Finals Week 1, 2026 Edition with Dave Riccio and Paul Gallen!

[00:00:01] The Royal Motor Yacht Club Port Hacking is a hidden gem of the Shire, situated on the banks of the beautiful Port Hacking. It's a great place to catch up with friends, celebrate your birthday or any special occasion, and they always show the NRL live on the big screens. The RMYC Port Hacking, proud sponsors of this podcast and big supporters of the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. Check out their website rmycph.com.au

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[00:01:05] Alright, let's just rock and roll Dave. Hey there, welcome to SharkCast, part of a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. We're here at Ocean Protect Stadium, the greatest place on earth. I don't care what anyone says, especially friends of Clinton Maynard. And we are here with the great Dave Riccio, as you can see on the TV. Don't move, as it all goes to poo. And for those listening, Dave Riccio, is he the doctor? Why do they call you the doctor? They are my initials. Okay, let's move on. Thank you, Sam.

[00:01:33] Now Dave, did you know that the touring news this morning broke? Two bands from the 90s are touring next year. One for the first time in 25-30 years. I was at their last show at the Metro. The legendary Minneapolis four-piece band, Soul Asylum are touring next year. Okay, right. I'm not across Soul Asylum's work. Run away train. Okay. You don't run away train. I probably would. If I... Call you up in the middle of the day. Oh, that one, yeah. Is that their only song?

[00:02:03] No, it's Somebody to Shove. They've released about ten albums, though. They're legendary. Anyway, they're touring with Ugly Kid Joe, who you might know. I don't remember Ugly Kid Joe, yeah. I don't really care for them, so I'm a bit torn. I'm happy that the other mob's coming. Anyway, what do you want to talk about, Dave? To quote Cody Rhodes, and you're like, who's Cody Rhodes? Hmm. What do you want to talk about? Mate, I'm just happy to be here with you, sitting in the sunshine. You happy to declare where we are? We already have. Oh, sorry. You're not listening to what I say. Although, no, I haven't fully declared the Sharks are training in front of us.

[00:02:33] It's a Sharks media day, and what that means is Nico Hines and Braden Trindle are being made available to the media today at 12.30. And I said to you, Sam, I said, Sam, if you bring me a piccolo, which is basically an espresso coffee, and you get yourself a coffee, I will meet you in the Monte Portistan in the sun. In the sun, and watch the Sharkies train. And here we are. You know what?

[00:02:59] I'm glad Suku's not playing first grade this week, because all he's doing is watching us podcast. Is that right? We're big talks. Yeah, we got the coffee from Mr. Paisley's. We appreciate that. And we appreciate your good mate, Jason Hawes at Crips and Crips Real Estate. Good man, Hawsey. I mean, if you ever want to sell your mansion, you're both going to make a lot of money. And we also appreciate the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Port Hacking. Our good mate, Liam Rogers, runs the show there. And Dyson Logistics up on the Central Coast originally from the Sutherland Shire. Dave? Geez, Dyson's been with you for a while now, Sammy.

[00:03:29] Day one, baby. Day one. Sensational. Now, we are here on Wednesday, and the boys are playing on Saturday. The team's been named. Let me ask you a question, Sammy. How do you feel about the move to Alley on Stadium? I'm at peace with it. Yeah. I think the one thing I keep going back to is, sorry, two things. Why do they leave it so late in the picture to go, no, you can't do it? And B, yeah, why can we play here every other week, but not the week of the finals, a home final, which we've earned? Yeah.

[00:03:58] There are two things that bug me, but I'm at peace otherwise. And I think your second part of that point is the fact that the opposition. That's the B1. If it was in season, and you're playing the Cowboys, you're not getting more than 15,000 anyway, which is the current capacity of Ocean Protect. Brother, we're not cracking 20. Sorry, we're not cracking 20. So you don't think you'll get 20 at Alley on? And let me get this out of the way. The club are doing a great job. Free buses. Well, to be fair, Sam, it's not the club's responsibility. I appreciate that.

[00:04:26] The NRL are in charge of the buses. Okay. Shark Cast, Shark Cage, Cronel Sharks pre-gathering at the Watson's Entertainment in the Entertainment Complex. We're trying to get everyone there. They've moved the NRLW. They're doing everything they can to get people there. Yeah. I don't know if we're going to crack 20, Dave. History says you'll be proven correct. As the great Paul Gallen wanders off from a visit to the Sharks team. He's clearly been down this morning to have a chat to the players.

