Finals Week 1, 2026: Exclusive Interviews with Riley Pollard, Riley Jones, Oregon Kaufusi plus Fonua-Blake and McInnes Pressers

[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

[00:00:26] They've got a Facebook page or you could go old school and call them on 029523 9300 SharkCast! Back in the Shire, turn your porch lights off because we're coming out with a trophy!

[00:01:04] Hey there, welcome to SharkCast Pod, a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. My name is Sam Shinazzi, OG 2015, 12 seasons of podcasting, 11 seasons going to the finals. That's a pretty good record. Let's not forget, we started the podcast the year after we got the wooden spoon. So we didn't know what we were in for, 11 or 12 seasons, I think we missed in 21. I'll take that, I'm ready to go. It's finals week, let's pod, let's talk about it.

[00:01:33] Brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Port Hacking. Jason Hawes at Crips and Crips Real Estate. Get our coffee from Mr. Paisley's. If your business or side hustle would like to be in touch with myself, about myself and other people spruiking, your business or side hustle, drop me a line so that we can do all year round. The offer is open, but we're here to talk about the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks finals week, baby. We're playing Saturday night, 7.50pm at Allianz Stadium. Tickets are on sale now for members. General public is probably Tuesday sometime.

[00:02:03] You'll have to look that up yourself. I know myself and a bunch of other members are already sorted for tickets. Purchased, in my mind, we're already there, but it's going to be a long week to get us there. And there's nowhere else you'd rather be than SharkCastPod. We're going to have it all covered for you on this episode today. I love this episode already. In-depth, extensive interviews with Oregon Kifusi, who never talks to the media except for SharkCast. And two gentlemen you haven't heard of from us or much anywhere else.

[00:02:30] And I give to you Riley Pollard and I give to you Riley Jones. The two Riley's. Really good chats with them. I couldn't be more impressed. And you'll hear why and how during the interviews. I don't want to say too much. So you can just go listen to it fresh. But I couldn't be more impressed with either one of them. I think that they both will play really important roles in the future at the club. For two younger guys, they speak well. They seem like fitzy kind of guys.

[00:02:57] You'll hear how grateful and appreciative they are to be sharks. And we do talk contracts. And we talk a bunch of things. So make sure you stick around. So I am going to air them in the way I interviewed the people today. So Augie's up first. It's about seven minutes of Augie. And he himself says that he's not a great talker. He apologized after the interview today. It was probably the, I don't know, fifth, sixth, eighth interview I've done with Augie. And I love talking to him. And he apologized saying, I'm just not good at this.

[00:03:26] And I said, no, no, I really appreciate your time. And I appreciate you coming out of your comfort zone to talk to me and talk to our audience. You don't talk to anyone else. So good to get the insight from one of our front row forwards. But yes, right after that, you'll be hearing from Riley Pollard. And you'll hear from Riley Jones. Make sure you get your tickets. It's now a double header. You heard that right. I think the time is 5, 10 p.m. I'd have to double check that. You'd have to double check that, please.

[00:03:52] The local derby, NRLW, which let's be honest, it's the battle to get off the bottom, is now taking place as the feature game before the NRL final between Cronulla and North Queensland. So you heard that correctly. The NRLW game is being moved from Ocean Protect Stadium to Allianz. Maybe that rubs people the wrong way a little bit if you're planning on going and not going to the other game, etc. But that's what's going on. Jersey Flag is playing that day.

[00:04:22] The Newtown Jets are playing that day. It's going to be a big day for the Sharks. Now on that note, SharkCast, our friends at the Shark Cage, we're going to sort you out for some pregame. Here's where we're looking at. And I'm pretty sure this is locked in from our end. But just double check SharkCage socials. Double check SharkCast socials. That's a tongue twister. And keep listening to the pods. We're going to do a bunch of pods this week. So keep in touch with us. We'll keep in touch with you. But here's what it's looking like.

[00:04:51] From 4pm, a whole bunch of Sharks community is going to be at Watson's EQ. That's in the entertainment quarter right near the stadium. So Moorpark Entertainment Quarter, a place called Watson's EQ. From about 4 o'clock. Some of you are going to go watch NRLW at 5.10. And I think that's awesome. And we encourage it. Some of you will stay at the establishment we're going to be at and hang out and talk about Sharks. Some will arrive after that.

[00:05:19] And then the plan is for Tim and his crew from about 6.45 to walk from the Watson's EQ to Allianz Stadium, which is a very short walk. Have a bit of fun doing so. The club will probably get involved with that kind of thing as well. No one is under any responsibility or allegiance or obligation to do all these things. What I'm suggesting to you is a whole bunch of people are going to be at this place called Watson's EQ. From about 4 o'clock onwards.

[00:05:49] People will come and go. People will arrive a bit later. And the NRLW starts about 5.10. But from about 6.45pm, I'd suggest no later. Tim and the Shark Cage folks are going to walk from Watson's EQ to Allianz Stadium to their section, to their seats. It's obviously just not sitting with them, you go somewhere else, etc. Bit of fun, very inclusive, all welcome, friendly, and I couldn't encourage you more to come along.

