Veteran Cronulla captain Paul Gallen insists John Morris ‘is the boss’ amid concerns the rookie coach could struggle to assert his authority over a veteran Sharks side bulging with massive personalities and representative stars.
Morris, 38, was on Friday confirmed as Shane Flanagan’s replacement at The Shire club on a three-year deal.
The rookie coach played five seasons of his 300-game NRL career alongside Gallen, who is almost exactly one year younger than his new boss.
But the veteran forward is adamant he and fellow high-profile Sharks - Andrew Fifita, Josh Dugan, Matt Moylan, Wade Graham and new recruit Shaun Johnson - will happily take orders from Morris.
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“From my point view I’m the captain of the club and I have the attitude that the coach is the boss,” Gallen told Wide World of Sports.
“… The fact that John’s played with us before, the fact that we have big personalities, I don’t have any fears that John can’t get the best out of this group.”
Morris made his NRL debut for the Newcastle Knights in 2001 and had stints at the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers before ending his career with 105 appearances for the Sharks.
The unassuming hooker played two representative games for Country Origin but did not reach the heights of many of the current Sharks stars as a player.