[00:04:56] He's looking pretty good. He's always fit as a fiddle. He's running marathons now, Gal. The, so 19,000, the most recent semifinals as, this is like, it's like show and tell. Here's Barnsie. Adam Barnes. I reckon Adam Barnes is the NRL's number one merchandise manager. Has to be. What he's achieving with the Cronulla Sharks is nothing short of extraordinary.

[00:05:23] Most recent semifinals between the Cowboys and Sharks at Allianz Stadium, two crowds have been 19,000 and 16,000. So your suggestion that they won't crack 20 is probably right. We shall see. Which makes me think if we can get 15 in here, which we can, what's an extra five to have run? I know. Don't get me wrong. If, if it means 5,000 who want to go can go, then I'm all for it. But if we're not that fussed about that kind of situation, then what's the point? Yeah.

[00:05:51] What I will say to listeners is it's not as simple in, in the old days, it was all about ticket sales and how many people come through the gate. And yes, there's an element to that. But venues, New South Wales is a New South Wales government arm of which run the stadiums in Sydney, the majority of. Here he comes. There's a contract, there's a contract in place. Here comes the goat. We'll get to the contract in a minute. Yeah. Huh? You want to say g'day gal? Come and say g'day. We're not wired, we're just on. Get over here gal.

[00:06:20] Do you want us move over? Yeah. Have a third mic for you. You alright? What are you laughing at? I'm laughing that we're actually, that you're up here podcasting. How good. What are you doing down here? I come down here two, three, four times a week whenever I can. I've got an ambassador of the club, so come down and hang in the meetings and keep up with all the footy lingo and obviously listen to what the boys are saying and what they're doing. So that's about it today. Today's Wednesday, pretty important preparation. What's the chat like? Yeah, no, it's been good. They're all pretty positive.

[00:06:48] I feel like, honestly, they're probably a little bit concerned about what's happened in recent weeks. And I think they're a bit on edge. But, you know, the big game is where you want to be. It's where you play all year for. You know, what's happened in the last four weeks? I can't say it doesn't matter, but, you know, they're where they want to be. They're in the semifinals. They finished fifth. Now it's just about putting their best foot forward and going out and playing must-win footy from now on. That's all they can do.

[00:07:11] You know, I reckon what I saw best from last weekend's performance with everyone, you know, the large majority rested, nine different changes there were, was the shift from the previous three weeks in genuine attitude, kick chase, scramble D, and granted, Storm got the Sharks in the end. But there was a bit more of an intensity about it? Yeah, 100%. I agree. I felt like the previous three or four weeks, obviously they won one of those games, but there's other games.

[00:07:41] I felt like they're going out there trying not to lose. They're just going out there going through the motions. And knowing that the teams were below them on the ladder, probably hoping that they'd fall away and they'd just get the win at the end of the day. But in this competition, nothing just happens. You've got to make it happen. And I thought on the weekend, the boys really tried to make it happen. They went after the game. They actually tried to win the game rather than trying to lose it. And I did think there was a big shift. And obviously there was a lot of changes last week, which I think they needed to make. Personally, I probably would have rested a couple more to be honest, but I'm not the coach.

[00:08:10] But they're all back this week. Trindle's back, which is great. And I'm liking the look of the boys this week. And they're playing against the Cowboys, obviously, who are defensively not a strong side. But the most important thing for us is, I think, the basis of the game, controlling the ball, making the Cowboys make their tackles. And if we can do that, get to a good field position, I think we'll score some points. Surely, Gowell, our defence wins the game. They've conceded 82 points, 50 and 32 in the past five weeks over three games.

[00:08:39] Like, that's not great going into final series. Their defence has been ordinary. I had a look the other day. They're probably ranked 12th or 13th best defence site in the Cowboys. Their defence is no good, but they can attack. They'd rather win a game 32-30 than sort of 14-12. They've got some gun players. Tommy Dearden, Drinkwater, Nanai, Lukey, Tamalolo, Cotter. Reid Marnie can play. He got through. He got through. Oh, Gowell. Gowell, where you been, mate?

[00:09:09] Big news. Yeah, he got off last night at the judiciary. Found guilty, given a two-match ban. Within half an hour, the lawyer turned it around and got a downgrading. What I'm saying, they do have strike. And as you say, they're a dangerous team, but probably defensively. So you're saying keep the ball in play and make them tackle? Make them tackle. Basically the game for me, I used to say when I was playing, run hard, tackle, control the ball, you give yourself half a chance, doesn't guarantee you a victory.

