2026 Player Ratings with Josh Bolling

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[00:01:05] Welcome to SharkCast Pod, a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. I'm Sam Shinazzi, OG 2015, 12 seasons of podcasting going into season 13 technically. And we are here to do our annual, traditional, you've come to expect it, most of you have come to love it, player ratings. Where Josh Bolling and I, we go through each player, we give them a score, we talk a bit about them, you can imagine how it's going to go.

[00:01:33] Brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Port Hacking. Jason Hawes at Cripps & Cripps Real Estate, get our coffee from Mr. Paisley's. Josh Bolling, how are you? Welcome back, sir. Yeah, doing good, mate. So, you know, it's the realization that the season is nearly over, starting to kick in one more game left. You know, pretty sad, like it's, what do we do with our lives now? No consistent potting, no footy on the weekend, like, you know, to like talk to my friends and family. You'll be doing more of that, but we will be doing consistent potting.

[00:02:02] So, you know, stick around the SharkCast roster and you'll get a gig, I'm sure. So, SharkCast, definitely be around. I've got some interviews lined up and a bunch of reviews and that kind of stuff. But tonight we're doing playout ratings. There is one more game to go. It should be a hell of a game. What's your quick prediction? Should be. I hope the Knights win. As I'm sure everyone who's not a Roosters fan or a Panthers fan, I guess. But, look, my head says Roosters. My heart says the Knights. I think that'd be a great story.

[00:02:32] One of the myths is getting broken outside of the top four or the 50-point curse. Something's getting broken. So, I would give the Knights a massive chance, though. I mean, the way they're playing, the confidence, they'll have 60% of the crowd there, I'd say. Like, they were snapping up tickets. What about yourself? It's no fluke, man. They're the real deal. Well, I've been saying it since Vegas when you were there watching them.

[00:03:02] The difference between their last couple of games last year and that whole period and under Holbrook in Vegas and on, it was remarkably different. And there was a little hiccup against Manly last regular season round up there, which was quite shocking, to be honest. But perfect final series and they've got a lot going for them. The Chooks have had the easier run in and I don't really mind either way how that works.

[00:03:31] Like, I'm not saying that means they're going to win or lose. But you know the Knights are battle ready. Like, they've been in three really bruising games. And I think it'll be close. And I think that the Roosters' discipline and errors might prove too costly one time. And I'm going Knights probably by four points. It's going to be a tight one. Yeah, I'm expecting a really, like, a classic. Like, that prelim on the weekend was... Yeah.

[00:03:58] You know, the standard wasn't maybe amazing, but just the spectacle and the crowd and the moments. Like, Nathan Cleary, like, damn. Like, that is... That was hard to watch. And I hope he's okay. And I hope he comes back as good as he was before. But, I mean, these injuries are scary, man. Like, you never know how quickly things can turn when you're in the prime of his career. Best player. One of the best players we've ever seen in the sport. Could be taken away from him. I hope that's not the case.

[00:04:27] But he's got a long road ahead of him. Just quietly. I never thought I'd say this. But hell of a bloke. And also, Phoenix Crossland. Hell of a bloke. Like, just two great blokes coming together. Mate, I never rated Phoenix Crossland. I used to, like, bag him and, you know, laugh about his hair and how bad he was. But he's become, like, a serious player. Like, egg on my face. Like, he's been... He's made the most tackles in the NRL by... Like, he made, like, a thousand tackles this year or something.

[00:04:56] I think he might have the most 40-20s or it was close to it a while back. They're going to miss him. That's why I'm a bit hesitant to pick them. But I'm going with them 1-4. We're here to talk about Sharks, though. That's all that matters in our lives. And let's get down to player ratings. I'm going to surprise you, though, Josh. Maybe we'll do it later on. Have a think about it in between. I want to know your... I guess your favorite game, favorite moments, that kind of thing. But we are here more to talk about ratings. So we'll get into that first.

[00:05:26] And if we have time later on, we'll do that. Otherwise, we'll just save it for another episode. How do we usually do it, Josh? Is it out of 5, out of 10, A, B, C, D, E? Maybe remind me. It's numbers, right? Yeah, I think it was... We usually do 10 from memory. Yeah, because I'm a real 7.5 kind of guy, aren't I? I get a lot of stick for that. A lot of stick every year. We'll see what this year brings, though, Josh. You know, buyer beware. I haven't studied what I'm going to give or say, which kind of gets me in a lot of trouble on the pod these days. But that's how I'm flying.

[00:05:54] So it'll be a very natural podcast is what you're going to hear. And I'm looking at the second screen in case you see me go kind of cross-eyed. Josh, let's go with the first player. Will not be a Shark next year. He's going back to Queensland. We're not sure if he's going to continue his long career or if he'll retire. It might depend on opportunities. But that is the 31-year-old hooker, Jaden Beryl.

[00:06:21] He's only played seven NRL games, but four of them were for the Sharks this year. And I'm here to tell you he won all four games. It was round 11, 14, 15, and 18 against Canterbury, the Dragons, the Warriors, infamous game, and Brisbane. So a couple of big wins there. Now, we do have a bit of a common theme where we don't usually judge a guy if he hasn't played too many games per year.

[00:06:50] But it's up to you if you want to give him a ranking or not. I would have thought four games is a bit shallow to do that. But you run with the Josh. You tell us about Jaden Beryl and what you think. Yeah, I think it's hard. Even if you'd played four games and played 80 minutes, it's probably an easy way to judge. But he just, I mean, he might have played 20 minutes each game. I think he was fine. Average half an hour, just for the record. There you go. So I thought he was fine. Like, I think he's serviceable.

[00:07:17] I think for the situations that we needed him is what that type of player is for. I don't think he let us down at all. I don't think he, anytime in these seven games, I don't think he's ever really let us down. It's just, I think he's like a super cup player. And just a guy that, yeah, if you need a couple of weeks for a HIA or someone to come on and do a job for 20, 30 minutes, I'll give him a six. That's a fine job, but nothing that really stood out or anything. Do you think he'll be missed or easily replaced?