[00:06:16] If you're planning on doing something else, why don't you just bring everyone over to this place and we'll hang out together. If someone else has organized the pre-drinks thing and hang out, then get in touch with me and we'll make it work. And everyone come along to the one thing. The bigger, the better, the more Shark Chat. And it's a lot of fun just hanging out and all our nerves in the one place. It's kind of fun. Anyway, that may not be for you. You may want to mind your own business, rock up at 7.40 and watch us win the game and then go home.

[00:06:45] Whatever you want to do, you do. Team List Tuesday will be very interesting. Make sure you tune to our channels on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for the live announcement of the team. And you can comment on the team as we go along. We have lots of chats about all things Carl Sharks. It's not just specifically about Team List. I'll start the show, the stream at about 3.40 p.m. And we just chat. And then at about 4 o'clock, I tell you the team. We talk more about it. And it's all done by about 4.30.

[00:07:15] And we'll turn that into a podcast. I can tell you that I saw some on-field action today down at Ocean Protect Stadium. And everyone who you wanted to see training was training. And there are different scenarios for different situations, different lineups for different situations. But what I gathered was everyone is pretty close to fit, or almost everyone, I would say.

[00:07:36] And the coach has some interesting selections to confirm, at least for Tuesday, team list, if not for Saturday, kickoff at 7.50. Don't think all the positions are done deals. Specifically the center position. I think there's a bit of room to move there. That's not innuendo for there's a change. I'm just telling you that I think that it's not a done deal that anyone has that locked up at the moment on a Monday night. Wait and see on that.

[00:08:04] They look pretty focused and ready to rock. I had some off-air chats with other players, including Sif Talakai. And I said to him, this isn't the last conversation we're going to have. And he said, no, it's not. So you have Sif as a guarantee that we're going to win this week against the Cowboys. They're very much in the mind frame of going out and winning. They look refreshed. They were training really hard. Communication was good. The connection was good. And I think we're good to go. It's going to be interesting to see what the team is made up of, though.

[00:08:34] That's for sure. Make sure you subscribe. Wherever you listen on a podcast, subscribe for free. Follow, subscribe. If you watch us on YouTube, subscribe, follow for free. If you get to us via social medias, which isn't everything, but it is sometimes exclusive stuff that you do get. But Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok. Make sure you subscribe and follow for free. And you'll get all of our content as soon as it drops. And this week is going to be a lot. Can't wait to get more into it.

[00:09:04] Today's been a good day. A couple of eps for you. The Kieran episode is now out and live. Appreciate all your support on all the episodes. We had a great time down at the Ocean Protect Stadium talking to a lot of our listeners. We got some really good interviews to get to. Here comes Oregon. Then we're going to have Riley. And then Riley. Up up Cronulla. Let's rip in. Corfusi over the line. Spitting to try and get it down. Ref gets down and says, yep, I've seen it. And Corfusi scores. Oregon Corfusi joins us on SharkCast.

[00:09:34] Pretty much the only media who ever does is with SharkCast. And we're very proud of that. Oggy, we were just talking off air about the game on the weekend. Very proud of the efforts from all the team, including the young guys. What was it like for you? Two debutantes. One, making his debut for the club. What's that like for you as a... You're not an older guy. You're actually in your mid-20s. But you're a veteran. Yeah, I think somewhat. I guess you could say I was honoured to be a part of that game.

[00:10:00] You know, I know it's special to debut in first grade. Let alone having two. So it's obviously something I wanted to be a part of. Knowing how special it is to the boys. I guess I'm just grateful and honoured, yeah, really to have played that one. Did you have a chat with them at all? Do you have one-on-ones? Does it get that deep and meaningful? Or like, how do you play that? With that, I guess I'm still... I guess I'm just down with everyone. I think I'm just quite a timid sort of fella.

[00:10:29] But you do talk to people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do talk to people. I guess it was real more brief, I guess, just on the emotions and on what they felt. I could relate to that. The game itself was pretty wild. It was a million penalties, a million set restarts. We're right here, and you don't have to comment on it, where there was a blatant forward pass. And I'm not a ref basher. Blatant forward pass led to a try. The other try was a bit hokey. We're down to 11 men at one point.

[00:10:57] So there was a lot of strength shown from the team out there. Yeah, as I said, including three guys making their club debut. So there's a lot to take away from that game going into the finals. Yeah, for sure. I think, you know, off the back of those two tries, I guess, and the 11 men, sorry, I think our response was quite gritty. I think just the resilience the team showed in those patches. And to claw it back, obviously not getting the win.

[00:11:26] But yeah, I feel like that game displayed how gritty, tough we can be when we're all on. Was there a huddle after that try? Did anyone say anything? Was there a leader who was like, hey, okay, we're going to lose, but remember how this feels and that kind of vibe? Was there any talk after that last try, pretty much full time? I was quite a sore loser, if I'm being honest. Sure. I think I just done my rounds around here and then made my way to the sheds.

[00:11:54] But obviously came back out when I sort of sat up and realised that Chiefs last game, C's last game. Yeah. Thought I obviously had to come back out and watch the boys enjoy that moment. How did the coach feel? Post game, the coach was proud, I believe. Look at what we said before, I think just how gritty and tough it was in those conditions. So Cowboys this week, finals. We're coming off in different form.