[00:09:37] But if you don't give the Cowboys ball they don't deserve, like in other words, if you don't come out of your end and drop the ball, turn the ball over cheaply, give them penalties they don't deserve, and you just make, if you go set for set, you just aim for 50% of the ball, give them 50% of the ball, and eventually that'll start shifting our way. They'll come up with errors, and then we can get good field position, we can score some points. But yeah, for me, just go set for set, keep the ball in play as long as we can, make them tackle as many times as we can, and then eventually they'll come up with errors. They're a team that don't mind having a crack.

[00:10:07] They will try things, both of them drink water, both of them did, and they're happy to have a crack. And it doesn't always come off. And I think if we have a little bit more control than them, when they have a crack, when they do come up with an error, then we've got to make them pay. We do have the second best completion rate, Gal. Second fewest missed tackles. Yeah, definitely. Forever in a day, obviously, the basics of the game will always win out. Obviously you've got to have some players who can come up with freaky plays

[00:10:34] and can do really freaky things at certain times. And we've got a couple of them. I think having Trindle back this week is going to be a big plus for us. We're going to be so much more confident with him in the side. He can come up with things from nothing. So having him there will be great. As long as our forwards win that battle in the middle of the field, which is a big battle. They've got a pretty good forward pack. I said Tom Lolo leading the way. They've got some good forwards. If we can win that battle, give our backs some room to move and get some good field position, I'm going to know how we can score points. But we just have to limit the points that they score.

[00:11:03] They're happy to go. They're happy to have a shootout. If we stop the shootout, if we stop that and we bring their ability to score points right back, I think they'll get frustrated. That's when they'll start throwing the ball around. That's when they'll come up with errors and that's when we will capitalize. Good coaching. Good coaching. He's got a future this bloke. He does. Does he want one? I don't know if he wants one. Yeah, he does. He's angling. Okay. He's angling. Saturday, Saturday gal,

[00:11:32] was it one of the biggest days you've had in the last while? He's currently holding a water bottle, which is an indication that he might be still hurting. Yeah, I am still hurting. Father's Day wasn't great. Monday wasn't great. Tuesday wasn't great. I got up at 6am this morning to go for a walk. I had to go home and go back to bed. So yeah, I don't miss them days. I've been very, very good this year. Haven't gone out a lot at all. And I've been looking after myself. We're in the marathon. I've been really good. And yeah, those are...

[00:12:02] Saturday not hurt. It was the biggest old boys in Sharks history. Upwards of 170 old boys attended. And coupled with the 2016 reunion. Geez, it looked bloody special. Yeah, it was unreal. Up at Cain Bar Pub there. So many guys from so many different eras. You get up on stage and interviewed a few of us about the 2016. And look, I understand that that's very important to this club. And it means so much to me. But it's sort of...

[00:12:32] Sometimes you don't want to make it about you when you're up there. I know it's been 10 years and it was about us that night. But we just want to make sure the former boys, former players understand that we know what they've done for this club. They bled for this club and done their best. Weren't quite able to get there. And we just want them to know that we won that grand final for them as much as ourselves. And yeah, it was pretty special to spend the day with a lot of them. And I spent a fair bit of the night afterwards. Robbie Kearns, Matt Rogers.

[00:12:59] That was a few of them all's out of it. Now, let's just clarify this final time before we let you go, right? And that is, who scripted turn your porch lights off? Yeah, like that's perfection. Because you're coming home... Because we're coming home with a trophy. Who wrote it? Who planted the seed? Where did it come from? It definitely wasn't scripted. And you know me, Dave, well enough, I definitely would not have practiced it. And I definitely didn't know it. And when I watch it back, I do look at it and go, God, you nailed that. I absolutely...

[00:13:28] Now, even when I talk a lot of the time on TV, I often talk fast. I pause, I stop, I deliver it perfectly. But the story is my best mate, Scotty Hogan, from the time we've been six years of age, still best mates today. He's a tragic Roosters fan. Tragic, tragic Roosters fan. He messaged me as I was... I'll never forget, I was driving down the ramp in the A&M Stadium at the time. I get a text message on my phone. Now that, from the time I leave my house, the time I get to the ground is the most stressful time for me when I was playing. I used to hate it. I used to be on edge.