[00:07:47] I think a HEPA is the replacement for a few positions. But I think he may be on the bench already next year, but I think he could do the same job and probably a better player. Okay, fair enough. I agree with most of that myself. I think that's super reliable, good club man, trains his butt off. The reliability that he's been there in the few moments we haven't had Blake Braley is pretty cool.

[00:08:16] I don't have his starting year on me, and I don't need to hear it from anyone, but seven NRL games in total in the number he's been there says how reliable Blake Braley is. I do think he'll be missed, but he is replaceable in that position. But I think it's almost been a no-brainer for Fitzy over the years just to go, let's offer Jaden a contract. And he was offered another contract, I have to confirm. He was offered another contract, and he turned it down,

[00:08:45] I think just because the body is sort of giving up. And I think he wants to get back home to Queensland and that kind of thing. So he definitely was wanted, which is quite interesting. And he very respectfully turned it down, very appreciative of the contract. I'm not going to rank him, but I will say that they'll miss his experience and miss his reliability, his toughness. Newtown will definitely miss him. But there are guys like Ohepa and younger guys coming through

[00:09:15] who will be competing for that hooking position over the next few years. We send Jaden lots of respect on that one. Next up, we have one of two players who played all 26 games for the Sharks, or is that correct? Yeah, all 26 games. And that is the runner-up to the Shark Cast Player of the Year. However, he was the Sharks' official player of the year.

[00:09:42] And that is the often talked about on this show, Will Kennedy. Josh, I can tell you that he finished with 21 line break assists, 11 line breaks. He ran for 3,500 meters, scored 11 tries, a lot more stats there if you want them. But Will Kennedy, what did you make of Will Kennedy's year? Yeah, unbelievable, I thought.

[00:10:10] It seems that with Will, anytime you start to doubt him or you think, is there a better, could we get someone better? He pulls out a really good year. And that's been happening for the last few years now. And I thought he was easily our most reliable player. His experience out the back has saved our butts a few times now and continues to just impress and super fit, no nonsense, but has more flair to him than I think he gets credit for.

[00:10:40] I think he does some things that if another player did them, would probably get spoken about a lot more. And I can't see how he doesn't start and probably play out the rest of the year next year, to be honest. I don't think you can drop him. He probably was either my one or two for best player of the year for the club. And his numbers reflect that. I mean, some of his best returns on tries, his best returns on, as you said,

[00:11:10] line break assists, try assists. His meters were up from last year, I believe. And, I mean, basically won us a game in New Zealand off the back of his ridiculous charge down. So I've got to probably give him a nine. And we don't keep our records from the past, but I'm going to say that's probably the highest you've ever given him, which is pretty cool. I could be wrong, but that's pretty gliding. I think it's his best he's ever played this year. I think it was a career year.

[00:11:40] Yeah, I don't disagree with that. But just looking at the number of games he's played over the years, so from 2020 on, he debuted in 2019, but from 2020, 17 games, 2021, 24, and under 50 each year. 19, 19, 26, 27, 26. Second highest try scoring tally for him as well. Defensively a lot more, not so much reliable out the back, but he saved more tries this year than he probably ever has.

[00:12:08] And that was one of the criticisms over the years. The incident, as we call it, in New Zealand, which was, you know, spoiler, my favourite moment of the year, that and the Trindle field goal. The field goal doesn't happen without Kennedy doing that. We probably don't win the game without him doing that. It's only one game, but if you take two points off that ladder, we're falling further down. A very consistent year for him. He, at times, showed a lot of flair at the back,

[00:12:37] doing the little runs with Ronaldo in particular, and sometimes KL. I felt like he was a bit more safer with those crazy passes that he can sometimes do. He still has them in him, but I felt like he played a bit more mature this year. And you're completely right. Like, no one else is starting in that position next year unless he has an injury or something, you know. Liam Eison is the next in line. He's having, sorry, he had an amazing year for Newtown,

[00:13:06] returned from injury, and he's the next guy out. But they're not taking away the player of the year officially from the Sharks in round one to not start. So you can expect Kennedy to be your fullback. I'm with you. I'm going to give him a 9-2. I don't know, I don't think it was a 10 out of 10 year, but it was a very strong year for him. You know, it just continues the debate that we always have. The thesis I'm working on, the Will Kennedy project, even today on our group chat, as you know, Josh,

[00:13:35] we talk about how to make room in the cap, and someone who will remain unnamed, but he's not adverse to having a microphone in his face, he casually said, oh, well, we can get rid of such and such and such and such, and one of the such and such is Will Kennedy. And I went, oh, we're getting rid of the player of the year, are we? That's not how it's going to work. So, and that was in relation to something else. I'm not saying that what he was saying was wrong, but you just continue that talk that Will Kennedy seems to be the easiest guy

[00:14:03] to get rid of, yet he's probably the best this year, or we're saying he's the best. So I don't know why you get rid of your best player in that spine. But anyway, that's a subject for down the track and over summer. But yeah, a great year from Will Kennedy, and congrats on all the accolades he's getting. Interesting, Josh, following some of the social media and that kind of thing, which is always dangerous for their health. The reaction to fans, from fans, like a lot of people on Warby Will Kennedy,

[00:14:30] but there's still some just, they're not going to admit it. They're not going to admit it publicly, at least. There's some people that just can't get over the defensive stuff. And I'm just, like, yeah, there's some tries you absolutely should stop or save or do better at, but, like, that's every fullback. You know, like, you see James Tedesco get run around or miss a tackle, and I'm not saying he's at that caliber of player, but, like, that's the position.

[00:14:59] Like, I just think you can't kind of have your cake and eat it too, and you can't have someone who's reliable and cheap and then complain about we don't have enough gun players because the money's elsewhere. You know, it's just that, like you said, it's an age-old debate of where do you find the money to upgrade him by another $600,000 to get the next player? Can you get them? And where are they? It's never going to end until he's gone. Do you think he will play for another NRL club?

