Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has lashed out at Phil Gould following their victory against Penrith on Sunday, saying Gould's "soft premiership" comments earlier in the year had been a motivation behind their performance.
Flanagan's comments come as Sharks skipper Paul Gallen, who has long been the subject of criticism from the Panthers general manager, took aim at Penrith officials who he said had allocated Sharks players' wives and children tickets to the general admission hill.
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"Three cheers for Gus". Those were the words booming out of the Cronulla dressing room after their comprehensive 28-2 victory against the Panthers on Easter Sunday.
Gould's comments at the start of the season, in which he spoke about Cronulla's triumph in what "ended up being a fairly soft competition", has left a sour taste in the mouths of Cronulla players. And they haven't forgotten – taking great pleasure in destroying the Panthers in their own backyard.
"I am filthy with Gus saying we won a soft competition," Flanagan said after the match. "You could find 100 takes from Gus during the year about how tough this competition is. When the Panthers were playing the Bulldogs at the SFS he was saying 'what a great competition' and 'it's the hardest competition in the world'. All of a sudden the Panthers get rissoled and it's the weakest comp in the world. I thought it was poor form.
"There's no premiership, especially in this competition, that is soft. And he knows that. It's poor form from him to say the team that wins the competition after 26 rounds in the NRL is a soft competition. We beat Canberra, we beat the Cowboys, we beat Melbourne – c'mon."
Asked if he saw Gould at the match on Sunday, Flanagan replied: "No, at half-time he would have been at Kogarah".
Gallen admitted Gould's comments had motivated his side, but so too was the alleged poor treatment of the players' families.
![Don't argue: Andrew Fifita keeps the Panthers at bay.](/web/20170417181948im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/l/v/2/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvluo5.png/1492423778380.jpg)
"I couldn't believe our wives and partners got general admission tickets," Gallen said. "Our wives and partners sat on the hill. They are supposed to get seats. That was another thing that was extra motivation for us, too. I thought that was pretty ordinary, too. I don't know what the situation is here with seats but I know every seat wasn't full.
"The opposition team coming with their wives and kids sitting on the hill ... we're grateful we got free tickets but they sat on the hill. I don't know what the situation was."
![Pivotal: James Maloney crosses the stripe for the Sharks.](/web/20170417181948im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/l/v/2/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvluo5.png/1492423778380.jpg)
Penrith, once the entertainers of the competition, struggled for answers as the reigning premiers taught the pre-season premiership favourites a lesson on Sunday.
The loss sees Penrith slump to just two wins from the opening seven rounds of the year, casting a shadow over the club's finals aspirations after back-to-back heavy defeats at the hands of last year's grand finalists.
Give credit to Cronulla's defence – it was impenetrable. But the Panthers had enough opportunities to do more than they did and the Sharks walked away with the chocolates on Easter Sunday.
All the talk out of the Shire during the week revolved around the future of Jack Bird.
The NSW Origin representative broke the hearts of a few at the Sharks when he announced he would be departing at season's end bound for Brisbane, and he showed why he is going to be missed.
"The reason as a club that we're so disappointed he's going is what you saw today," Flanagan said.
"He's a quality player so I've got to be really happy and grateful he was with us last year to win a competition and that he's here for the rest of the year."
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