[00:13:57] And he texts me, he goes, don't forget when you're in the competition, make sure you tell everyone to turn your ports off. And I was so angry. I was so angry because he knows what I'm like. He knows I don't like thinking about things like that. He knows I don't like pre-empting anything. I deleted the text straight away and I was filthy at him. I was filthy. I thought, God, this bloke, my best mate of all time. And we have a bit of a saying around each other that pre-empting things like that actually goes the other way, like a reverse psychology type thing. And I was thinking to myself, surely my best mate of all time does not want to see me lose

[00:14:27] this grand final. That was running through my head. Anyway, the game finishes. We win the match and I actually saw him. I got them tickets. My four best mates got them all tickets and I saw them on the side of the ground and hugged him and had a photo with him and he reminded me. Wow. Don't forget to turn the port slice off. So I went out there and just delivered it and thankfully it came out almost perfect. It was perfect. I've been wanting to ask you that for 10 years actually. Yeah, no, that's a story. So Scotty Hogan, you nailed it mate. Well done.

[00:14:55] Now we do have to plug Chad's party tomorrow night. Gal, you're a part of that, yeah? Yeah, I'll be up there, up at Highfield. So great supporters of Highfield and Ferrell's group and everything they've done. They're great supporters of us too. So it would be good to get out there with Chaddy, Phil the boys, Wade, Jimmy. There will be a few others there I think, but it should be good. Yeah, I think it's a sold out event. Actually, Chaddy texted yesterday, put a little group together on WhatsApp and sold out. So that would be pretty good. You can always get a ticket though, is my theory, Gal.

[00:15:24] Just turn up, pay your money, you'll be right. It'll be fun though. It's been an awesome month celebrating as a fan, celebrating 10 years. We're not quite done. I hear you guys have got one more special event happening. Yeah, one more special event on the grand final weekend. So the Sharks run a grand final lunch every single year and all us boys will be there. It's over at the Novotel in Brighton. Yeah, Brighton, Novotel. That wasn't the one I was referring to, but that's alright. So that's the annual grand final lunch for the Cronulla Sharks and tickets are still available, I understand. Oh no, I think it's sold out.

[00:15:54] Okay, okay. Please check your website. Alright. And then the next day, on the Saturday, the 2016 boys are getting together at an otherwise named location. Yes. That'll be very quiet for myself and a few of us. So we have to work on Sunday for the grand final. So me and Mick Ennis will be taking it easy, I'd say. Probably Wade Graham will be like, Wade can back up. I can't back up. So Wade has a bit of a freak, lad.

[00:16:17] Before we let you go, gal, something that will ring in my ears forever is your coach at half-time and his last words, the last one they spoke to was Shane Flanagan. His last words were up, up Cronulla over the mic. Amazing. Yeah. At half-time. Here, half-time, they interviewed everyone and all I could hear was Flano say up, up Cronulla. It made me so happy. You know, it made me happy too, to see Flano back here. Obviously he had a great time when he was at the club.

[00:16:44] You know, unfortunately things happen in rugby league and not many people get to leave a club or finish at a club the way they want. It never really turns out like that in anyone's career, to be honest. I obviously thankfully did for mine. I think that guy like Darren Lockyer did, but it didn't for Shane. But I think deep down he still loves the club and he still loves all the boys and what we did for him that year. So it was great to see him back here. I know he was back here even the captain's run, talking to Fitz, he's talking to the boys. So yeah, I don't think he holds any animosity now and everything's okay.

[00:17:13] During the highlights that were run at Carring Bar Pub of the final moments of the grand final, Flano was crying. Yeah, right. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. I think I saw Gal get pretty emotional too. Of course he did, yeah. The old boys were too, actually. Yeah, that's important. Absolutely. It's so important and it's an indication of how much it means to him.

[00:17:43] 30, 35 minutes. If we can keep them quiet, if we can keep them below sort of 10 points, I think we'll win the game. I'm going to say 30 points to 13. Oh, 14. Sorry, 30 points to 14. 30 points to 14. Great technique. By the back end of the game and we'll have a great game. And yeah, Adam Fnual-Blade to dominate through the middle. Nice. And tricky to come back and dominate on the edges. All right. Working for Channel 9, that game? Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there for Channel 9. I'm doing the NRLW game before him, which is also the Sharkies.

[00:18:14] Yeah. And then I'll be doing the boys afterwards. So, looking forward to it. And you know what? JT, me on my JT. We've got to win. Just... We're going to milk that out there. I could not cop that blow out of the Cowboys business. Come on. Come on you Sharkies. Just win for me over JT. All right. Anyway, I'm out of here, boys. Thanks, Gal. Appreciate it. See you guys. Thank you, bro. The G train. The goat, as we call him. The goat. Well, that was a nice surprise, wasn't it? There you go. We've had Paulie G. We've had Adam Barnes. Teddy just walked past. Oh! Now, I don't know what you're doing. Sorry.