[00:15:28] Where do you think you'll go to the Super League? Or what do you think will happen? If we don't sign him, someone could use him, surely. Like, P&G could come in and go, look, he's $500,000. Can he be a stopgap for a year or two years? You know, Perth, I don't know what their fullback position is. I mean, if someone does a bad injury that's out for a year, then a club might go, like, a paramount might just go, hey, we could use a Will Kennedy for 12 months.

[00:15:54] And then someone will offer him a contract in UK as well. Like, at worst case, someone will offer him a decent coin to go there. I do get the feeling that if Isen has a great year for Newtown next year and is injury-free more or less, I do feel like whatever Kennedy does, they might just sort of pull the plug on it. But I also think that if he's a 9 out of 10 player again and he's been trending that way, that there's no reason to say he won't be,

[00:16:25] there is still a piece of me that kind of goes, they might go one more year and it'll be up to him to go, fellas, it's been real, but this team's offering me three years or whatever. Yeah. We don't know which way it's going to go. So interesting to watch as always. I think, Sam, we also said, I brought up in the group chat earlier today, is that Isen may be the future and he may be a better player and all these things, but are you going to get 26 rounds out of him at that consistency? At worst, a 7 out of 10 every week?

[00:16:53] And it's like, if we bite the bullet and go, okay, it's Isen's gig, and he goes down for six weeks with a hamstring or whatever it is, we're kind of screwed. Yeah. I mean, they'd have plans in place. They might have a soon-to-be Taj Ford sign, but again, you're talking about a young kid coming in, but they are looking to the future, so maybe that's not out of the question. There's a few fullbacks coming through, but yeah, it's a good point.

[00:17:21] Now, I did make a bit of a boo-boo with how we're listing these players. I went alphabetical, but then I went crazy and went Kennedy's number two, so sorry about that. Next up, we have a guy who did make the top five Shark Cast players of the year. He also played at Rep Footy for the first time this year at a senior level, and that is friend and favorite of the show. So Blake Braley played 21 games. It was very bizarre. We saw him injured.

[00:17:51] It was at Shark Park, wasn't it? We were there together? Yeah. No, I wasn't there, but it was against Manly, wasn't it? We tried to put a hit on. Yeah, I can't remember, but I remember seeing it, and it was very bizarre to see him even look like in any kind of pain. It was very unusual, and to his credit, he bounced back real quick, you know, one of the quickest recoveries for a break. He returned to Origin, so am I correct in saying he played Origin 1 and 3? Is that right?

[00:18:20] Yes, I believe so. Something like that. Whatever it was, he lit up Origin. We know that. And it's Blake Braley, of course. So 21 games, not the Ironman this year. First time in a long time. Pretty good year. Pretty good year. There's a few sort of bit of speculation, a bit of theories that he kind of slowed down a bit after Origin, and it affected his sort of run into the finals. Another good year from Braley, that's for sure. What were your thoughts on Blakey? Yeah, I probably agree with those sentiments

[00:18:50] insofar as that I thought his first half of the year was like unbelievable. Unbelievable, like the best he's ever played. And the Origin experience was fantastic in both his Origin games. The broken arm. I wonder if psychologically that did anything to him being like the first time he missed a game in like three or four years. I don't know if that played a part or not. I'm sure it's got to be there somewhere. And the concern about the arm with someone who makes 40 tackles a game. I still thought he had a really strong year.

[00:19:18] I thought it was a great year for his development as a captain and as a leader of the team. I thought this was the first year we really saw that. Like that was one of all my doubts is always like too, maybe too quiet, too timid, too nice of a person to command a team and try and command a ref as well. But I think we saw a great progress. And he's 28 now. He's not 25 anymore. He's starting to... He's into his peak, but he's getting sort of closer to that end

[00:19:48] than the beginning. And I think we want to see, over the next two or three years, we have to see him really put the foot down in his prime and try and snag us a comp. It's funny how he hasn't aged and he probably won't ever age. I can't... Like I'm confirming what you're saying. He's 28 and seven days. Just turned 28. What'd you give him out of 10? I'm going to give him an eight because I saw, I think, the first half of the year really like... This is the first time where the media

[00:20:17] really even stood up and went like, wow, this guy's got to play Origin. He's really good. Yeah. That's something we knew for years. But just at the end of the year, probably left a little... I mean, if he was playing how he was in that first 10, 15 rounds at the end of the year, maybe it's a different story. And to be fair, he created one of the tries that we scored in the final against the Roosters with his great run and offload to Siffer. So it's not like he was terrible or anything. It's just he set the bar so high

[00:20:45] that it was just a little bit of a comedown. So first time since 2020, he's played less than 24 games. So he really is a marathon man for us. And yeah, I thought he was absolutely humming up until that injury. And then some really good Origin game or a good Origin game after that. I think that I was probably looking for a bit more in the finals, especially the Roosters

[00:21:14] where Nico went down early. I mean, he'll learn from that. I noted on one of the shows that he was the most outwardly looking disappointed player out of the whole group on the field. And he held that. It looked very sincere. I definitely saw improvement in his captaincy and his leadership. I think the way he speaks to the officials is really positive. They're always going to react to you being that way

[00:21:44] more than the other way. But I think he needs to sort of bring out that aggression we've seen in the way he plays a little bit more in just getting the, you know, almost the one percenters up on the refs and that kind of thing, just to sort of be him area and that kind of thing. But it's a minor thing. I've, yeah, I thought he had a really strong year. I'll give him a very strong eight as well. Yeah, I don't even know if we've seen the best yet. If we've seen the best, that would be disappointing.

[00:22:14] I think there's still another level to go. And that's probably just doing it all year long. Maybe it's that level we know, but just all year long. In the finals. Terrific club, man. In the finals. And I'm backing him in. He's a champion player. And... He wouldn't tell me half of the year, Stan. Well, yeah, it's on now. I don't know if you're keeping an eye on that for us. Oh, is it? I completely forgot about that. We're not live, but that's okay. People will know what happens after all that. But if Trindle wins the Dalian Player of the Year, we probably should talk about it. Next up,

[00:22:43] we have the new father. Congratulations to Billy Burns. And let's talk about Billy Burns' season. I can tell you that he played 26 games. So along with Kennedy, the most in the Sharks team this year. He started 12 of those. So started 12, played 14 off the bench, scored six tries. He had a couple of line break assists. He had eight line breaks, 22 offloads.