[00:12:21] So good game last week, a month before pretty patchy, including three losses. It's a new season though, right? So as an athlete, you've played a lot of finals now. Is it a new season? Is it a new week? Do we wipe the slate clean and it's just play on from here? Is that true? I believe so. I think I feel like finals footy is a different story, I suppose. Because we read about that in the press. Anyone can win this game. It's a new week. It's a new competition. And you tend to agree?

[00:12:50] Yeah, I believe so. Obviously, if we can build off the back of that performance against Storm, obviously for the boys coming back, I do believe we can make a fight on this and potentially take it out. Now, where are we at with try scoring this year? Have you scored a try this year? Yes, I have. Okay, excellent. No need to worry about that. We can see Nico Hines going through his motions here. He's been a bit unwell the past few weeks. He looks back looking good. What are you expecting from the Cowboys this week?

[00:13:19] Yeah, but from what I remember, I know they're a pretty physical team. Obviously got a quick back line. Yeah. So in terms of that, I think we just need to, once we get our kick chase and all that all sorted, I feel like obviously physical in the middle, yeah, it would come good. All right, Augie, thanks for your time. Really appreciate it. I know you're not a huge talker, but we've got a great relationship going on. And you're around next year, correct? Yep, yep, yep. Extended, yeah, into next year. Yep, yeah.

[00:13:48] So we can talk more. Although I feel like this won't be the last time we talk this year as well. No, for sure, yeah. I'll see you next week and the week after. Thanks, Augie. No, appreciate it. Thank you, bro. Great man. Sorry, bro, I can't talk to the same people. No, you're great. What are you talking about? I can't talk to the same people. No, no, no, no, no. Eight metres away from the line. Puddle over the top. Petal will get one. Riley Pollard has a try assist in first grade. All right, making his Sharkast debut, Mr. Riley Pollard.

[00:14:18] Fresh from his NRL debut. Riley, how long do you give yourself to be on a high that you're on? Now we're back into the week. I'm assuming you're going to be selected in a game this weekend. How long are you on that high or are you back to business already? You sort of have to get back to business pretty quickly, especially with finals time coming around. But I think definitely the lessons I learned from the game the weekend and sort of the emotions I had with my family

[00:14:47] and just being out there alongside the boys are definitely someone that I'll carry on throughout the week and probably throughout for the rest of the year. So, yeah, try and carry that on for the rest of the year. Was it everything you thought it would be? Because as a spectator, that game literally had everything. Yeah, yeah, it was a bit interesting throughout the whole game. But, yeah, I think as a kid that's what you dream about, playing them type of games. And, yeah, I think everything that I thought it would be more and especially being out there with some of the boys

[00:15:14] that I haven't played with before, it was, yeah, a dream come true. So, you were part of a spine of two Puroos, a Kennedy, Pollard, and you were going up against Farah Logo, the Melbourne Player of the Year, Munster, Hughes, and Harry Grant. Did that cross your mind before the game? Oh, you obviously definitely know who you're versed and know who you're up against and the calibre of players that they are. But I think across the board, like me and Neffa, obviously we've played a lot together

[00:15:43] and same with Herpa and Will, he's a gun at the back. He's played a lot of NRL. So, I think we just knew going into it, if we can do what we need to do for the team and sort of get the other boys around the park, yeah, we could have some success. And, yeah, no, it was pretty cool going up against them guys, especially guys that even has been a young guy growing up watching them play on the TV. So, yeah, it was special. Did you have any chats with them afterwards at all? Yeah, I had a little chat with Munster and Harry. They were sort of just congratulating me on playing

[00:16:12] and I just sort of said, yeah, thanks for the game. It was good to go up against you guys. But sort of not too much. Obviously, they were doing interviews and stuff like that and I sort of wanted to go see the fam and talk to the boys. So, yeah, not too much after. Tell us about the big hit down here. Were you on report or was it your teammate? It was me. It was me on report. Yeah, sort of we had that early kick down there and then just wanted to get up and, yeah, sort of do what I could for the team with,

[00:16:41] I think it was Ho Hepper at the time. And, yeah, I didn't think it was a sort of charge, but obviously that's what the refs thought. So, yeah, it went with that. And, yeah, nothing come from it, which was good. Yeah, because I sit in the upper up there and we saw it. And I said to someone, I said, is that Pollard? And I was like, it couldn't be him. Like, it's not much of you and that sort of thing. And someone's like, no, it's Pollard. And the place went nuts. And you were very emotional after that. That was really good to see.

[00:17:11] Talk to us about pregame. Who was good for you as far as just talking to you about what to experience, what to expect? Who took on those kind of roles for you? I think Fitty, obviously. Like he said to me before the game, he just wants me to keep it simple, go out there, play my game and do what I need to do for the team pretty much. As a half, you sort of have responsibility to kick the ball well. But I think a major part of it, he said to me, was just make sure you get your defence right. Just tackle and everything else comes off the back of that.

