The early '90s were a challenging period for the Cronulla Sharks.
The 1988 minor premiership, followed by a commendable fifth-place finish the following season, had the black, white and blue army hopeful Harold Holt's return was imminent.
History however reflects this wasn't the case. In fact, from 1990 to 1993, the highest Cronulla managed to finish on the premiership ladder was 10th (1990 and 1991).
The retirement of beloved club icons Gavin Miller and David Hatch, along with the departure of coach Alan Fitzgibbon and the brief tenure of Immortal Arthur Beetson, all contributed to the challenges the team faced during that period.
In 1994, the arrival of former Queensland and Australian hooker John Lang as head coach injected a sense of renewed optimism. Lang's recruitment drive, which included securing talents like Paul Green, sparked hope for a revival.
The first-grade side finished a respectable seventh that season in a sixteen-team competition. However, the next generation, a young crop of bright, brash and talented footballers, were making their way through the lower grades.
In 1994, both the reserve grade and Presidents Cup sides, chock-full of local and emerging talent, completed a lap of honour on the final weekend in September.
By the time 1995 rolled around the Shire was abuzz. David Middleton's 1994 Rugby League Annual reads: "Cronulla's players realise it's time to stand up and be counted in 1995. Outstanding growth off the field, premiership success in both lower grades and rapid development of the club's talented youngsters have placed the Sharks in one of the most promising positions in their history."
During this week in 1995, that talent was on show when the Sharks inflicted the newly formed Western Reds their first-ever defeat in the quarter final of the Tooheys Challenge.
The pre-season tournament, featuring all ARL sides, was played across a number of regional locations throughout NSW. Those old enough to remember the 1979 Amco Cup victory may not realise, but the 1995 Tooheys Challenge was a reincarnation of this mid-week competition.
Cronulla's journey commenced the week prior when they tackled the newly named Sydney Tigers (formerly Balmain). The Sharks won this match 18-10, catapulting them straight into the quarter finals against the new kids on the block, the Western Reds.
The Reds on the other hand were first-start winners over the South Sydney Rabbitohs 19-14.
Played during this week (17th February) in 1995, before 7,000 fans at Varley Park in Inverell, the new-look Sharks were far too good for the competition's newcomers.
Captained by club Immortal Andrew Ettingshausen, the side featured a heap of rookies who had made the transition over the off season into the first-grade side. From the all-conquering 1994 Presidents Cup Side, the team that night included David Peachey, Mat Rogers, Adam Ritson and Andrew Pierce.
The Reds weren't without their own stars, their side featuring former Dragons Brad Mackay and Mick Potter, firebrand Mark Geyer and former Tigers and Wallaby flyer James Grant.
The heavily one-sided affair was never in doubt, with the Sharks leading 18-0 at the halftime break. The Reds scored late in the game but were never in the hunt, the eventual score being 18-4.
The try scorers on that night for the Sharks were Andrew Ettingshausen, Geoff Bell and Adam Ritson. Future dual international Mat Rogers kicked three goals.
The semi final, played a week later in West Wyalong in the south-west of NSW, was a ding dong battle against premiership heavyweights the Sydney Bulldogs. The game was marred by the sending off of Bulldogs legend Terry Lamb by rookie referee Steve Clark late in the match. The young Sharks held on to snatch a 12-6 victory.
Unfortunately, Cronulla were beaten soundly in the final by the Brisbane Broncos featuring a host of state and national representatives. But the Sharks' performance in the tournament was enough to show that in 1995 they were a genuine premiership threat and earn them a hefty $130,000 runners-up cheque.
Interestingly, in that tournament the Sharks wore for the first time the now-iconic 'diagonal' jersey. Aptly named, as the traditional horizontal bars that ran across the chest of the jersey had been rotated to run from the top of the shoulder diagonally across the front of the jersey.
Even more interesting is that in its first two showings, the 1995 Nissan Sevens and the Tooheys Challenge, the jersey was a teal colour - greener than the usual Sharkie blue.
For reasons unknown and not documented, by the time the first-round fixture came around of the Winfield Cup, the club had changed the colours of both the jersey and socks to the more traditional sky blue which they wore for the remainder of the season.
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