SPORT Sharks’ grassroots focus

GORDON Hounslow has taken on the Northern Sharks’ presidency with a plan to set up the club’s longterm future.

The life member replaces Ngaire Aukino for the upcoming NRL NT season — one which will see the Palmerston-based outfit focus on its grassroots.

Hounslow said Aukino brought bucketloads of “pas- sion and commitment” to the role over a four-year tenure, which included consecutive A-grade premierships in 2016 and 2017.

That success came with a squad of mainly fly-in, fly-out players, which was decimated last year due to the winding down of construction at the Inpex gas project.

The new president said his main focus would be getting local people back to the club, with former under-18s boss Paul “PD” Downes to coach A-grade.

“We really want to concentrate on bringing back the local people, engaging as many of them as we can and transitioning our juniors through to seniors,” he said.

“PD is well known and well respected by the players coming through, who we want to filter into A-grade.”

Hounslow said the Sharks may be forced to field just the one senior side in 2019 as they rebuild.

“We’ll make a decision closer to the start of the competition, but we are not going to make the guys play two games each week like they did last year,” Hounslow said.

“The majority of the players at our club play both union and league.

“Rugby union starts in February, so our boys are there. Rugby league really needs to push its season back to accommodate that.”

With the Sharks putting an emphasis back on to its local talent, the remaining puzzle ground.

Hounslow said finding a base was his number one offfield target.

“My goal to move us forward into the future includes finding our own space, a block of land that we can try to build on,” he said.

“We need to establish ourselves and accumulate enough money to purchase our own spot and build something there.” piece is a home