[00:17:39] So Fitty was massive for me and as well as a lot of the other boys in the team, they all just backed me and said, look, you've gone here through playing the way that you play. So, yeah, nothing has to change no matter what level you're at. Your defence is really good. Has it always been the case? Well, I grew up playing a bit of hooker. So I sort of was used to being in the middle, especially being a smaller guy, tackling bigger bodies. So I sort of like to say that's something I try and pride myself on, just getting up, making good contact and sort of doing it for the boys around me.

[00:18:08] So, yeah, I've always tried to have that as a strong part of my game. Talk us through the Penrith days. You grew up in Penrith? Yeah, yeah, I grew up in Penrith, South Penrith. And came through their system. I mean, it's obviously a pretty good system and you would have seen a lot of great things. Does anyone there stick out as people who mentored you who we might be aware of? Yeah, well, I sort of wasn't with NRL at the time when I was there. I was obviously a young guy. I did Harold Mats there and first year of SG Ball.

[00:18:37] And I'd say a big thing there was SG Ball coach, Scott Thompson, his name is. I think he's still there. He might be with Flegg and stuff like that now. But he was just massive for me. He was my club football coach as well. And then I transitioned into SG Ball and he sort of just taught me the little ins and outs of the game and little things that most other people might not think about, the little 1% details that if I can nail them, then I'm just going to be a better player at the end of the day. So seeing the things that he knew from the game, from obviously playing when he was younger

[00:19:07] and then as well as watching at the time, I was in, I think it was Harold Mats there, SG Ball and seeing when they won every other grade, just watching the likes of like Isaiah Katoa and them type of boys play, sort of just trying to aspire to get to that point. And did you play with Isen as well? I played a lot of school footy with him. So we both went to school together at St Dominic's College out in Kingswood. I never got to play with him at Penrith because when I was playing first year of SG Ball,

[00:19:35] he already made the jump to flag. But yeah, at school footy, we had a pretty handy spine there at one time. It was me, him, Luke Hansen and Jet Cleary all in the spine at one time. So yeah, it was a good experience out there playing with them boys at school. And have you spoken to Liam about the fact that you've ended up in the same place? Yeah, yeah. Well, we sort of come over the same year at Sharks and yeah, it was a big jump for both of us. But yeah, we sort of had a look back. We were like saying about when we were at school,

[00:20:03] just how good our school footy team could have been. And without revealing too much, are you living this side of Sydney or are you still back out west? No, I moved out here about a year ago. I was doing the drive every day and yeah, just sort of got to be much. I was spending too much time in the car where I would have rathered to put all my energy into being here. So yeah, I moved out to the Shire and yeah, I haven't looked back since. How's the transition been? It's a lot different. The Shire's obviously a lot different at Penrith, the beach instead of the river. But no, I've loved it. I moved out with my partner

[00:20:32] and she's been massive and helped me sort of transition as well. Can we talk contract stuff without getting you any trouble or anything? Is it true that you're off contract this year? So I still have next year. So yeah, I have next year. Sorry, people can talk to you in a month or two? In November, as of November 1, yeah. But I love where I'm down. I love what I'm doing here at the Sharks. And yeah, I think just the group of boys we have here and the trust that all the coaching staff have in everyone here and me as well. I just, yeah, it's a place I want to be. That's great news.

[00:21:02] What's it like for you, I guess, waiting in the wings because of your age, because of your experience? Hines, Trindle, we know that Nephi's going to Perth, which is awesome for him. So you'll be next man up, we assume. Are you happy to take that role? Are you happy to wait and wait for your time, I guess? Yeah, well, obviously made my debut on the weekend, but I still think I have a lot of things that I can add to my game to sort of make it more whole or add a few more strings to the bow, as you'd say. But yeah, whatever.

[00:21:32] I'll have a chat with Sharks, obviously, now and coming up, just on what they're thinking. But yeah, I love where I am. So yeah, I wouldn't change anything. Now, it won't surprise you because I know you've seen the show that we have a lot of listeners and viewers, and I'm going to call a portion of them lovingly lunatics, right? And I know that I call them that. They've already got you starting round one. They got you starting this week. They're not living in the reality. But that's why I asked you about what it's like for you waiting your turn because of course you want to play NRL.

[00:22:02] You've already experienced it. It's amazing. What's a guy like Nico Hines? We can see him out there doing his extras. What's he like for your career? As in mentoring and are you guys good friends and that kind of thing? Yeah, well, he's massive. Nico's been massive since I've come over. I've come over here when I was 18, and he was the halfback at the time. I think he might have just won Dally M that year or the year before. So I think he was the perfect guy for me to come in and sort of learn off. And I think every single day since then I've learned off him. And he's always been there, helping hand,

[00:22:31] or anything that I've ever needed. He's been the first person there. So having guys like him and Trindle that I can sort of look towards and ask for advice, and especially them guys, they've been around league a long time. They're a lot older than me. So I think having them there to sort of lean on if I need it has always been good. And just on that next man up, I'm going to assume, you don't have to say anything, I'm going to assume you're the next man up next year. If that's the case, how would that make you feel? Yeah, no, it'd be good, obviously. NRL, I've played one game now. That's where you want to aspire to.

