It is a "privilege" for Craig Fitzgibbon to coach Cronulla's odd couple of wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Sione Katoa, who have officially entered rarefied air with their try-scoring feats.
When Mulitalo crossed for his 90th career try against South Sydney last week, the two Sharks became the most prolific duo of starting wingers since the State of Origin era began in 1980.
Katoa and Mulitalo now have 126 tries between them in the 89 games they have started on the wings together, moving past James McManus and Akuila Uate, who scored 125 times across 104 games at Newcastle.
Mulitalo also has the chance to become the first player in NRL history to score in seven consecutive matches against North Queensland, when the Sharks host the Cowboys on Sunday.
It's been a down year for Mulitalo and Katoa in terms of scoring, the latter's long-term shoulder injury partly to blame for their combined haul of only 10 tries in 2025.
But Fitzgibbon felt the pair's influence on the Sharks extended beyond the score sheet, with both men averaging more run metres in 2025 than any previous year of their careers.
"We're probably a little bit down on tries for a wingers at the moment but they're two out-and-out performers," the Sharks coach said.
"Take the try-scoring feats out of it, the way they play, the way they carry out of the back-field and defend, the way they do their job for the team. They're so important to us.
"They're such energy providers for the rest of the guys. It's a privilege to be able to coach those two."
The two wingers have become good mates since Parramatta junior Katoa arrived at Cronulla to play U20s in 2017, but the pair could hardly be more different.
Mulitalo has a reputation as one of the NRL's most extroverted characters and was quick to start conversation with Tyrese Proctor when the NBA draftee visited Sharks training this week.
Katoa is more softly-spoken by nature, fond of a quiet afternoon of fishing out on the water.
"We're close, me and Ronnie, but we're both different people," Katoa told AAP.
"He's more loud and I like to be a bit quiet sometimes. But I can be loud when I'm around the boys.
"I love the way he chases the kicks, it just gives me a lot of energy. He goes hard, I love it."
Katoa is relishing being on the park with top-four hopefuls Cronulla after his shoulder injury sidelined him from the Las Vegas season opener until round 14.
"I was away for a long time, the longest I've been away from footy," Katoa said.
"But I just wanted to get back into it and have fun again and find where I was having fun, whether it was at training with the boys or scoring tries, chasing kicks."
