Swapping the grim north west of England for a return to the NRL and Sydney's sunny south should have been the perfect move for Cronulla halfback Trent Barrett last year.

However, a long, miserable campaign littered with dramas off the field, defeats on it and a casualty list that would have seemed far fetched in an episode of ER, left Barrett wondering why he'd left the stability of English giants Wigan for the chaos of Toyota Stadium.

Fortunately, he says things are looking more promising going into the 2010 season.

"I think we were all sitting in those dressing sheds last season thinking `what have we done', it was a hard year there is no denying that," said Barrett on Tuesday.

"It was a surreal year and there were a lot of things out of our control.

"But this year we have a new sponsor, new jersey, new players and we have put 2009 behind us."

The season start provides a huge test for the Sharks, who host premiers Melbourne on Saturday.

But skipper Barrett has welcomed the challenge as an opportunity to re-energise the club and banish the memories of last year.

"It is a good time for us to play them first up, if we can beat them or put up a real good showing the club can get a lot of confidence and maybe gain some momentum early in the year," Barrett said.

"That would be a massive boost for everyone at the club on and off the field."

The Sharks only avoided the wooden spoon last year by virtue of a better points differential than Sydney Roosters.

"It's not nice to be tagged as wooden spoon contenders but we need a bit of luck and after what happened last year hopefully we get a bit of luck on good fortune and keep everybody fit," he said.

"Although we did it tough last season, we were competitive throughout the season and no-one ran over us and that gives you hope. We want to create a winning culture here for our young guys to enjoy."

One of those young guns that Barrett has high hopes for is winger Blake Ferguson, whose performances in 2009 were one of the few bright spots for the Sharks.

"Blake showed in the All Stars game he didn't look out of place and he will be better for the experience he gained last season," he said.

"There are also blokes here like Albert Kelly and Ike Gordon are great talents who will go well this season."

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