[00:23:01] That's where you want to be. So, yeah, if there's an opportunity for me to play or whatever in any capacity that they need me in the team or something like that, I'd be more than happy to play pretty much. But, yeah, I'll be doing everything I can to be out there. And tell us about your Jets. How have you found the Jets experience? Yeah, no, I've loved it. Hey, this is my second year at Jets this year now. I've come through Flegg and then played this year last year. So, I've been loving it. The group, it's a lot different to, say, training there every week

[00:23:30] and stuff like that, going back, maybe only getting one session a week with the boys. But, no, I've been loving it. Everyone's so tight in and everyone loves pulling that jersey on. What do you make of the Cowboys this week? We're playing them at Allianz Stadium Saturday night. What's your overall impression of, I guess, current day Cowboys? No, they're a good side. They're a quality team. I don't think any team in the finals is in a quality side. I guess that's why they're there. So, no, I think it'll be a good game. Obviously, it's a new comp now.

[00:23:59] Sort of got to look forward to, yeah, being a new comp and sort of putting your best foot forward because I guess now that everyone, the top eight's sorted, anyone can do anything from any spot. So, yeah, I think it'll be a big good game out there Saturday night. It's a big day. I think are the Jets playing on Saturday as well? Yeah, I think Flegg Jets and NRL all on Saturday. And less than any of that, NRLW as well. Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, they'll be on Saturday too. So, it should be a good day for the club. Hopefully, four wins across the board, which will be nice. All right. I'm going to let you go in a second, Riley.

[00:24:29] But one thing we always ask people for the first time is about their music taste. Genre, band, artist, whatever you like. There's no wrong answer. What are you into? Oh, I sort of mix it up a fair bit. I love my country music. But then I'm also a big Drake fan. Drake fan. So, yeah, if I'm not mixing up between country and Drake, yeah, I don't know. It's sort of them two. And then if not, it's just whatever Ho-Pelu puts on the speaker pretty much. That's what I've got to say. Can you be more specific about country?

[00:24:58] Love of Jordan Davis, Luke Combs, obviously Morgan Wollin. They're the two big guys right now. And Ella Langley as well. Some of the songs that she's come out with. But even a bit of Cody Johnson too. So, yeah, sort of chained it up a fair bit. Whatever I'm like at the time. I like Cody Johnson a lot actually do you go to concerts at all? I've been to a few I went to Luke Combs last year I think it was but yeah we're definitely looking to looking to go some more soon I wouldn't mind seeing Zach Bryan or someone like them like them play

[00:25:28] and live that'd be really cool Nico's a big country guy yeah he is Nico if you're hearing this please sort us out with some tickets please some of your Sony contacts alright Rally Pied thanks for your time appreciate it I'll speak to you soon appreciate it thank you thank you thanks mate thank you brother Porto ball out again it's a shark

[00:25:57] have a look at the reaction alright Rally Jones fresh off your NRL debut for the Sharks you played one game for the Knights in 23 but talk us through the game it was pretty crazy like everything that you could have thought happened kind of happened right? yeah it was a it was a crazy one obviously got them the two boys sent off yeah it sped the game up a little bit obviously a lot more defending but yeah got shifted around a little bit which was a bit crazy but yeah

[00:26:27] it made the game go pretty quick which was nice so instead of looking at the clock and that it was yeah it was pretty good but yeah obviously not ideal we didn't get the win yeah obviously pretty devastating the last ten seconds or whatever it was a score and a try it was heartbreaking but just yeah so so grateful to be out there with such such a good bunch of boys yeah for sure we'll talk about that in a second about the week and everything

[00:26:56] but let's go back a little bit did you grow up in Newcastle or is there a story away from that? yeah I grew up on the central coast so that's my home signed a deal with Newcastle and then I moved up to Newcastle with my partner lived there for a couple years which was an amazing experience such a good group of boys there and yeah and then I got the opportunity to come here and I haven't looked back so tell us about the clothing brand yeah yeah it's with Cailin

[00:27:26] and we've both got an interest in golf and fashion so we're just trying to combine them two and yeah bring that to life it's been a difficult process but it's it's a bit slow at the moment we're obviously focusing on these last couple weeks it's obviously a very important time so put that on the back burner for a couple weeks and then can yeah hopefully get it off the ground in the off season now there was a chance you were going to play each other this week

[00:27:56] it hasn't come to fruition who knows what's going to happen in the finals do you still have close ties up there yeah definitely yeah I love all the boys they're mad I'd obviously love to play them as well it'd be pretty cool so but yeah all the boys are awesome there I don't have a bad word to say about anyone I had such a good experience there and learnt so much off everyone but yeah the group we got here is something special and I just can't wait to see where it goes so you signed on for another year

[00:28:25] which is awesome congratulations on that you played a bunch of different positions I remember when you came here we were like scouting you and it's like he plays hooker he plays all these different positions but you seem to really found yourself in the centres especially for the Jets is that where you feel most at home now or yeah loving it there it's obviously a big change from hooker it's a completely different game and position obviously but

[00:28:54] such talented boys to learn off as well that are so experienced so just pick their brains where I can like I said it's a big change but the coaching staff and boys is amazing I couldn't be under anyone better to learn the position and to have Fitzsie's trust he just gives it to me straight and backs me with confidence and yeah it makes my job easier you had some really nice things to say about you pre-game and post-game

