Sharkies Leagues Club
The Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club is known as Sharkies, and is located on Captain Cook Drive at Woolooware. The leagues club sits beside the Cronulla Sutherland home ground, Endeavour Field.
Proposals to develop the land assets of the Leagues Club which owns the stadium and land around Endeavour Field stumbled for many years prior to arrival of renowned businessman Damian Irvine. In partnership with his head of finance Craig Douglas the plans finally became more tangible, as details of a residential and shopping centre were released. In August 2012, the club received final approval for their plans solving a 40-year-old problem of financial instability.
In an opportunistic political grab amongst the publicity surrounding Coach Shane Flanagans supplement scandal, Irvine and Douglas were replaced after their resignations in early 2013 by a local junior rugby league club ticket. The ticket used the shamed coaches' popularity to garner public support over the two men who are credited with saving the clubs life in 2009-2013. Ex basketball player Damian Keogh was used as a high-profile chairman however he lacked knowledge of history with the club. Since the departure of Irvine and Douglas the Club has floundered from one disaster to another with player sackings, suspect refinancing deals, governance issues, poor media relations and perception, and finishing last in the league for the first time in decades.
Only the arrival of respected CEO Lyall Gordon has seen 2016 be a watershed year off and on-field for the Sharks.[1][2]