missing_something
Bencher
#Â By Dean Ritchie
# From: The Daily Telegraph
HE'S the $200,000 recruit who will turn out in reserve grade for Cronulla this weekend - from the bench.
Former Manly back-rower Adam Cuthbertson has languished in the Sharks' NSW Cup team for three weeks but things went from bad to worse after being named on the bench for Saturday's clash with Canterbury.
Unable to earn a spot in the NRL's worst team, Cuthbertson will this weekend sit alongside bench players Herman Retzlaff, Lancen Joudo and Inoke Tapa'atoutai in NSW Cup coach Tony Herman's side.
With Cronulla's NRL side enjoying a bye, Herman has been able to stack his side with the likes of Nathan Stapleton, Blake Ferguson, Scott Porter, Isaac Gordon and Stuart Flanagan.
The move to dump so many established players shows first grade coach Ricky Stuart won't tolerate a repeat of last weekend's 38-0 loss to St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium.
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But it's Cuthbertson's plight that has generated the most intrigue. He was part of Manly's 2007 grand final side that tackled the Storm in front of 80,000 fans at ANZ Stadium.
This weekend he'll turn out in front of a handful of people at The Crest Stadium in Bass Hill.
It's a remarkable fall from grace from a gifted player who hasn't been sighted in first grade since round five, and couldn't beat Trent Grubb, Alan Munro or Matthew Wright for a spot in the back-row for this weekend's NSW Cup game.
"Adam would be the first to admit he has been very disappointed with his form," Cronulla chief executive Richard Fisk said. "He has been suffering from a groin injury but has chosen to play on with it.
"But I have no doubt Adam will be back making a contribution to the club before the end of this season."
Cuthbertson has struggled this year with limited game time.
Some believe his flamboyant ball-playing style is at odds with the structured game plan employed by NRL clubs these days.
Cuthbertson's statistics this season are poor. He has played in four NRL games and averaged only nine runs. He has not made a tackle bust and only completed two offloads per game in an average of 33 minutes on the field.
Manly cut the Avalon Bulldogs junior at the end of last season due to salary cap constraints and the Sharks swiftly signed him up, hoping he would provide some much-needed flair.
Cuthbertson, who missed out on playing in Manly's 40-0 grand final win over Melbourne in 2008, arrived at Toyota Stadium saying he hated his time in NSW Cup with the Sea Eagles.
Earlier this year, Cuthbertson said: "After coming back from injury last year, I played a lot of reserve grade so I didn't fulfil my time there.
"But that had a lot to do with the player I have become."
# From: The Daily Telegraph
HE'S the $200,000 recruit who will turn out in reserve grade for Cronulla this weekend - from the bench.
Former Manly back-rower Adam Cuthbertson has languished in the Sharks' NSW Cup team for three weeks but things went from bad to worse after being named on the bench for Saturday's clash with Canterbury.
Unable to earn a spot in the NRL's worst team, Cuthbertson will this weekend sit alongside bench players Herman Retzlaff, Lancen Joudo and Inoke Tapa'atoutai in NSW Cup coach Tony Herman's side.
With Cronulla's NRL side enjoying a bye, Herman has been able to stack his side with the likes of Nathan Stapleton, Blake Ferguson, Scott Porter, Isaac Gordon and Stuart Flanagan.
The move to dump so many established players shows first grade coach Ricky Stuart won't tolerate a repeat of last weekend's 38-0 loss to St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
But it's Cuthbertson's plight that has generated the most intrigue. He was part of Manly's 2007 grand final side that tackled the Storm in front of 80,000 fans at ANZ Stadium.
This weekend he'll turn out in front of a handful of people at The Crest Stadium in Bass Hill.
It's a remarkable fall from grace from a gifted player who hasn't been sighted in first grade since round five, and couldn't beat Trent Grubb, Alan Munro or Matthew Wright for a spot in the back-row for this weekend's NSW Cup game.
"Adam would be the first to admit he has been very disappointed with his form," Cronulla chief executive Richard Fisk said. "He has been suffering from a groin injury but has chosen to play on with it.
"But I have no doubt Adam will be back making a contribution to the club before the end of this season."
Cuthbertson has struggled this year with limited game time.
Some believe his flamboyant ball-playing style is at odds with the structured game plan employed by NRL clubs these days.
Cuthbertson's statistics this season are poor. He has played in four NRL games and averaged only nine runs. He has not made a tackle bust and only completed two offloads per game in an average of 33 minutes on the field.
Manly cut the Avalon Bulldogs junior at the end of last season due to salary cap constraints and the Sharks swiftly signed him up, hoping he would provide some much-needed flair.
Cuthbertson, who missed out on playing in Manly's 40-0 grand final win over Melbourne in 2008, arrived at Toyota Stadium saying he hated his time in NSW Cup with the Sea Eagles.
Earlier this year, Cuthbertson said: "After coming back from injury last year, I played a lot of reserve grade so I didn't fulfil my time there.
"But that had a lot to do with the player I have become."