[00:29:23] about why you were the guy to bring up and the trust he had in you how does that make you feel? yeah pretty special to be honest yeah it's pretty pretty cool to see so it just he just he doesn't mind if we make a mistake he doesn't want us to be play with play or tensed up and try and play safe he just he said to me he just wants me to go out there and play my game drop my shoulders and yeah

[00:29:51] if I'm relaxed out there I'll hopefully play good footy so he just gives me so much confidence and that's the thing I've been struggling with obviously coming from Newcastle to here I obviously struggle with that a little bit I just wasn't playing my best footy but I'm starting to find that confidence again and yeah I can yeah hopefully start to play my best footy what was it like out here? pretty big crowd big event with the old boys in the house I mean you must have felt a little bit of nerves yeah yeah definitely did it was a long day

[00:30:22] obviously a late game so you have all that whole day to wait around and think about it but I felt before the game I actually felt calm obviously you look around in the sheds and you look who's standing next to you it makes you feel pretty good so it makes me makes me feel calm and know that I've got such good players playing around me and yeah to play it like get my first game at home like yeah it's couldn't have happened at a better time and felt like I was ready I just

[00:30:51] yeah needed to go perform well you did you had a great game all three guys on debut for the sharks had a great game now a lot of family and friends in the house yeah heaps of family and friends which was amazing so yeah they all made the trip up from the coast which was good so yeah good to have them here obviously made it even more special it was a long week we found out pretty early so that dragged the week on a little bit I just wanted to get out there and play so but yeah like like you said it's so special to have them here

[00:31:21] they've been along for the journey as well it hasn't been an easy journey it's been tough to get back like obviously been out for them years since I played it's it hasn't been easy but yeah it was a pretty cool moment to share with them what did they say to you after the game obviously they were proud but I mean I know you've got a brother in the picture did he give you any did he give you any advice or yeah nah it was good he had a couple beers which brought him out of his skin a little bit he's pretty quiet mate so yeah

[00:31:51] he's just wrapped for me everyone was wrapped so just excitement it's just so good to see him all so happy yeah which just puts me like a in such a good place and just a smile on my face so very grateful we can see over there someone who plays in your position looking like an Adonis like he is yeah the great KL era is he and other guys I mean I guess Jesse Raymond as well they had good advice for you along the way yeah amazing he

[00:32:20] KL has been massive for me same as Rames Sifar all the boys like they're so good KL is just obviously like yeah speak about everyone here but they're just players that you want to be like and go after the game they just yeah just approach it with everything they have and that's just how I want to play my game as well I don't I don't want to leave anything on the field I want to go after it and KL is a perfect example for that so what was it like for you playing for the Knights I mean that was obviously boyhood dream come true

[00:32:50] yeah it was yeah it was it was a dream come true to make my NRL debut got told during the week same thing and yeah obviously a pretty nervous week I was a bit younger so I was pretty pretty nervous but same as here there's such a good group of boys feel comfortable out there had the had the two safides there as well which was nice but yeah it's just yeah very grateful very grateful Sharks playing finals this week against the Cowboys in the city

[00:33:19] at the SFS Alleynce Stadium we're recording this on Monday afternoon I am aware that you are in line to play centre you don't have to say a word I don't even think you know there is a chance and there's a chance you won't so let's not sugarcoat that but that's got to be a pretty cool feeling now that you you're on the cusp of really playing big time football whether it happens or not you're in the picture yeah yeah really special obviously don't know yet but whatever decision

[00:33:48] Fitzgerald makes I'll back 100% so if he decides to put someone else there then I'll I'll back him with that so whatever happens will happen but obviously if I get the opportunity yeah words can't explain like it's obviously a dream come true to play an NRL game but to play in the semi-finals will yeah be pretty special I don't want to toot your horn too much Riley but you've done a bit of press here this afternoon this is our first time meeting people are going to hear from you this week

[00:34:17] more than they ever have probably I think you're going to be a bit of a cult favourite around here I really do you've got the hair you've got the attitude you're a nice dude you've got the tattoos which is every footballer I know but tell us about living in the Shire obviously a lot of similar traits to Newcastle yeah wouldn't have been that hard to adapt as far as geography and location yeah you happy here? yeah so happy here I was a little bit worried coming to Sydney actually because I obviously grew up on the coast and it's pretty quiet on the coast we were around Baddow Bay area

[00:34:47] so it's pretty quiet beachy and then moving to Newcastle is very similar to the coast so yeah once I first heard Sydney I was a little bit nervous but once being here it's the exact same Cronulla's amazing it's such an amazing place and yeah I've got an amazing partner and a great dog as well which keeps me pretty tame he's pretty naughty so yeah he keeps me busy but yeah it's my partner surfs as well so yeah

[00:35:16] I'm so fortunate to live here I'm so lucky to call my home for now awesome I appreciate your time I know you've had a long day and doing lots of media and it's been a big week for you man how did you sleep on Saturday night? good or bad? yeah nah terrible I normally sleep yeah I normally sleep fine after a game obviously this one was a lot different to a cup game I normally get to sleep I'm a safe touch wood I'm a pretty good sleeper but I was tossing and turning for a while just playing the game back in my head

