Key losses put bite on Sharks’ flag run
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SOUTHPORT Sharks premiership hopes have taken a hit with two of the club’s best players out for the season.
First-choice ruckman Fraser Thurlow, who was put on the radar of recruiters by AFL legend Paul Roos while talking on Fox Footy’s On The Couch program, won’t return to the Sharks after securing a job overseas.
Southport were hopeful Thurlow would return in time for the finals after dominating earlier this season but will be forced to press on without him.
The Sharks will also be without forward Charlie Ford who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament. He is booked to undergo surgery next week.
Southport sit third on a congested ladder going into today’s clash with competition leaders Canberra, to be held at Fankhauser Reserve.
A win could potentially lift Southport back into first while a loss could see them slip as low as sixth.
Southport coach Stephen Daniel said Jed Turner and Josh Hall had to take on more responsibility in Thurlow’s absence and despite losing the past two games by a collective margin of just 19 points, every game was now critical to their title hopes.
“One glaring omission is Fraser Thurlow who is leaving,” Daniel said. “He is arguably one of the best ruckman in the competition. That has certainly thrown a couple of different things at us.
“We are looking forward to it. The last couple of games we have just fallen a little bit short.
“We have certainly been playing some good footy but unfortunately not good enough to get us over the line.”