[00:23:12] I believe he missed the most tackles for the Sharks this year. But that can be... I'm not going to say misleading, but that can be not as problematic as it sounds. And that's just a small negative. He also... What else can I tell you stat-wise? I mean, a lot of physicality he brings. He scored six tries. There's no one who loves scoring a try more than Billy Burns. It gets us all fired up. And

[00:23:43] I feel like he almost... With the 26 games, he almost cemented his longevity at the club, I reckon, under Fitzgibbon. What are your thoughts on Bill Burns? Yeah, I agree with pretty much everything you said there. I think he's a staple of that side now. Definitely the squad, but I don't see him not playing every game unless something disastrous happens, whether that be injury or horrendous form, or if someone's just knocking the door down. But we know that Fitz

[00:24:13] typically doesn't change those things. I thought he had a really good year. Probably similar to Blake where I thought his first 15 weeks or so he was outstanding. I think he got that spot back from Britt for a little bit again this year. I don't know if I'm misremembering that. I think he started a fair few. Well, he started 12 games. Started 12 games. I think was that due to some injury and then some that was just selection? I don't know how much was formed this year for Britt,

[00:24:42] but there was a lot of injuries. I think some people assumed he was dropped, but there was actually some injuries there for Britt more than we probably know of. Sure. Yeah, I think I was disappointed in his performance in the Roosters game when we really needed that early season, Billy, who was bringing a lot of energy off and creating a bit of havoc in the ruck. And I think that's probably unfair for me to bring his score down because he does bring a lot of that energy and spark like with him when him and Sifer come on together

[00:25:11] or him and Tom came on together or whoever it was. He's just a different type of player to the rest of them. And because he's essentially an edge playing middle and I think that utility value that he brings where he can play lock, he can play front row, play at edge and the enthusiasm and skill, more skill than people will probably give him credit for. I'd probably want to give him a seven because it wasn't probably as good as last year.

[00:25:40] Again, we saw those heights of where he can be in the finals last year. Just a few games here and there I thought he'd just tape it off a little bit but still a really good year. Yeah, absolutely. I'm going to give him a seven and a half. I love what he brings to the team. I love the fact he played every game. I think he's super dangerous inside the opposition 20. He can run straight. He can weave and duck a little bit. He's a lot more physically stronger than what he looks.

[00:26:09] I think if he can fix up a bit of that defense, I think he will be someone they look to in the years ahead where they might need to or want to, whatever the word is, move on one of our star back rowers in Wilton or Nick Giro who are both off contract. So should one of them not be there in two years? I think Billy Burns could be. He would be about 29 years of age by that point.

[00:26:39] but a pretty physically fit guy and someone who hasn't played 26 games of footy every year. So his body's probably not as banged up as someone of that age who's done that. So I see a lot of upside and longevity in this guy. I love the energy he brings and he's a little bit old school and I think you need that. You need that with all the youth coming through and all the different cultures and different everything else coming through.

[00:27:09] I think you need an old school guy and I think that's a small part of the charm for Fitzy. I think he likes what the energy he brings. So that's Billy Burns the great park spaceman new dad congratulations. Resigned this year didn't he or was it last year? Yeah I think so yeah he's around for a while. Yeah two year deal I believe. We go on to someone who had a really good year and he was in our top five shark cast list as well. He played 23 games and I'm going

[00:27:38] to assume as I look it up that's the most in his short career for the Sharks. We grabbed him from down south in the Illawarra region a while ago. He's been through a few bad injuries but this year easily the most games. Last year he played 18 for us. This year he played 23 and only four of those were from the bench and that is Jesse Colquhoun. Fantastic year.

[00:28:08] I might go now Josh and have my say just someone who can play big minutes make great meters really good defensively in the middle. I think the longer he plays the better he goes in a game. He managed three tries this year. He ran for about two and a half thousand meters of which about 800 were post contact busted 25 tackles couple line breaks here or there and probably not enough offloads that I'd like to offload a bit more but 10 offloads

[00:28:38] in the year but he's passing the ball more than he's offloading. Jesse Colquhoun I'll give him I'd probably give him an eight and a half actually I thought he was really one of our better forwards if not well I'll save the best for someone else but one of our better forwards and sky's a limit for this guy we just pray to God that he's healthy like we do for all of them and he is only he's not even 25 yet so he's got a

[00:29:07] big future ahead and he signed a bumper deal I think only him and him Nico and Fitzy have the 2029 contracts I think oh Michael Gabriel does we'll get to that actually as well but Jesse Colquhoun give him a strong eight and a half what are your thoughts yeah one of my favourites I mean super like man crush sort of areas like love everything he does I think he just looks like a super professional guy who really cares about his

[00:29:37] performance and about what the team about the team and where it's going and where he wants to help take it you can just see he's a smart dude like he's switched on and he thinks about things deeply I think and like you said like to finish your point you said the sky's the limit like sky blue is sort of the you know the limit of where I think he could reach he's everything that they say the couchman's are and they are really good players and like all these young dudes who are playing in the middle that are doing really well like he's as good as all of them and

[00:30:07] to think that half of his entire career is played what 54 games or so to think that half of the career is played this year is crazy like basically his first full year first grade and like I think he also played through some injuries like he had a lot of chest padding on and off throughout the year and his knee was strapped a few times and man just like I think what we saw in that the last final against the roosters is like where he's going to go

[00:30:37] of expectation of like kind of that gallant so where he could just put a team on his back and carry them and I was about to say the exact same words and he kind of did that against the roosters and a bunch of times this year that's exactly what he does he seems to be able to get those extra few meters out of the run and it looks like he's literally carrying guys on his back so yeah yeah it's like the only thing I could say in a negative way that irks me a bit with his game that can

