"They (Penrith) are a team in the middle of a dynasty. We're a team in the middle of development," sighed the coach.
On Saturday night, as his side's season was ended with a 26-6 preliminary-final loss to Penrith, it showed all too clearly.
Headed into Accor Stadium clash, Penrith had 77 matches of preliminary and grand-final experience in their side.
Cronulla had just five.
And the Panthers' experience in State of Origins dwarfed Cronulla's, to the lopsided tally of 64 to 5.
Cronulla were gallant, and arguably better than they ever have been against the dominant force that is Penrith over the past five years.
But, ultimately, in the moments that mattered, experience showed.
Sharks players gather in a huddle after their hard-fought loss to Penrith. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
The Sharks were guilty of pushing passes, trying to shift the ball at the wrong times and missing chances.
Centre Kayal Iro spilled the ball on Cronulla's first real attacking raid, and Braydon Trindall on their only one of the first half.
Penrith, in comparison, needed only one opportunity to land their first blow.
After Nathan Cleary nailed an early 40-20 to put Penrith on the attack, the halfback put on a clinic.
The Panthers drew defenders to the right with two hit ups, he hit Paul Alamoti with a face ball and put the left centre through a hole to score.
More Sharks' errors came in the second half on attack, most notably when Ronaldo Mulitalo put the ball down early in an attacking set.
And while Cronulla were able to get back to 10-6 down with a miraculous Sione Katoa put down, again Penrith showed they don't need two invitations.
Katoa the acrobat! 🙌— NRL (@NRL) #NRLFinals pic.twitter.com/r9jIv8XkszSeptember 28, 2024
With the game in the balance, Nicho Hynes put a ball out in front of Oregon Kaufusi just as Cronulla passed halfway and the prop put it down on the fourth tackle.
That allowed Penrith to stretch the Sharks on the left, before Cleary again kicked into acres of open space out wide on the right for Brian To'o to score untouched.
From then, the game was as good as done and Penrith's spot in the grand final against Melbourne booked.
"I've been weighing it up in my mind about how pleased with a lot of things I am," Fitzgibbon said.
"But I just hate losing. And the way we did that was tough."
Cronulla, for their part, took another step this season.
They can no longer be known as a team who beat up on lower-ranked sides, and proved they can compete with the big boys.
But what they do with the experience of 2024 now looms as crucial, in a squad that has largely been together for five seasons.
"The good part of where we are at is I don't see that we have to change everything," Fitzgibbon said.
"We just got a lesson that there is a level (we have to get to)."
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