With a NSW centre spot up for grabs in Origin Two, powerhouse Shark Jesse Ramien ensured he'd be well and truly in the mix with 195 run metres and two tackle breaks against the Broncos.
The Sharks bounced back after consecutive losses to the Eels and Panthers to roll the Broncos 22-12 at Suncorp Stadium, with with Ramien saying his side had learnt from ‘a tough two weeks’.
“We really knuckled down this week… I thought we did what we needed to do; we came up here and we did the job,” Ramien said.
“We started off the year well, and then those two performances, it just wasn't good enough.
“We took what we could out of those losses. We obviously know it's not us, and it's a bit of a cliché, but we did dissect it and we worked out what we did wrong and what we did well as well, so we took the best and the worst of it and we worked on what we needed to work on and then we also improved on the good as well.
Braydon Trindall Try
“I thought we did that well (against Brisbane). Our defence went a long way to winning that game.
“I think it's proven that the top defensive sides are always the ones around the top of the ladder at the end of the year, so that's where we want to be this year.”
Led by a huge effort from Cameron McInnes, who backed up three days after making his Origin debut, Ramien told NRL.com he was inspired by his captain’s performance and also shared his dream to feature in a Blues jersey.
“I thought Cam was massive, it's never easy having a short turnaround in general, let alone playing Origin on Wednesday night,” Ramien said.
“A physical game as it was for him to turn around and play (tonight) and to put in a performance like he did; it's massive and it shows what kind of person and what kind of player and teammate he is.
“It would be a dream come true for me to put on that Blues jersey, but that just comes off the back of playing good for your club.
“I just want to control what I can control and put my best foot forward for Cronulla and if it happens, it happens."
With a handful of players involved in the Origin series already, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said Ramien could take the rise to that level in his stride if called upon to replace the suspended Joseph Su'aal'i for Game Two.
Jesse Ramien Try
“He's been really consistent this year, Jesse, so I don't think he would be (out of place),” Fitzgibbon said.
“There's a lot of good candidates there, (but) he’s played at the level he has all year, to be honest, he's been really good.
“I'd love to see him get a crack, but again, you have got to respect the selection process.
“There's plenty of good candidates there, but it'd be awesome for him.”
Currently sitting second on the ladder, Cronulla have for the most part silenced critics who thought they could not win against top-eight opposition, having recently downed the Storm, Roosters, Raiders and Brisbane.
“I definitely think the most connected teams are the ones who do the best in the league,” Ramien said.
“We've got a real group of others here, not only do we enjoy each other's company at training, we love linking up outside of training too, whether that be coffees, feeds.
“Over the last couple of years, we've definitely got a lot closer as a whole group for sure.”
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