[00:31:14] necessarily I just think he's maybe a little too big and too heavy to be able to do that yet to like kind of skip on the outside of someone and straighten and find a gap I think that will come so I think those are the building blocks of where his game could go in terms of not just being an up and down dude there's so many more strings to his bow and his ball playing is going to get better and it's already really good and the meters when he's starting 13 or front row next year I think he could potentially be like

[00:31:43] a 120 plus over the course of a season kind of guy which is a great base to build off and then we're going to see some 150 160 type games I think where he's just going to put the team on his back like I said and probably future captain if he sticks around like I don't see why I mean I'd be shocked if it's anyone else unless we bring someone in that we're not aware of yet or some superstar somewhere else I think I think he's captain in a few years and what did you give him out of town I'm

[00:32:13] going to go I want to touch nine but I'm going to go 8.5 but very strong 8.5 next up we have one of his big bopper mates he was the Dalian prop of the year 2023 24 25 not sure if he's going to get it this year but you'll find out by the time you watch this if you watch the video he was the runner up I should say

[00:32:43] if you don't watch the video he probably was around 6th but we'll let Adam think that he was the runner up that's for sure I am not one

[00:33:37] there

[00:34:07] I credit than that to be honest I think he's really safe in the middle I think when him and Jesse are locked in and playing well our middle doesn't tend to get torn apart too much it's more of the edges which is a whole other thing but I

[00:34:40] he'll be high until four weeks to go yeah yeah I think like I probably there was probably a few games where I thought we like you said we needed a little think until

[00:35:10] around the Titans game so the losing run coincided with him having a pretty bad internal injury and that's when he was coming off the bench and that was a large part of why he missed too many games I don't think

[00:35:40] he did but we saw him lift in the final series and a few games before that so there was some circumstances to some of those I'd say poorer games compared to his usual quality did you give him a score I'm going to go 7.5 okay one game from Michael Gabriel and he's celebrating right now today with a new deal signed until 2029 so

[00:36:10] he's obviously very happy where he is he obviously thinks there's a future here which is great he played against Melbourne debuted with Riley Pollard and club debut for Riley Jones had a the ball looked really good and I think there's a lot to like and the fact they've locked him down until 2029 is

[00:37:02] when you see a kid that you've had an assistant for a while finally make the debut and he's got all the raps and he's done so well in lower grades and you want more of that maybe he wasn't ready I don't know I'm not a coach I don't see him every day but it's exciting to think we've got the change that everyone wants and the change has the potential to excite and improve the team and it's been a while since we've had that

[00:37:32] pace at center that can break tackles and put a hit on could have been great if it didn't take the blokes head off and he's 21 so I'm super excited and all things being equal I think he starts round one and he gets first crack and so he

[00:38:02] probably should he's been patient I know he's only 21 but he as far as we know is prove it show us what you got

[00:38:31] when your time is ready I mean Riley Jones who we'll talk about in a fellow who I don't know if it's been announced I can't confirm it but I can tell you

[00:39:01] straight from his mouth he's signed on for two more years and that is he played three games this year earlier in the year I can tell you that he averaged per run almost nine meters which is up fitness for a guy so big he looks like

[00:39:31] he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him he's maturing nicely he's still young enough to make an impact and I think we'll get more time out of him next year again because they're moving on guys but also because he's been doing his thing in the Jets level it's been a Tukes because I know it's kind of silly I rated Jaden Beryl and not

[00:40:01] Tukes but I'm still really excited about him I still hold on to not a lot of guys like that that make it if that makes sense so it's like when you

[00:40:30] make it like that you can be special and I think there is something in played over the years he played 22 games for us Josh he played

[00:41:04] 10 games 6 last year 3 this year so that's almost not quite but almost stone street levels of experience I would not be surprised if everything goes to plan if he will be in our 17 next year although we'll talk about that either in this episode or another episode about shape because we're going to have a lot was it when we had all our guys were like 6 foot and like this wide I feel like next year we're going to have

[00:41:33] guys who are 10 foot tall and pretty broad so I he was a big part of the Sharks particularly early and late in the year I think it was injury in the middle of the year

[00:42:04] and form around that obviously slowed down a bit but good start to the year good finish to the year Tom Hazleton I believe he was named in the Prime Minister 13 or something today or his name on something so I think he must be there I'll give Tom a really respectable solid 7 out of 10 I think that when he's on he's super hard to stop he gets those

[00:42:34] extra meters the legs get going he goes a little bit wide of the rock he can fall pretty quick when he's running he can have a slow play the ball but that is natural given the

[00:43:06] detriment I can't tell you depending on the game but I've seen play some bignets when needed another great club man and yeah I give him what did I say 7 you gave him 7 yeah yeah what are your thoughts on Tommy you don't have too much like I

[00:43:36] in contact and defense and he doesn't miss many but it's when any sort of nimble dude or if he's slow out of

[00:44:06] where he plays like he's a first grader as silly as it is I think that the whole cult figure thing elevates him in the game and don't get me wrong I

[00:44:36] in the current game yeah I probably give him probably the same as you probably a seven I thought he had some critics this year but I thought for the most part he was pretty reliable just slow he's very reliable and that's the thing when other guys went down he put his hand up and I like that a lot you need that in a team so next up we have the departing Marwini Jarroti played 12 games was in and out of the team he himself had a lot of injury this year which was unfortunate so we definitely didn't

[00:45:06] see the best out of him like we have in that would mean 41 for us again one of those guys you'll miss because he just slots into a few places

[00:45:36] where if you he he not part of the team and I

[00:46:09] hope that he goes nuts to the Titans yeah I was I'm glad because I didn't particularly want to rate he some good plays he ran down some people and made some good breaks and stuff

[00:46:38] not a terrible he wasn't awful or anything but I just think it was below what we needed from a first grade player probably at that point when he was playing and has had good moments so I think he goes with blessing I don't have anything against him I just think it's time that probably the next level come

[00:47:08] through of the Gabriels and even the Riley Jones and such all right next up when we're doing this on Dallium night we have the 2022 Dallium player of the year he is going to be 31 next year with still a few years left on his contract unfortunately we only saw him play for about 30 seconds in the last game of the year and that is Nico Hines he

