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0 Cronulla Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has praised Dale Finucane’s training intensity a week after the veteran’s NRL return.
Finucane played just 13 matches for the Sharks last season, and missed the back end of the year entirely with a biceps injury.
He played 20 minutes off the bench in the Sharks’ first round 16-12 win over the Warriors in Auckland last weekend.
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The 32-year-old has once again been named at No.14 to face the Bulldogs on Friday evening. It will be his 250th NRL appearance.
Fitzgibbon said Finucane’s intensity at training is “kind of uncomfortable sometimes”.
“He just won’t relent – some days you watch him training and just think ‘my gosh, is he unhinged? Is he crazy, or is this just who he is?’,” Fitzgibbon told media.
“But he’s the most humble, unassuming nice guy but prepares on the red line every time he takes the field.”
Fitzgibbon said Finucane is no different off the field.
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“I sit in my office (and) he charges through – he even walks through the door with an intensity.”
Meanwhile, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said Josh Addo-Carr was almost cleared to play against the Sharks.
The “Foxx” initially believed he may have suffered a broken collarbone in the season-opener against the Eels, before he was cleared by scans. An AC joint injury is believed to be the culprit.
Ciraldo revealed Addo-Carr had even been visiting the team physio’s home at nights in a bid to be fit to face the Sharks. He was named on the Bulldogs extended bench on Tuesday.
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“He’s done everything possible,” he said. “He’s worked 24/7 with the physios to get himself ready but he’s come up a bit short.
“I’m really impressed with not only what he’s done in the preseason, but just this week, going and doing physio around the clock, at night at the physio’s house, ticking every box possible, showing what a professional looks like.”
Addo-Carr switched to a meat-only diet in the off season, and has been putting in extra gym sessions. Ciraldo said he’s put on an extra five kilos and was also “a hell of a lot fitter”.
Ciraldo said Addo-Carr would play in round three against the Titans.
