Wilkommen bei den Schatten » he worked harder this year than ever before,

Andrew Fifita was emotionally wrecked leading into the grand final with the threat of expulsion from the NRL hanging over the Cronulla prop.Revelations of Fifitas support of convicted one-punch killer Kieran Loveridge, a childhood friend, sparked an on-going investigation by the NRL integrity unit in September.But, according to grand final heros representatives, his treatment by the league officials left him reeling in the weeks before into the Sharks historic premiership victory.They have thrown him under a bus, put it in reverse and then gone over him again, his management company I.Am.Global told Fairfax Media in a statement.Leading into the grand final, Andrew was not in a good head space.He was told his contract could be ripped up, was panicking and went into a bit of depression.It didnt show because he played so well, but he was emotionally wrecked up until the grand final.The Cronulla powerhouse was excluded from the Kangaroos Four Nations squad due to his off-field issues.He was also snubbed for the Clive Churchill medal despite starring in the grand final with a match-winning try.Had he won the prestigious award, he would have given it to his biggest inspiration, now-retired Sharks captain Michael Ennis, according to Fifitas management.His management also accused officials of failing to meet with Fifita when he reached out to the NRL, and he was disappointed Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant called for him to start behaving like an adult.But he wants closure over the saga.The 27-year-old prop forward reportedly considered offers to play in either the English Super League or French rugby next year, but that was a worst-case scenario.He has never wanted to leave rugby league or Cronulla, the statement said.It was only that it appeared his contract would be ripped up that he had to consider plan B.It had nothing to do with the Clive Churchill medal or his omission from the Kangaroos squad.We have had to consider other things but only in case he loses his registration. 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Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. NAPA, Calif. -- Dustin Johnsons first major was only part of a dream season that culminated with the PGA Tour player of the year award on Tuesday.Johnson made it a clean sweep of the tours biggest honors that are named after its most prominent players. He won the Jack Nicklaus Award as player of the year, the Arnold Palmer Award for leading the money list and the Byron Nelson Award for having the lowest adjusted scoring average.I dont even know if I dreamed this would be happening, Johnson said.Johnson previously won the PGA of Americas points-based award as player of the year and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.The PGA Tour award is a vote of the players, and Johnson said he didnt even vote.That didnt matter. While the PGA Tour does not disclose vote totals, no one could match the year Johnson had.The 32-year-old American ended his string of disappointment in the majors by winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont under extraordinary circumstances. Because of the USGAs indecision over a potential rules violation, Johnson played the final seven holes not knowing if he would be penalized, and he made sure it didnt make a difference.He followed that up with by winning a World Golf Championship two weeks later at Firestone, and he won the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick. The only disappointment was losing the lead at the Tour Championship and losing the FedEx Cup when Rory McIlroy won at East Lake.Even so, Johnson established himself as a threat nearly every week. He finished out of the top 10 in oonly seven of his 21 starts on the PGA Tour this year.dddddddddddd He won the money list with over $9.3 million and his performance in the final three FedEx Cup events -- 10 of his last 12 rounds were in the 60s -- allowed him to pull away from Jason Day, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth to post the lowest scoring average.Johnson said he worked harder this year than ever before, but not too hard. On a scale of 1 to 10, he measured his work ethic at a 7+, compared with about a 5 in previous years.Theres still room to work harder, but Im at a level that works best for me so I dont get too burned out, he said. I feel like Im putting in enough quality work that works for my mentality so Im not overdoing it.The key moment for Johnson this year came on a rainy Wednesday after the pro-am at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. Instead of ducking into the clubhouse for lunch, he headed for the range and began working for the first time with TrackMan, a device using radar technology that allows a player to get dialed in on every aspect of his game. Johnson used it only for his wedges.By years end, he was in the top five in driving distance and proximity to the hole from 50 yards to 125 yards. The last player to do that was Tiger Woods in 2005.Knowing the work Im putting in is working drives me to work harder, it makes me more driven to be better, Johnson said. Thats what gives me confidence. ' ' '