[00:47:42] scored 8 tries he set up let me tell you this Josh he set up 27 tries 27 try assists and he also had 26 line break assists so not all those were try assists so very creative this year what are your thoughts on Nico I think it's the same conversation like same with Kennedy that we have with Nico every year he's going to have haters no matter what he's gonna have white night defenders every year I'm always

[00:48:12] I think I find myself in the middle of that a lot of times like there's times where you watch him and he goes through periods not just in game like over games but in game where he's like this dude's the best player on I like

[00:48:43] doesn't happen and you know that the Braithan asses of the world and some of the pundits of the world and on other podcasts and bloke in a bar and that gets a really but they do tell a story and when they're together they're dynamite

[00:49:13] they're absolute dynamite you know and you can talk about jumping up is all you want it doesn't matter when they play together which they didn't in the last game of the year when they play together they mostly win and he hadn't signed

[00:49:43] a 400 year deal for 400 million dollars a year we wouldn't be talking about it we'd be like this guy is awesome it all comes down to dollars and contract years and we've talked about repeatedly why why it was the money and to a lesser extent why it was the length and at the time he just won player of the year by I think a record margin so that wasn't a fluke consistently his numbers are really good I

[00:50:13] think that you know I feel and I think other people have if something gets under his skin just let it go he tends to double down on it that's just a minor

[00:50:42] thing I personally don't think it affects his game when he see how he plays out in the next two or three years under that contract I think as long as we keep winning the talk won't be too

[00:51:13] bad about that kind of thing but if for some about his performances in final games where he's been really good and the guys around him haven't so he does cop it in a really weird way the fact

[00:51:42] we're giving him more time now than the other guys says that I'm going to give Nico a very strong seven and a half this year yeah and that's a close to an eight it's a very strong seven and a half and you know we saw the goal kicking record which was a really lot of fun and even the storylines of that were just embarrassingly ridiculous about what went wrong and all that sort of thing yeah

[00:52:12] but I think he's a really good footballer I probably if I could go back in the DeLorean I would probably just change the contract situation both in years and finances but if he's signing a deal good luck to the guy yeah I

[00:52:58] embarrassing for the human race man I gotta tell you I say it every time but I I shudder not because you're saying it I've said it a lot too it's just embarrassing man but let's move on I know a guy who we both expected more of this year and we say that I've interviewed him like 10 times this year he's a terrific dude he's welcome on the show anytime we hope next year be bigger and brighter but a bit of a down year for K.L. Iro played 23 games and

[00:53:42] defensively and I know again I'm not looking for excuses here but second half of the year he definitely carried injuries but if you're going to run out in the field you've got to make your tackles so that's not even close to an excuse but yeah defensively he

[00:54:12] disappointed with him this year and expect so much better of him because his defense is so good you can live with the he's not the quickest guy in the world but he was so good defensively we'll still get four tries assists that didn't really happen I know he scored a lot of

[00:54:42] about Ronaldo jamming off his wing and it was getting stranded we always tell you there's so many things that happen inside the ball but he was like dude what are you

[00:55:12] many times he's a student of the game he watches every game he watches his own stuff a lot like he'll know he knows the truth so we've seen him be close to the best defensive center in the game so he's got it in him so I'm not I'm so disappointed true but also I'm not going to stay up every night over summer going what happened it's more like let's move on let's get back to the year before he's got it in

[00:56:01] was against the Cowboys which was a lot of fun and didn't get on the field against the Roosters correct correct because I think that Nico stuff like just yeah destroyed everything but yeah so we for

[00:56:30] next year I as we spoke about he probably won't start there but I think if he has a good off season and good trial form he could put pressure on Michael Gabrielle and I think he's one of those good club men who almost like in the barrel kind of or even Marwini kind of style where when called upon he'll come on in still pretty young really good head on his shoulders

[00:57:00] and I play and being out of I guess coming back to Kale a bit to be able to make up for your mistakes when you make a bad read he's kind

[00:57:49] not starting him over Haradi in that Roosters game which you and I both agree with that he should have and for that reason in particular was why I was so strong about it was the turn and chase and just that speed he's got Sione Katoa we say goodbye to Sione Katoa he played 20 games he scored 19 tries a lot of them were really spectacular a guy whose form was so good we didn't want to see him say goodbye

[00:58:19] and whose form was so bad he him I haven't really seen it but this year I've seen it as recently as that Roosters game I probably will never forget him attempting to catch that ball against Tupo I appreciate his half size

[00:58:49] I appreciate there's not much you can do there but you probably need to do better than amazing tries amazing tackle bus a great shark will be in my eyes remembered as a really great shark one of those guys who's upper level like he's not mid

[00:59:19] tier shark in the history for me he's upper level I watched him since he was a kid to be honest his game hasn't in the last three or four years in the media and yeah I will give Sione a 7 out of 10 this year and I'm super sad to see him go

[00:59:50] even got a hug out of him the other night at the awards ceremony but I you pretty much get the Sione roller coaster every year it's never like this was his best year and the mistakes were minimal or he

[01:00:25] was this person this human being grow and develop over nearly 10 years it's part of my shark fandom leaving I've spoken about it a lot I don't know when the first time was I spoke to him but it probably would have been

[01:00:55] pre COVID it was early on I spoke to him with the recorder and you couldn't get much out of him it was yes no it was always very polite and he didn't like doing interviews but I always liked talking to him because he's a really good human and the more I spoke to him the better he got at interviewing and then the fishing thing took off for him and he he he he's actually a pretty smart dude he

[01:01:31] really happy and so once he started doing his YouTube thing and that caught on he realized that if he spoke to the press he could promote things and yeah I think it

[01:02:01] always make everyone laugh even in the darkest of times that's his role not as in joke boy or anything just his humor and his nature and it happened at the awards night where they got all the departing guys up and you know some of them were in tears Sif didn't want to talk and Sione kind of

