We’re going through every NRL club and examining how the shutdown of the competition due to the coronavirus crisis will affect them.

See also: Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury Bulldogs

Today we look at what the lockdown means for the Cronulla Sharks.

Positives

They have plenty of time to reflect on the first two rounds of the season and take good confidence for the road ahead as not a lot went wrong. The Sharks scored three tries in each of their two clashes against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Melbourne Storm, only being let down by penalties.

Negatives

Losing by two points regardless of what sport you play is always a bitter pill to swallow and that is exactly what happened in their last game against the Melbourne Storm. The negatives are that they have to wait until June if not September to have another crack as well as tidying up the loose ends as everyone is isolated, disabling them from gaining chemistry.

Financial Position

Cronulla have long been one of the financial strugglers in the NRL over the past few years. The Sharks are backed by the Sutherland Leagues Club but they have felt the strain. The good news is they have $16 million in cash reserves and $30 million in total equity, despite having cash reserves in place they are still feeling the pinch.

Players

There are not too many big names that are off contract at the end of this year, as 2022 seems to be the year when most of the Sharks comes off their deals.

Coach

John Morris isn't going anywhere in his second season in charge of the Sharks. His first season came as a bit of shock as he took the reins in January right before the season started. After having a full season under his belt, Morris now has an understanding of what it is like in the hot seat. This time though, he is putting a team together that he wants and one that rewards players who work hard in a changing of the guard to unleash a younger generation.

How they would've fared in 2020

There is belief that the renewed Sharks could've done good things under Morris' young side in 2020 with the potential to play finals football. They were widely seen as one of the teams in the middle pack that could've finished anywhere from 8th-14th.

Where to from here

Maintain their form against the Rabbitohs and the Storm as the young brigade has shown they can match it against some of the finals favourites. They have only been beaten by penalties despite scoring the same amount of tries so they just need to fine-tune some things and reboot with the same hunger they had in March.