NRL: Sharkies coach has glowing praise for lesser lights

Wade Graham of the Sharks celebrates after scoring a try. Photo / Getty Images

Ask Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan who's behind the Sharks' spectacular NRL revival and he won't say Paul Gallen or Todd Carney.

No, Flanagan will credit unsung heroes such as journeyman centre Colin Best, no-frills halfback Jeff Robson, unheralded back-rower Jason Bukuya and comeback hooker Isaac De Gois for helping transform the Sharks from wooden spoon candidates to surprise 2012 title contenders.

Flanagan accepts Gallen remains Cronulla's "rock" and that Carney has added the necessary attacking polish since arriving this season to resurrect his own career.

"But it's not just a one-man team any more," Flanagan said as the Sharks look to extend their decade-best winning streak to seven matches with victory over Souths on Monday night.

"The big important thing - and Gal recognises this now - is that it's not about Paul Gallen any more; he's just part of a team.

"Last year it was basically all about him. We needed Gal to do something, we needed him to create something at times. He was the centrepiece of our team.

"He's still a big part of it, but we've got some other people who are contributing really well."

Proof that the Sharks have success stories across the park can be found in statistics revealing not only Gallen as topping the NRL for hit-ups, metres gained and offloads.

Best and his oft-maligned centre partner Ben Pomeroy also feature in the top 10 for offloads, while Bukuya ranks first among NRL forwards for tackle breaks, ahead of Gallen.

"Stats can be manipulated in whatever way you want but, if you go back to last year, we would have only had Paul Gallen in any kind of stat in the top 20," Flanagan said. "If we're going to be in the top four and top eight at the end of the year, we need to have a lot of players in different categories."

- AAP