[01:02:31] the best cowboy is going to be weird to see him against this few of those guys happening this year which we'll talk about man I'm going to give him a rating I'm going to give him because I'm biased and it's his last one I'm going to give him an 8 love him all right next up someone who played 21 games 17 from the bench and again some I'm kind of more partial to than a lot of others from what I can tell and I think he's got a big year coming up next year and that is Oregon Kifusi now Oregon is 27

[01:03:01] right he's played 159 NRL games including a grand final which we talk about a lot for the Sharks since 23 when he joined 19 games 26 games 22 games 21 games the big 139 or whatever it is that that's sometimes sometimes it's 100 meters per run this year eight and a half meters he

[01:03:30] offloaded from what I can tell the most of a shark this year and did it pretty well too and I just think given we've got guys leaving next forward and again we spoke about Hazleton we'll talk about a few other guys who have that tall frame and you can throw him in he's

[01:04:01] he's deceptively big when you every time he was on I was like he's playing well it's the same with Sifo you know they had more in him I feel like Oregon could play 50

[01:04:30] 60 quite easily he looks very fit never looks out of breath great defensively in the middle locks up that middle as well and when he puts it on when he gets a hit up going off the back fence he's an absolute handful so I want to see him play more and

[01:05:09] know just from dealing with him super shy guy he doesn't come across as even 1% I want to use the word arrogant I need a different word but he doesn't come across like a guy he's going to mess you up you know he could yeah those are the scariest dudes yeah yeah but I need to see that on the field and we saw it a lot more this year to be fair but I almost feel like and I don't know this at all as

[01:05:39] gospel but I almost feel like before the game or when he's coming from the bench I feel like one of the teammates has to go hey they said they're going to mess with your family you know what I he's another guy who's a real student of the game he listens to the coaches a lot and a guy I really

[01:06:09] believe in so I hope he off the field but my belief just because of where he's at

[01:06:39] in his career I don't think it's going to be overly hard to replace on the field and I say that with he did so many good things and his first two or three years were

[01:07:09] outstanding and I feel like the last year has probably tarnished that reputation a little bit not in the overall scheme of the NRL people respect him and know that he put his head where you wouldn't put your foot but I think he had a pretty poor year and I think it was like okay it's I'm glad that the coaching stuff reacted to that and didn't offer him a contract as much as I love the guy and respect him and all those things like captain our club

[01:07:39] I think it was the right time for both I think it may be a good new adventure for him maybe a little easier on the body he could probably make more impact and it was right for us

[01:08:10] I was going to give him a six because I do think it was by the end it you

[01:08:40] can't really be doing on a field but I saw him do a lot of good stuff this year I thought his leadership and they will miss someone who's going to put their body on the line like that but it doesn't mean that someone isn't coming through that's

[01:09:10] going to do that for you but I deal with a year option which is where the three comes from for York in the Super League he's super excited I

[01:09:50] spoke and we will miss his clean up in the ruck he did a lot of dirty work that you don't notice and covered a lot of people's asses defensively so we will miss that all right next up we have Ranallo Miletalo who played 17 games he

[01:10:30] the team I love what he brings occasionally it goes across the line but mostly it's just really great a guy who I think will forever be a shark I

[01:11:00] it's the same as every year gives it everything great player great winger still underrated for as much as many raps as he gets still underrated and it's because he's a bit of a you know what on the field and people just hold that against players like that it was the same for gallon people never respected him because they thought he was a bit of a grub or whatever how bloody good he was at footy and Ronnie's going to be the same and he brings people like because they hate

[01:11:30] him people want to he is not allowed to leave until he does that and what did give him sorry I'm going to give him a seven I'm to give him an eight next up we have a gentleman who will be 29 next

[01:11:59] year he will be off contract he has been a shark since 2019 mostly averaging I'm going to say 22 games per year this year he played 21 he also made his state of origin debut for Queensland he's a second rower and he is Britain Nicker what's your thoughts on Britain Nicker very very very

[01:12:42] these two young kids from Newcastle like it's just big strong athletic powerful with skill and Brit's got a lot of that but he

[01:13:12] first class whether he gets beaten or not I think he's still hitting people as hard as he can and when you go back and look at a lot of breaks that happened against us he's one

[01:13:42] areas that are really important to me as a fan that I see and it just keeps you hanging on a little bit but I think overall I'm starting to think maybe a change could be there that could be one

[01:14:12] blimps of it this year it's a tough one I think for me it's coming down to the contract because I got to believe he's going to chase another decent contract and I don't know if we have the money to do that at his age and what he's giving back to

[01:14:42] you might see watching the TV coverage and when he's on he's pretty good I think we need to rethink his role I think like his line running we talk about it

[01:15:12] I think we need to rethink what he's doing a little bit keep that magical stuff but if we're going to sign him again or even just for next year I wouldn't mind seeing a little bit more of a reborn Nicker I don't really

[01:15:43] more interested in what he's doing you know we'll see I think he plays a pretty busy game as it mate

[01:16:13] shortly which kind of factors into it all I'll give Brit a I'll give him a six yeah but it's weird giving someone a six who played origin the first year they were selected for it and went okay in origin too it's a weird situation which I against

[01:16:42] the Melbourne storm showed a lot of what we've seen the lower grades came from the pen system he's played with some of the greats of the current game an amazing mature body and mind for a guy who's so young I think he's going to be a starting half for us within two to three years hey you want to man

[01:17:12] up you will see him next to you when there's injury suspension rep footy and I have been on the Polar train for a long time and I just keep putting more coal into the train that's going to keep going is it coal is that what they used to run on coal I think so yeah Riley Pollard yeah terrific so looking forward to his future yeah exciting what

[01:17:43] he plays I'm not saying for one second he's anywhere near that he's going to next greatest player of all time just like the way he plays in the team I just see a lot of similarities in dolphins and

[01:18:13] all those guys that have come through the pendler system he's been sort of a part of it over the years so a terrific purchase by us a few years ago and yeah he's going to be great and like I

[01:18:43] and he won a bunch of them actually initially which was great scored off one of his first touches great backer up of the ball he's leaving us to go to Perth I'm not going to give him a rating but I thought that he probably produced more than what I physically really tough

