Well, he's done it again.
There is a reason why Cronulla Sharks fans refer to Team List Tuesday as "copy and paste Tuesday" in the Shire.
RELATED: Round 25 NRL team lists in full
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon, despite two straight losses, has refused to dip into his club's incredible young talent pool.
Two losses I must stress that came as huge favourites. One against the likely wooden spooners and the other as embarrassingly short priced, home favourites.
Two losses that saw the club's top four hopes hope two almighty whacks!
Two losses that saw the clubs top two chances absolutely decimated!
Despite the club boasting speeders Sam Stonestreet and Michael Gabrael, as well as universally praised young half Riley Pollard, Fitzgibbon has refused to budge.
Instead he has stuck with the old guard of Sione Katoa, Mawene Hiroti and has brought back the steady yet defensively suspect Niwhai Puru.
The only changes Fitzbiggon ever makes are enforced.
He had to be dragged kicking and screaming into debuting KL Iro, who was the NSW Cup's best player by a long, long way prior to his selection.
I understand you don't start building for the future just three weeks prior to a finals series.
That would be ok if the current players were, anywhere close to being better than the alternatives right now.
That would be ok if the three players chosen, at the expense of the Sharks much more exciting prospects, weren't all confirmed to be leaving the club next season.
Mawene Hiroti has been signed by the Gold Coast Titans next season.
Sione Katoa is off to the Cowboys.
Niwhai Puru is headed west to the Perth Bears.
Even despite the players exiting at the year's completion, this would still be ok if Mawene Hiroti hadn't turned in two all time stinkers, had Sione Katoa not twice been run down by Jed Stewart, and if not for the fact Niwhai Puru has been comprehensively outplayed by Riley Pollard all season.
I am fully aware of Fitzgibbon's reasoning.
He doesn't want to debut, or bring back players, when he has more experienced options ready to go.
Again though, Niwhai Puru has only three games of NRL to his name. Riley Pollard is yet to debut.
Pollard has routinely banked player of the match honours whilst playing for the Newtown Jets, feeder club to the Sharks, in NSW Cup, Puru has again been preferred.
As a Sharks fan, I obviously want to win the premiership in 2026. I'd be ok with Puru being preferred, if I thought for even a single second that he gave the team a better shot at achieving that.
Instead his stats with Riley Pollard are so close in NSW Cup that surely you go with the player you have signed to the club next year. The younger, far more exiting player with the much higher ceiling.
Niwhai Puru across 11 games of NSW Cup has crossed for three tries, has 10 assists, 10 line-break assists, tackles at 85% and runs for 64 run metres per game. That 85% doesn't take into account the times attackers run right by him to score, without a hand being laid on him.
Pollard, across 20 games, has nine tries, 13 assists, 12 line-break assists, tackles at 86% and runs for 66 run metres per game.
Pollard has defended, and played, at hooker on three occassions where he was called upon to make many more tackles than usual.
Mawene Hiroti, the personification of "solid, fringe First Grader" has again been chosen.
Meanwhile the young player who has been named as the most exciting prospect within the clubs ranks, publicly, by almost every NRL squad member sits on the bench ... again.
Gabrael should have seven or eight NRL games to his name already. This contest is nowhere near as close as Puru vs Pollard.
Gabrael is lightning quick, breaks tackles for laughs and is signed to the club next year.
Mawene Hiroti isn't, doesn't and is not.
Meanwhile on the wing Fitzgibbon's insistence on playing the departing, 180 cm winger with speed issues over the clubs recently re-signed 193 cm speedster, is beyond explanation.
Club's have worked out that the Sharks will kick exclusively to Ronaldo Mulitalo.
The once dangerous tactic is now so telegraphed that it's become a joke in the fan base as to whether the opposition will catch the ball or will Ronaldo give away a penalty?
A second, really fast, tall winger to add an aerial threat would be nice. So nice! I bet Nicho Hynes would agree.
I know, as a Titans fan, which combination would strike more fear into my heart.
A Hiroti and Katoa edge is solid. A Gabrael and Stonestreet edge is frightening!
AJ Brimson will be very confident in being able to control his future club mate in Hiroti. It'll be a good contest as Hiroti never lets you down, but you can almost, literally hear my eyes rolling typing that.
The Sharks have three excitement machines who we keep being told are the future of the club.
Fitzgibbon has, again, opted for the three "safe" options, despite a lack of form by all three compared to their potential replacement.
Since when does safe win premierships?
As a Sharks fan I am very thankful for the Fitzgibbon years. They've been very good to us.
That said, kids don't grow up dreaming about losing a preliminary final. Fans don't sit on the train, look out the window and remember the preliminary losses.
A debut, against a struggling Titans, in a club form slump would provide the excitement and the energy required to lift everyone.
Film Gabrael (and Pollard) getting the news. Interview them after. I love the clips of the players calling their parents.
Run the highlights of both in NSW Cup. Lift fans spirits. Show them what the future of the club is about.
Don't run out three "safe" options, two of which combined to blow two certain tries last week. I won't even count the one where Nikora refused to hit the wide open Hiroti either as that was hardly the backs fault.
So instead of hyping up a debut, or two, of the return of a weapon the Titans will be worried about, we get to celebrate "safe".
Yay!
Don't even get me started on Cam McInnes.