[00:35:45] had the fam staying with me as well which was which was nice but yeah I didn't get a whole lot of sleep to be honest and I was up pretty early so obviously wouldn't change it for the world so yeah have you watched it back? we've done video and stuff like that so was it mostly positive? yeah it was yeah mostly positive we're also now just focusing on this week ahead obviously it's a finals game so put that game behind us I take the positives out of it obviously it wasn't ideal to get the get the loss but

[00:36:15] I take the positives out of it and then focus on this week and the Cowboys alright one last thing before we let you go we always talk about music with people who we interview for the first time yeah so tell me a band artist genre there's no wrong answer obviously just give us a bit of an insight into Riley Jones playlist or what you're into I actually listen to everything to be honest I'm not I'm not a judgy person when it comes to music before a game I'll actually just listen to some calm music

[00:36:43] just some country or I've been getting into just like some black eyed peas and all all of that stuff yeah some different stuff but yeah I honestly listen to anything obviously the boys have the speaker blaring so I just listen to whatever they're they're playing what about when you're at home have you got a favourite go-to or a favourite band or an artist I don't to be honest I listen to a lot of podcasts yeah I'd much rather listen to them than music

[00:37:13] hopefully learn some stuff from there and that but interesting I'm a big big podcast guy yeah could you do me a favour and follow Sharkcast after this I can definitely do that for you yeah definitely give us some favourite podcasts or genres or whatever are you learning about science or about sport or yeah it's not so much sport I like to switch off when I get home and it's more about the mind and the body and yeah my favourite ones are just learning about the body

[00:37:43] I guess and like obviously so many people have different opinions on it and I just like to take a bit of grain of salt from everywhere and then yeah do it I think from there so yeah big ones like just recovery and stuff like that as well like it's got me super into obviously the saunas and ice baths and all of that stuff so yeah I definitely learn a lot and about the mind I'd ideally like to read some books and that but I can't sit still for that long so podcast is good I can just

[00:38:13] go for a walk and chuck on a podcast or an audio book or something like that so yeah alright Raleigh Jones thanks for your time really appreciate it wherever you play on Saturday good luck it could be for the Jets it could be for the Sharks it could be somewhere in between but thanks for your time really appreciate it beautiful thank you so much mate thanks Raleigh too easy nah thank you really appreciate your time now now for Noah Blake that time step off the left for Noah Blake he's there he's over for Cronella oh look you know it's not ideal obviously

[00:38:43] you work hard to get a home semi but in saying that it doesn't really faze me too much you know play wherever come finals time you just want to you want to be in the finals and then now that it's here yeah it's ready to go wherever and whenever sorry fans though that's unfair yeah 100% obviously you know but the decision to take it away from here is out of our control obviously and yeah it's obviously like I said it's not ideal but you know the boys are just ready to go play here play down the road

[00:39:13] doesn't really matter so yeah yeah obviously you know like I said you know you want to you want to play at your home ground and in front of your home fans and obviously you know that's the incentive of finishing higher in the ladder and yeah it's obviously been taken away but like I said man the decision was made is above us all we can control is how we prepare for the weekend and get enough for it yeah he's looking good you know he's been ready to go for a week

[00:39:43] or so now so you know we're going to need him this weekend so yeah can't wait to get out there with him yeah definitely you know obviously things that he can do you can't coach you know he's just that you know we've obviously seen what he can do and he's pulled us out of the fire a few times this year so yeah looking forward for him coming back into the team and yeah can't wait I don't know he's got a fair bit of wraps but yeah

[00:40:13] I reckon he's just scratching the surface of what he can be trick you know he's still he's still got such a long way to go and yeah he can say underrated but I don't want to give him too big a head you need him to be good but you all need to be good as a squad because it's been a pretty disappointing finish to this season how do you flush that out and start again yeah look it wasn't ideal the way we finished the you know the final bits of the season but yeah it's a new comp now what's been done is

[00:40:43] doesn't really matter really it all goes on the line this weekend so yeah it's just about putting it behind us and getting back to performing the way that we know we can you're going to have a big match up in the middle Jason Tomololo as well he loves to run the ball up to yeah definitely got enough respect for Jason and he's been such a great player for his team for a long time and yeah I'm definitely going to have my hands full this weekend our whole four pack so yeah it's going to be a good game in the middle and yeah can't wait when you came to this club

[00:41:13] it was a bit of an idea that you'd be the driving force to push them to become a premiership contender and to make that final mission beyond the prelim into the big one yeah how do you feel about that is there a personal way to responsibility you carry now coming to this game nah not really man I think I've approached you know big moments in my career always the same just do what I I know I can do and just do it to the best I can and yeah obviously these big games there's an element of pressure but yeah man it's just about how

[00:41:42] you sort of view it and yeah I don't really feel that they sort of pressure moments really yeah yeah I think the laptop deserved today nah nah look you know everyone's a you know can spill over a bit of emotion I think it's just a bit hard when you've got about 50,000 cameras on you at all times but yeah look he's only human and you know you get those sometimes so he was a bit a bit more