[01:19:13] in those first few games I love the story with him and his brother and I think he's got a real chance to sort of become a regular at Perth I played 12

[01:19:43] games a remarkable game against the Bulldogs from memory as well but very consistent player we saw him play was it when Braley went down you'll have to help me a jet than a

[01:20:13] shark but I like him in my 17 I think I want him coming on to play that middle role and you can play him at hooker if you need to he has a great football brain you've heard it a few times on our I

[01:20:43] was really impressed with Hep this year and I think he absolutely has an absolute first grader there's no doubt about that in my mind and there's a place for him in this team I think he should have played more if anything great middle guy handy hooker not amazing but very handy and that's why I think I'm happy with Beryl leaving because we've got a younger guy who does a good enough job and has other pieces he can fit I'm going

[01:21:23] to here I'm okay with him leaving I think that he's going to get a bigger better contract at the Cowboys but I do think the two positions or two players that we

[01:22:01] okay with a one more year kind of deal but he obviously needed more security which is absolutely awesome for him 14 games I'm not really going to rate if I had to rate

[01:22:31] the Knights early in his career didn't have a great year came back home he was very young so I can't I'm not suggesting the Cowboys will be anything but a success but it's going to be interesting to see a guy like him out of

[01:23:01] I believe played in the I always say Challenge Cup what's it called you win the premiership and you play the English team he played in that game he's been around for a long time now and well he came to

[01:23:32] Nathan Cleary at the moment after round 23 Nick O'Han is also in the top 10 the word I'm looking for is World Club Challenge is the word I'm looking for yeah I think we missed him

[01:24:02] we never kind of recovered on that edge and I think we would have been a massive piece to have had at the end of the year just to see if that would have changed things at all yeah I

[01:24:41] I have another guy there in the middle if I did a depth chart he probably wouldn't be above four at the moment but happy to change my tune next year in round one or whatever

[01:25:12] he's quite well respected within the club I want to see what he's got with one more year I mind because when he's good and when he can run he can go I if I was to rate him this year I'd probably say a

[01:25:42] six but I don't even he's scoring a great try that's where he can be it's just that he's low can be pretty low but I would probably keep him for that depth and he's probably

[01:26:12] not going to cost a fortune and he's a good club man to have around I but again I mean it's circumstance it's not necessarily the same injury every time and this year so he started the first well

[01:26:41] his major injuries were actually between rounds 16 and 26 and then the finals as well so yeah weird one I didn't like the look of him in that Melbourne game that he finished with but I don't personally I don't think he was any close to being injury free he plays better the more he plays like if he can get 10 games in a row he can really do it together and stuff he can't seem to do it

[01:27:32] only four tries this year but his record is pretty good I'm just going to give him a quick look up here I think he scored more than that I'll have to he be

[01:28:02] fighting out between him and Leo Jacques I believe that people are probably not looking at Leo Jacques serious enough about where he could be in round one I think Stone Street got the edge on him because of experience because of his own

[01:28:32] I will say this his Newtown Jets performances this year were really good especially on their nine game run to the point where he was setting up tries and he was probably winning them games so he's got it in him I just want to

[01:29:05] opening 12 games went all right for me hard to rate it was so long ago it was 12 games I'd probably give him a seven I think he needs to

[01:29:35] can find a try line quick can be good in the air I think that's what the disappointing thing is that oh Braden Trindles just got five eighth of the year oh really congratulations fantastic it looks good in the suit too yeah I think Sam there's still a lot of untapped potential there just I need to see more across his game like he's pretty good at he's decent at everything he's really fast and he's a great finisher I don't think we lose too much there between him and Sione

[01:30:05] with the finishing and he can get on the outside of man and he's away I think there's a few elements to styles of players but I think he deserves the first crack unless

[01:30:35] Leo comes out and is a freak I think Sam deserves the first crack he's been patient and I'll give him a seven because I Talakai he will be missed he won't be replaced I

[01:31:05] will give Talakai I give him an eight and a half I thought he was terrific he didn't get enough minutes for me I wouldn't be letting him go I'm on record saying Matt what are your thoughts Josh yeah same I wanting to leave it

[01:31:35] says a lot about him what did give him I give him an eight five eighth of the year Shark cast player of perhaps we're

[01:32:05] playing in a grand final this week I'm going to be that dramatic if he keeps playing with Nico Hines and I give Braden Trindle a 9.1 yeah I we say goodbye to Braden

[01:32:35] well a friend of the show only played four games for us again I would say career almost in cruel by injuries up to the chooks which is great news for him not sure if it it on the show after the chooks and he'll be one of the veterans there and probably fighting to get into that team but he'll be also a role model I guess aside from a very early skirmish literally in his career blemish free off the field great family man great dude he's still got a bit left in the tanks it's going to

[01:33:04] see what he's got to do I can't rate him with four games but I wish him time for a fresh start for him and goes with complete blessing great dude was a really good player for us and I hope he can sort the injuries out wherever he lands I'll give him actually

[01:33:34] I won't rate him it's probably too hard okay and we finish up with Teague Walton off contract we year Teague for me didn't reach the heights of Teague in the past but he's still pretty close to where he needs to be love the physicality he's the guy that's never going to stop trying for you

[01:34:05] and mature ahead still young enough to make an impact on the game still young enough to play rep footy but I'll probably look for more for him next year Josh but I'll give Teague Walton a very solid 7 out of 10 this year yeah I

[01:34:41] clean ball but works his socks off and when we're coming out back hand he's one of the first dudes to put his hand up and get smashed in the 20 so great leader and I still think he's a chance of making an origin team at

[01:35:11] SharkCast Pod gmail.com there are a million different ways to get to us so please do we're back with more episodes that's for sure Josh appreciate your time again I've said that twice in the minute that's the Braden Trindle sharkhast player of the year Dally M player of the year from what we're hearing sorry take that back Dally M 5 8 of the year probably not player of the year and we're back with more episodes before you know it Joshy and it's a special week October 2 is coming up I

[01:36:27] ready 410 417 450 Jason Hawes Crips and Crips Real Estate back in the shire turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a

[01:36:56] trophy