Tim Smith gives Sharks stability: Morris
Stability may not be the first word you think of when it comes to Tim Smith's rugby league career - but that's just what the Cronulla recruit has delivered in just one week at the Sharks.
That's the opinion of Cronulla hooker John Morris, who credited his former Parramatta teammate for instilling belief and confidence in a group which had gone almost nine months without a win.
That drought was broken in Smith's Cronulla debut against Parramatta last weekend, and Morris claims the 25-year-old and the Sharks will only get better for the run.
"A bit of stability," Morris said when asked what quality Smith had brought to the club.
"It's allowed blokes like Trent (skipper Trent Barrett) and Paul Gallen to be a bit more relaxed about playing their own game.
"In one week of training the side felt completely different.
"It was a tough game for a half to play in the other night with the conditions and Timmy's going to get a lot, lot better, but in that one week I thought the team just gelled a bit better. We're more confident about what we're doing on the field, we hung onto the ball a bit better ... just the little things that are important at this level that we struggled with the first three rounds."
Smith was given the afternoon off training on Wednesday as he continued to deal with his move to Sydney from the Gold Coast.
He is currently living with Morris, who said he had noticed a big change from the player who quit the Eels in 2008 due to struggles with bi-polar disorder.
"We had a bit of a chuckle that we're both in Sharks colours where a few years back we were in the same team at Parra - it's funny how your worlds collide again," Morris said.
"It's been good to have him back around the place - he's really matured a lot, he's really enthusiastic, his attitude's great with his footy and he's raring to go."
So too are the Sharks, with Morris saying the squad was desperate not to undo the good work of last week's win with a poor performance against Manly at Brookvale on Sunday.
"It's important we don't take the foot off the pedal with our preparation.
"I've seen it before where you're really struggling and you get that win then all of a sudden you relax a bit and then you're back to square one.
"Ricky (coach Ricky Stuart) been really hard on us with our attitude towards this week's training."
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