Braith Anasta and Michael Ennis have weighed in on Josh Morris’ future at the Sharks the reason he wants out.

The duo got together on Fox League’s Countdown to 2020 podcast this week with Anasta saying the Sharks had “lost their DNA,” and “the ship is kind of sinking” while suggesting that might be why Morris wants to switch to the Roosers.

Morris joined the Sharks in 2019 on a two-year contract but requested a release from the final year to join his twin brother, Brett at the Roosters.

LIVE stream St Helens v Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Round 19

Although Morris has maintained that the main reason he wants to jump ship to the Roosters is to be with Brett, Anasta sees another motive too.

“I’m looking from the outside in and I’m looking at Josh Morris who has seen it all. I think the Sharks are struggling,” Anasta said to Ennis on the Countdown to 2020 podcast.

“They look like they’ve lost their DNA, they’re not the side they were when you were playing there.”

Anasta put the reason down to the Sharks bidding goodbye to a number of workhorse players – including Ennis – that helped the club win its first premiership in 2016 and are now relying on players with injury and inconsistency issues to lead the way.

“They’ve lost that aura, they’ve lost that consistency, that ruthlessness.

“You just knew what you were going to get out of yourself, Paul Gallen, Luke Lewis, (Matt) Prior’s gone, these guys just turned up every week but they’ve lost that and maybe Josh Morris is seeing that and he’s seeing the temperamental side that he has around him.

“This mix of young guys with the world at their feet but also the likes of Dugan, which you never know what you’re going to get, the Shaun Johnson who can be the best player in the world but then the next day you wouldn’t know he’s on the field.”

Morris is yet to win a premiership, while his brother was part of last year’s premiership-winning Roosters side and Anasta said the chance of success could also be luring the veteran centre to the East.

“If I’m Josh I’m thinking if I go to the Roosters I can win a premiership.

“He’s thinking I can win a premiership at the Roosters. I can stay here, but I feel like the ship is kind of sinking and I don’t want to go down with it.”

Anasta’s bold take on the team has come from rumblings of unsettlement at the club.

“It could be a bit harsh.

“I’m hearing rumours about the unrested board level out there, I’m really hearing a lot going on and I don’t like it. I think they’re going to struggle this year and maybe Josh is thinking the same.”

Having played with Morris for six years at the Bulldogs, Ennis understands his wish to reunite and finish his career off with his brother.

“It’s such a unique one because I’ve got a brother and I would have loved to have played footy with him. I know how close they are, I was lucky enough to play with Josh and the bond that family share, they’re a really tight family so I get it, I understand it,” Ennis said on Fox League’s Countdown to 2020 podcast.

MORE NRL NEWS

NRL TRIAL TEAMS: New-look Broncos halves, Foran’s replacement named

WILD RIDE: Latrell has had a crazy 12 months. His brothers helped him through

EXILE FILES: Folau vs SBW clash set for blockbuster billing

However he believes the club cannot lose a player like Morris who has 286 NRL games under his belt and a decorated representative career.

“When you look at this Cronulla Sharks side and you think of the Cronulla Sharks of the last few years, you say Matt Moylan, Shaun Johnson and Josh Dugan and then you say Josh Morris.

“Then if you’re coaching the Sharks, Moylan’s had enormous injuries, his body has let him down and has struggled to find any consistent time on the park.

“Johnson has had a career that’s been littered with highlights but a lot of inconsistency and there’s a lot of grey cloud surrounding Dugan at the moment in terms of his future at Cronulla and where that sits.

“So you try and sell that to the members and fans and to a young coach that wants to establish himself that they can let a Josh Morris go, they can’t do it.”

If Morris stays at Cronulla, the signing of centre Jesse Ramien could push him out to the wing, or potentially to fullback to cover the injured Matt Moylan.

Moylan – who’s had a shocking run of injuries – only played 11 games last season and faces an uphill battle to be 100-per-cent fit for Round 1.

“I’ve probably heard the same as you that (Moylan’s) battled through the summer with injury. Some say hamstring, some say calf so it’s really concerning,” Ennis said to Anasta.

“He’s on good money down there at Cronulla, he’s a marquee player and you need so much from your marquee player.”

While Moylan has been riddled with injuries since joining the Sharks in 2018, Ennis called on the 28-year-old to step up to be the superstar player the club thought they had invested in.

“When you sign a marquee player you’ve got to get so much more contribution on the field.

“Let’s say you sign them for $800k, $500k needs to be for that contribution on the field but the other $300k has to be for what they contribute in terms of making the place better and the example they set for the young blokes coming through.

“That’s where Matt’s got to get too. He’s got to start to lead the way in that area and find that professionalism to be able to get his body right.

“I know at times things are out of your control but I just see Matty Moylan as that loveable character, the larrikin with so much potential but I want to see him take that next step – being a marquee bloke at Cronulla.

“He really needs to step up that leadership now that blokes like Gallen, Prior and Lewis have parted.”