in charge to oversee the bench use.
Way too many times this season he left Toby Rudolf on the field a set too long, only for a tiring Rudolf to concede a penalty or turn over possession.
Dale Finucane played far too many minutes prior to his season-ending injury. He is best used in short, sharp stints rather than as a workhorse.
Meanwhile Tom Hazelton's minutes were as follows: 16, 16, 14, 25, 33, 15, 17, 18 ... and you get the point.
There seems to be no "plan B". No ability to see that a forward was tired and inject a fresh man.
It was like Fitzgibbon only had plans for two forwards with the others being given token minutes.
Meanwhile holding Matt Moylan on the bench, often as an unused sub, robbed the club the chance to put much needed minutes into Jesse Colquhoun.
It would have been nice to have Colquhoun with meaningful games to his name come Finals time rather than him missing out for Matt Moylan's stints of zero, zero, 13 and six minutes.
Reluctance to change
One thing you cannot accuse Craig Fitzgibbon of is making rash decisions, and mass changes out of nowhere.
In hindsight, he left the decision to drop Matt Moylan from the squad many, many weeks too late.
Braydon Trindall's development has been stunted over the past 18 months. After being used in a ridiculous token minute, bench spot last season, he was bounced between First Grade and NSW cup far too often in 2023.
After playing very well in the opening three weeks, Trindall was the player who made way for the returning Nicho Hynes.
If given the choice over again, I have no doubt Fitzgibbon would have made the tougher decision to drop Moylan.
Yes the Sharks were flying, point's wise, but they were beating up on the lesser teams. When it mattered, Moylan was a speed-bump in defence and offered little to no kicking game.
So many times the Sharks would be belted by a contender, only to pick the same team and wipe the likes of the Bulldogs or Dragons off the park and declare that everything is back in order.
Fitzgibbon also made the decision to "drop" Sifa Talakai earlier in the year. He was moved to the bench to fulfil a forward rotation spot but missed the game via illness.
He would be rushed back into the side the week after despite 2022 NSW Cup player of the year, Kayal Iro banging down the door for selection.
Iro, who Talaki himself named as the "best prospect in the backline" played a grand total of zero NRL minutes in 2023.
The decision to hold back the hottest attacking prospect in the club's ranks looks like it will backfire with Iro linked to numerous other clubs in the off-season.
Blayke Brailey also seems to be undroppable despite a string of below par performances and the Sharks boasting the best reserve grade number nine in the nation in Jayden Berrell.
Rushed re-signings
Whereas a host of sides around the Sharks in terms of squad strength, are looking forward to some useful additions in 2024, Cronulla fans are not afforded the same.
With two, perhaps three, squad spots left for 2024, and no real cap space, the Sharks squad of 2023 is going to be there again next season.
Unless the club can convince Matt Moylan to move on, or without tapping Dale Finucane on the shoulder, there is no room to move next year.
Wade Graham has retired by Hirori and Berrell are off-contract. Puru advances into the 30 next season, while Kayal Iro (should he stay) should finally be be elevated. There is no room to move.
With the greatest of respects to the likes of Royce Hunt and Dan Atkinson, there was no need to rush re-signing these players.
Both are handy, but there aren't any sides rushing to add them to their rosters right away.
I fell into the trap of trumpeting each re-signing. After all, we finished second and started the 2023 season pretty well.
Unfortunately any useful additions are going to have to come on the cheap, or via a prospect from fringe NRL standard or below. Possibly for the next two seasons.
The Sharks can't address the major concern which is a massive lack of second row depth. That or the equally obvious lack of a front row leader/enforcer.