[00:18:43] That's the flip-up seats. We lost the... The little machine went down, so when Gal appeared, he probably got like my balding grey head and everything. It wasn't a great look. But hey, this is almost live TV, so... Dave. Yes. That was fun. Yeah, no, he's a champion. How do you top the goat? He's a champion. I love the fact he's mellowing a little bit. Yeah. I love it. I wrote his book. You did? As you know, Sam, and we started the process probably two years, 18 months before his

[00:19:13] intended retirement year. And unfortunately, Sam, it just kept on getting pushed out for the next seven years. I remember. He just said, ah, got bad news. He'd ring me. He'd go, ah, yeah, got bad news. I'm just going to go around again another year. How did that work? That went on for another seven. He wrote the bulk of it, and then there was the ending waiting. Yeah, we could do everything about his childhood, clearly. Yeah. You know, his upbringing. And yeah, the bulk of it. But you just couldn't...

[00:19:39] He couldn't put a full stop on it until he put a full stop on the career. He was talking about his final days. I didn't have the courage to sort of mention Brookvale or losing his home game here, etc. Yeah. Who did we lose to here with that field goal? Was it Canberra? Was it the Titans or someone like that? Yeah. I don't know if I had any messages about it, but... I remember the Manly game. That was... That was really ordinary. It was. It was. But there he goes, walking off into the distance. He looks pretty good. Yeah, yeah. He looks fit. He trains every day.

[00:20:09] All right, Dave. Cowboys this week. Hmm. So... Hey, Sam, I'm hearing there's a bit of signing news coming for the Sharks. Is there? All right. Let's talk about that. A press release coming either today or tomorrow. So the Sharks fans keep an eye on it. Is it of a player we already have? It's internal. Uh-huh. But they're important internal re-signings. Gotcha. More than one? Yep. Multiple.

[00:20:34] And Chris Matungi, I've previously mentioned or previously reported. I think that'll be formally announced as well. The young forward from the English Super League. Mm-hmm. He's the son of Swayamatangi. Swayamatangi played predominantly for the Eels, bit of the Roosters. Yep. Yeah, so... Another project player, I would assume, alongside Owen Trout. Yep.

[00:21:00] Uh, but yeah, Sharks fans anticipate some re-signing news and I think they're hugely important for the future of the club. I love Fitzsie's presser when at the... I mean, it wasn't a long presser after the game. Three minutes. He said, he said, we're doing a lot behind the scenes that you're not aware of and there's more of these guys where they came from. And we, as most of our hardcore listeners... I liked his line. I liked his line. We're not rebuilding, we're building. Absolutely. Oh, I thought that was clever. Absolutely. Riley Jones right centre against the Cowboys.

[00:21:30] It's just his third first grade game. It is. We're watching him train at the moment. Um, there's a lot of... There's a lot of process and thinking and strategy around why they went Riley Jones. The options were clearly... And to be fair, I'm not ruling it out just yet, Mawini Harodi. He does have a rib problem and that... Hang on. You're saying that... Well, he's in the reserve, Sam. I know that. But you're saying there might be some change? No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying there's...

[00:21:59] In the realms of possibility, it's possible. He's named in the reserves. It's Shark royalty just everywhere. Well, he is the future CEO. You wanna come on air, Chich? No. Maybe next time. That's the future. Um, he's named in the reserves. I see that, yeah. He's... He's got a rib problem. Yep. I think he'll... We'll see, we'll see. He may run out of time. I think Sharks fans are comfortable with Riley Jones. Oh. Which is interesting, because that's only his third game, which you say. There's... There is...

[00:22:28] Again, there's a whole heap of strategy around the selections. But there's also counsel from the leaders. And if the leaders back a player, you're halfway there. And they've backed Riley Jones. He's got wonderful footwork. Unbelievable footwork. With space to move. Really fast feet. He's a big boy. I thought, if you actually go back and watch... There's a play by Sua Faolongo, the Melbourne Storm fullback. Cool.

[00:22:54] Running towards the family hill end of Ocean Protect. And when Sua's on his bike, that... And the defensive line is retreating. That is dangerous, dangerous signs. Now, Sua sucks Riley Jones in before passing to Tyron Wishart. Yep. Now, by doing... By sucking Riley in, Wishart found space on Riley's outside. And look, set for the try line.

