If the city of Newcastle walked up to the bathroom mirror on Sunday morning, and gazed upon its reflection, what would it see?
asserted
it → walk → what
Staring back would be a man in a mullet, the blonde tips immediately visible
asserted
tips → star → mullet
He’d own a greyhound and have done a stint as a plumber.
asserted
He → own → plumber
He’d play cricket in summer and footy in winter (for the Cessnock Goannas).
asserted
He → play → Goannas
And when walking – no, bounding – around the working-class town he proudly calls home, sporting a grin from ear to ear that screams to the world: “How bloody good is life?”
asserted
life → walk → world
That face in the mirror belongs to Fletcher Sharpe.
asserted
face → belong → Sharpe
If there is a more Newcastle man in Newcastle, we are yet to find him.
asserted
we → be → him
“Being born and bred out in Cessnock and growing up here, this is your hometown team,” Sharpe says.
asserted
Sharpe → bear → Cessnock
That town is buzzing at the moment; they’re all Newy fans out there.
asserted
they → buzz → moment
It’s super cool just walking around town.
asserted
It → ’ → town
You can be stopped at a traffic light or walking through the street, and people are yelling out ‘Up the Knights’ and ‘Go Newy’.
asserted
people → stop → Newy
It’s just super cool.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
That’s the name of Sharpe’s greyhound.
asserted
That → ’ → greyhound
It’s had 47 starts, for 10 wins and $29,360 in prize money.
asserted
It → have → money
It’s also a nod to his mullet, one that has become ubiquitous in Newcastle.
asserted
that → ’ → Newcastle
At Wednesday’s open Knights training session at McDonald Jones Stadium, more than 12,000 fans poured in to honour their grand final heroes.
asserted
fans → pour → heroes
We lost count of how many of them paid homage to Fletcher with their own Cessnock Curtains.
asserted
many → lose → Curtains
“It’s super cool when you see the young fellas come up to you and say, ‘I’ve got a haircut like you’.
asserted
I → ’ → you
It gives you a good feel,” Sharpe says.
asserted
Sharpe → give → feel
I’ve been rocking it for a while now, and I reckon I’d look weird without one, so it might be sticking around for a bit.”
uncertain
it → rock → bit
When Alex McKinnon first laid eyes on Sharpe as a 16-year-old, he couldn’t envisage the superstar he was to become.
asserted
he → lay → superstar
McKinnon, working as a Knights recruiter at the time, saw a halfback as lean as the greyhound he now owns, just when the club’s Harold Matthews team needed one.
asserted
team → work → one
The first contract the youngster signed was for $1000.
asserted
youngster → sign → 1000
“I can honestly say the first time I watched him play, I didn’t think he could do this.
uncertain
he → say → this
,” McKinnon reflects.
asserted
McKinnon → reflect → ?
“They ended up picking him at fullback, and he hasn’t looked back.
asserted
he → end → fullback
I never envisioned what he does now from what I saw when I first watched him, not at all.
asserted
I → envision → him
”
What he does now, no other player can do.
asserted
player → do → What
Sharpe can run around a defender.
asserted
Sharpe → run → defender
On occasion, he’s even been known to hurdle over them.
asserted
he → know → them
These are skills that can’t be taught.
asserted
that → teach → ?
He’s what the purists call a “pure footballer”, capable of affecting the result regardless of the number on his back.
asserted
purists → ’ → back
“He creates like no one else can,” says McKinnon, who believes the 22-year-old should be picked for Australia’s World Cup campaign.
asserted
old → create → campaign
“He has great speed, a real X-factor.
asserted
He → have → speed
“He can play wing, he can play centre, he can play five-eighth, he can play fullback, and you can play him in the middle if you really want to.
asserted
you → play → to
He has that personality that’s able to adapt to the modern-day game.
asserted
that → have → game
Says current Knights assistant coach Steve Hales: “Absolute knockabout.
asserted
Hales → say → ?
He is one of the most laid-back people off the field, but the most competitive person on it.”
asserted
He → lay → it
You only have to look at the resilience required to come back from a career-threatening injury midway through last year.
asserted
You → have → year
In the clash with the Dolphins in Western Australia, Sharpe suffered a ruptured spleen and lacerated kidney that required immediate surgery.
asserted
that → suffer → surgery
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
