CRONULLA coach Shane Flanagan is grooming one Dally M Medal winner to replace another in efforts to turn the embattled NRL club’s fortunes around.

Former Canterbury and Brisbane star Ben Barba will play at five-eighth in his maiden season with the Sharks, replacing exiled No. 6 Todd Carney, who was axed from the club last year.

Flanagan is rolling the dice again with another infamous playmaker whose off-field antics could make or break the club.

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The 2014 wooden spooners hope to make a fresh start this season after being embroiled in a two-year drugs scandal.

Barba, too, will be hoping to lift his game after a sub-par start with the Broncos that left him cut by returning coach Wayne Bennett one season into a three-year deal.

The 25-year-old made a name for himself at fullback during his six-year stint at the Bulldogs but, with Michael Gordon firmly entrenched in the Sharks’ No. 1 jersey, Flanagan said Barba’s position was set.

“He’ll start at No.6. We’ll change our game a little bit to adapt to Benny’s style,” he told Sydney radio on Friday. Flanagan admits he’s got several new players in vital positions that will need to work on cohesion ahead of round one in March. “I’ve got some ball-playing back-rowers that’ll take a little bit of that No. 6-type play off (Barba’s) shoulders.

“It’s just developing at the moment — the more games we play the better Benny will get.”

In 2013, the NRL suspended Flanagan for 12 months and the club was fined $1 million after an investigation into the Sharks’ supplements program.

His return to the role was marred last November when he stormed out of a press conference after being questioned about the ASADA doping scandal.

“I’ve answered most of those questions numerous times. I probably wasn’t prepared that day but I learned a really good lesson,” Flanagan said.

“We’re not talking about it. We’ve moved forward, we’ve changed.”

His main focus now is helping Barba recapture the 2012 magic that won him the Dally M Medal.

Flanagan said he’d recruited aggressively and also picked up some terrific young talent, particularly backs like NSW under-20s and Junior Kangaroos utility Jack Bird.

“They’ve played before their time, and a lot of those blokes have really developed in the off-season,” he said.

Bird is almost certain to make his Cronulla debut in the Auckland Nines tournament, which runs from January 31 to February 1.