[00:23:23] Riley regathering himself and finds great speed to bring Tyron Wishart down. And I thought that was a really good... In a game that really he didn't have to come up with major defensive decisions. I thought that was a small insight into... Well, certainly a positive insight into that he is capable of shutting... Like, Sua Faolongo coming at you. He just got the Melbourne Storm player of the year. I think we're most comfortable with the fact that he's got speed on his side.

[00:23:52] Ma isn't the quickest guy. He's carrying a rib injury. He's powerful. I actually like Ma. I'm just saying that Riley's the quickest. And we're playing a very quick Cowboys outside backs team. Yep. So, we've been burnt by them before in big games. For everything Gail just said, they like to move the ball. Yeah. And they'll be... I mean, Jones will be tested, no doubt. Yep. But so far, so good. The key to here is the combination and the communication with his back rower,

[00:24:19] Britton Nikara, and his winger Sione Katoa. That's absolutely key. Like, both Britt and Sione are far and away the more experienced pair. Two of the three. And they need to be supporting Riley and not forcing him to second guess. Yeah. And he's with Niko, yeah? Is that right? That'd be right. Yep. And we saw Riley Pollard have a killer game. He's not named in the squad this week, and that's fair enough. But he was really impressive.

[00:24:48] He got a big future in the game. Yep. And Michael Gabriel, I mean, what a game from him. One of his first touches is in the bin. Yeah, well, the irony there is I couldn't see too much difference between Michael Gabriel's high tackle. No. He's bracing, I thought he was, I don't know where he was supposed to go defensively. And the comparison with Ruben Cotter, who actually made a decision. Yeah. To collect Papalio anyway. Yeah, that's true.

[00:25:15] We can see here without revealing too much that Fitz, you will get upset about. A few field goal strategy practicing like that. They're all going over, which is a good sign. Yeah, that looked like the second team though. That was Niso, wasn't it? Yeah, that was the second team, Sammy. Well... Might have been a shootout. It might have been. You working on Saturday, Dave? What are you doing? No, mate, I've... You're puntering? I've secured... I'll cover the Warriors 4 o'clock game off the TV and I'll take that in and provide any analysis

[00:25:44] or insight for the Telegraph on that game before venturing to Alley on Stadium. Nice. Nice. So we're going to have a bit of a gathering at the Watsons establishment. It's right in the Fox precinct. Right. Right. And then people who want to go to watch NRL dub, they're welcome to go do that. We encourage that. There's going to be a bit of a march with the Shark Cage boys. Timmy, your mate Timmy and his drama. Yeah, he's a good fella. I think the club might even wheel out a player or two who are not playing or an old boy maybe to get everyone around that.

[00:26:14] Oh, that's cool. And do a bit of a march down to the stadium. And then we'll be there for the big game. It's going to be awesome. The weather looks good, which is promising. Yeah. I mean, if it's like this, it'd be kind of nice. Yeah, it's supposed to be good. 20, 21 degrees. Perfect. September semifinal footy. See, I grew up going to the SFS. Yeah, me too, man. Me too. Like, I appreciate everyone gets a home ground advantage in the first week of the finals and that's where Sharks fans feel dudded.

[00:26:41] But I thought it was, I always loved going to the SFS as a kid for the big games. I guess the only problem which is universally known is that, you know, we've got the Warriors and we've got Broncos, we've got all these Brisbane teams and Melbourne. Like, you can't, it's not fair just to go come play in Sydney, you know what I mean? Well, Melbourne were the biggest winners of all every year they made the finals. Yeah. I'm not comfortable with it, but I understand it. Yeah. I wish there was a way that Villandes could say, you know what, everyone's just going

[00:27:08] to play at this stadium until the grand final and the grand final is going to go to the one out west. I'd be completely comfortable with that. Yep. Yep. Almost like a footy fest or whatever, like a magic round for the finals. Yep. I don't know why they don't necessarily push for that. He pushes for a lot of things, Pete. You got any vibes on what's going to happen to this beautiful ground in the next five years? Any thoughts? I'm hearing, I am hearing it's positive. Yeah, me too. I'm, yeah.

[00:27:38] I mean, the NRL are obviously interested. It's just a matter of how and what they do with that interest, I guess. I do know PVL has got a genuine appetite to help secure funding. I know that. Oh, cool. Yeah. And I know that our leaders have hell bent on us not going anywhere, which is evident given that Dino was on the phone to PVL all last weekend on our biggest day of the year when we were, you and I were gallivanting at the pub. He was on the phone with PVL fighting tooth and nail that play here. Yep. Didn't win the fight, but that's okay.

[00:28:08] So, yeah, we're not going anywhere. It's more just, we got to, we definitely got to fix it up. We can see right now. No, that's a no brainer. As beautiful as it is, you can do with a bit of work. No brainer. Yeah. No brainer. All right. What's your tip for Saturday night, Dave? Oh, I'm very similar to Gal. I come back to the final round of the season against the Melbourne Storm. I saw a shift. I saw a mindset, a mentality shift where they were fighting for everything.

[00:28:35] They were scrambling in, turning up in D. And I reckon the guys that got rested would have noticed that. And know that it's now their responsibility to come in and step up. Yeah. Sammy, I thought the Parramatta performance was woeful. That was the worst out of the whole bunch. Yeah. Easily. Dragons was like a tough game we should have won. Canberra should have won. Titans we just won. Parra was a right off. It was, mate. It was.

[00:29:04] Trindle back in is clearly massive. Minus Ramien, they're full strength. Yeah. But they're missing, Jess. Yeah. Well, let's see what Riley Jones brings. How do you feel about Jess? He's not going to get one more shot at it? Oh, it's disappointing, hey? Yeah. He's been a sensational campaigner for this club. Came here in 2016, mid-2016 from Manly. Yeah, he did. No, it's disappointing. He'd be gutted. Absolutely gutted. Kay Lero back in is really positive. Yeah. Tommy Hazleton back in positive.

[00:29:34] Do you think there'll be any change that's starting? In the forward pack, we've seen McKinnis go to the bench from time to time. What are your thoughts? Not sure. Those decisions are made probably the day before, probably two days before. The coaching staff map out the starting and interchange.

[00:29:51] About a month ago, Sammy, when the entire spotlight was all over Nico, I, yes, I accept that he has to play a significant, a massive role. But my focus is on Adam Fanual Blake and Blake Braley.

[00:30:10] And I said this a month ago, if Adam Fanual Blake dominates, if you go back through premiership winning sides, they all have one key, one key and consistent factor, and that is a dominant front rower. And Adam Fanual Blake was brought to this club to be that dominant man. And ever since, probably four weeks ago, I think he's been absolutely consistent. He's been outstanding. Now, if Adam Fanual Blake dominates, then that means Blake Braley's getting a quick play of the ball and going. He's running.

[00:30:41] Braley, I reckon, and I've been talking to a fair few past origin players about this, that it is hard coming out of your first origin series. And I just wonder whether Blake has tapered, or did taper, post origin, and it's now go time for him as well, as far as I'm concerned. Because if Fanual Blake and Braley are going, then hello, Hines and Trindle have a platform to play with. I don't think there's any doubt it's go time, Dave.

[00:31:09] It's elimination time, and I'm not making light of what you said. I'm reminding myself. Oh, absolutely. There's nothing left to be in the tank. Do or die. And they put themselves in this position, and they know that, and it's time to go. And I did reveal what you revealed to me. I didn't get the specifics, but I did tell our audience that AFP had a little bit of an injury that wasn't widely known about. And people were sort of criticizing him. Oh, that was when he was coming off the bench. Yeah, for his form, and he's not the guy. Yeah, they were just managing him. He'd have an injury, yeah. They were managing him, yeah.

[00:31:40] But he's back to his best now. I think he is. I think he's been terrific, yeah. So him versus Tamalolo is going to shake his hand. I reckon he would have been one that Gale's referring to that shouldn't have played. What do you mean? Oh, last week? Yeah, it's last week. Such is his influence and importance to this team. I would have probably not played Will Kennedy. There's a whole bunch of guys I wouldn't have. I understand if you take everyone out, then you really are just putting out a rookie team, and maybe you didn't want to do that. Yeah. But yeah, there's a number of guys you could probably pick and choose there to rest. But thankfully they all got through it.

[00:32:08] Liam Eysen, who has been absolutely charging. Unbelievable. Charging in New South Wales Cup. He's just picked up a minor knee injury. Yeah, minor only. Minor only, which is great news. They're hoping for two weeks, one to two weeks. Yeah, hopefully those Jets keep on going into the finals. Jersey Flag is in the finals as well. And NRL Dub not making light of it. They're playing for their lives to not get the spoon against the Dragons on Saturday evening. So it's a big day for the Sharks. Massive.

[00:32:37] All four teams in there. Massive. Alright Dave, appreciate your time. How good. Thanks for bringing in your famous friends. There you go. That's very good. Happy to do it for you Sammy. Appreciate it. Now, we will see everyone at the ground, which is going to be fun. You can find out all the details on our socials. And we'll have more episodes for you throughout the week, I'm sure. It's only Wednesday. A few more sleeps before we rock and roll. I've got a few mates going to the Carrington Hotel in Surrey Hills, if there's any Sharkcasters out there. Well... Go along to Sam's one. Yeah, get them to come to our one. Yeah, that's a good idea.

[00:33:07] Where's the Carrington? That's on the Favot Street side of things. Okay. Sorry, Crown Street side of things. Crown Street. Okay, well yeah, on your way, you have one of the Carrington Club. Yeah, depends where you're coming from I suppose. Train or car. There's a million of places. Yeah. And don't forget you can get the bus, I don't know how many buses are left or how many seats are left, but you've got to register with the club. There's also free train travel the NRL are promoting. Yeah, there's not too many excuses and I say that knowing that people can't afford things, they have mobility issues, I get all that.

[00:33:36] But if you can afford it and you can get to a public transport situation, then there are ways to get there for free. So, that's pretty cool. Yeah. Alright Dave, before we go... On your semi. What are you listening to on the stereo? What's going on? Oh, jeez. What have we got? What have we got? What have we got? Got a... Are your kids playing anything? We've got a young... It's like they're... Penelope Road they're called. Penelope Road? Yeah, they're a US band. Yeah. Um... What kind of like? Pop rock? What are we talking?

[00:34:06] Folk? Folk? I like folk. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, they've got a brilliant sound. Is that influenced by your kids or is that... No, I just found them. Okay. It's funny how your Instagram algorithm just finds good stuff for you. That's what the algorithm is? That's what it's there for. That's what it's there for. Okay. Penelope Road. Give it a crack. See what you think. What about the classics? What are you playing? Um... Oh, they're all still there, Sam. You off to see the Phooys in December? It's November, hey. November, are you going? Yes. Hopefully.

[00:34:36] Yeah, hopefully. Um... I'm gonna try and get to New Zealand next year. And I reckon... Early next year. Look, January. I think they're playing there, so I wouldn't mind going and seeing them. It's farming at some of them. You know, seeing them... Seeing a band overseas. Bit of fun. I've done that before, Dave. Yeah. I went and saw the boss. Yeah, of course you would've. Never in Jersey, but I did go to Madison Square Garden, which is kind of better to be honest. Jeez, hello. It was like being in the church of. It was pretty cool. All right, we're gonna get out of here.

[00:35:05] We could talk all day, but we're not going to because Dave's got a million other things to do. Where can we see you? We can see on the agenda setters. Oh, by the way, I know we gotta get out of here. The Jai Arrow interview was... Oh, wow, yeah. Like that was heavy. He's a champion. Oh, the best. Yeah. He, um... Yeah, he's just... I thought everyone handled it really well. He was amazing. Thanks, Sam. Even Brooksy producing it, like you just tell... You guys... A lot of care. Had a lot of care, but also didn't hold back on the questions or anything. Yeah. Which he wouldn't want.

[00:35:30] No, but he's actually quite upfront and okay. Look, we clearly bounce off him. Yeah. Are we okay to ask this, this, and this? And he's like, yeah, just ask me anything. Yeah. His attitude is extraordinary. Oh, man. If you're not moved by his story and by those two games that he started, then you can't be moved. Just incredible scenes, Dave. Like scenes that'll live forever and... Yeah. I mean the amount of...

[00:35:58] The amount of love his family's getting from that, his friends, but then you go to, almost as importantly, the widespread awareness slash money raising for research for MND. Yeah. You'd like to think, out of all this, he changes lives. Has to. You know. It's impossible not to believe that he's not doing that. Like he... That will eventuate. He'll save lives. Yeah. Fingers crossed. Yeah. What an awesome guy. All right, Dave. We're gonna get out of here.

[00:36:28] We'll see you at Allianz. Yeah, I was saying agenda setters, Triple M, Fox Sports. Yep. Next year known as KO League. Yeah. What about that, Sam? You're working for KO League next year. KO League. Yeah. Hopefully. There's Will Kennedy taking the ball up. Looking all right. We're gonna get out of here. Up Up Cronulla. Thanks to Dave, the doctor. We now know why he's called the doctor. Simply DR. Up Up Cronulla. We'll see you later. Let's go. SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland

[00:36:57] Shire, Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate. He's an expert in the Karimbao region and has his eye all across the Shire. Lifelong Sharks fan and supporter of this podcast. If you're looking to buy or sell in the region, the person you need to be talking to is Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Crips & Crips Real Estate.

[00:37:26] Back in the Shire. Turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a trophy.