[00:42:12] a bit less animated over the weekend so nah it's good yeah 100% and like yeah these games and the moments sometimes you lose them and sometimes you don't get it right and I'm pretty sure he's told you they didn't get it right that time but yeah what's a laptop man he's got heaps of money he can buy now yeah I think just only Ronnie was the one that wants to take him on the most him and Ron always go out

[00:42:41] in a world of words but nah I think 50 would give him a hiding actually does it fire you guys up seeing how much you know he cares but then he shows that in that moment about how much it means to him in a game that of course there was stuff on the line but it wasn't a knockout semi like it is this week right? yeah definitely you know he just wants us to be successful and play the way that we know we can play and

[00:43:13] yeah go after it talk about Trindle do you think Niko misses him in a way when they're not there I know they're the starting halves together but do you feel like maybe they just complement each other perfectly and Niko does miss having a guy like that? yeah probably man like those two put a thousand reps in each week you know getting to know each other's game and obviously building over a long pre-season and stuff like that so obviously for one of them to drop out and not be playing with the other one it obviously there's that chemistry you know that takes time to build but yeah look games out

[00:43:42] Niko missed out Tricky stepped up for us and then same when Tricky has missed you know games Niko stepped up for us so I'm just glad that they're both back and healthy this weekend because we're going to need them both to be far and you know to give ourselves the best shot there's a message to fans they say that Sharks fans might not travel to Allianz but call that there just to get out there and support you guys yeah you know it'd be you know real good feeling running out to a lot of Sharky's fans there at Allianz but yeah man like I said

[00:44:11] wherever we play I'm sure we'll get some fans there is there a sense of doing it for them setting them up for the start yeah 100% you know they've been the centre of a lot of our team guys like that you know obviously even like a few other guys Chris Vaila and all of that they're all leaving you know and you want to sort of put your best foot forward and put in performances that they can be proud of you know so that when they're all said and done that they're proud of the jersey and then they've left it in the better spot

[00:44:40] than they found it and yeah look we're all starting to realise that you know it's just coming to an end and you know you can't can't really put your wrong foot forward in these games because it's do or die so yeah yeah he's I feel like he's been the heart and soul of the club for a long time you know it's a guy that he'll put his head most people won't put their hands or their feet you know but yeah he's such a great leader for the club and you know he's definitely helped the club

[00:45:09] grow in so many ways and you know he's unselfishly vacated the spot for someone next year and yeah you know he just helps everyone so much around the club man and yeah he'll definitely be missed I'm not like the most emotional guy anyway but it's like because there's so much ahead of us still it's sort of hard to like live in that space

[00:45:39] really like yeah maybe later on I might kick myself for not getting lost in it but yeah I still feel like this week's another opportunity to play with another opportunity on that if things go well so yeah it's hard to sort of touch on that right now like I think that was spoken about earlier wasn't it that that would be a possibility and Allianz

[00:46:09] is a great place to play as well so not unhappy about that I guess the weird thing is that like it wasn't sure going like even before this week like sometimes you're just like why do you have to wait like if you knew what it was going to be anyway just say it so that's the only thing for me is sometimes not just this decision but others like why do you just say it now when if you knew all along anyway but other than that

[00:46:39] it's not fair enough it's not fair enough

[00:47:09] play to be here to be here at this time and we're one of eight teams that gets that opportunity so yeah you don't need to be too down about where the game is going to be played because if if you get to that final day yeah you would ask anybody you'd play it anywhere so it's alright no I don't think so for a number of reasons like firstly we've identified where we lost our way there

[00:47:38] which is good and then yeah on the weekend just passed not like when I say not a lot to play for there's always something to play for in footy but it didn't matter sort of how we finished there but I just felt the way we attacked the game some of the things that went against us yeah I was so proud but also I was like yeah that's our DNA that's where it is got to earn that again this week but I reckon the previous

[00:48:08] weeks before then even though we had the win against Titans I don't think we had that DNA performance so it's good to have the performance yeah yeah of course you can yeah there's plenty of yeah it's yeah obviously you want to play your best every week and we don't get me wrong we're not like just excusing some of the performance we've had because we take it very seriously

[00:48:38] but footy's got to be earned every single week and yeah so we'll go oh yeah of course yeah he's he's one of the I'd say the e-form half in the comp throughout this year like I don't know what other people would say but that's what I think so yeah of course he's gonna make a massive difference just on that too curious as to you said you found your way and what you'd lost in the last couple of

[00:49:07] weeks you felt like you'd found in the storm what is it that you did find throughout the last month that we haven't everyone hasn't gone out to do their best there's nothing like that but team game footy where everybody's at such a high level if your energy's not

[00:49:37] in the right area which we speak about and we know what those areas are then you can get beaten by anyone so yeah I thought we put that in the right places on the weekend from people that watch the game would see that in the intensity of our defence yeah so and a couple tries went against us that everybody else can be the judge of what the outcome of them should have been but yeah I thought we were pretty strong the other

[00:50:10] week yeah I just like he had a laugh with us about it but like we like warranted like we knew how we were playing and he doesn't get the opportunity to be out there and at least try and do something about it does he so yeah but yeah we had a laugh about it like have a laugh but also know that the reason for that is how we're all sort of feeling so yeah yeah yeah SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real

[00:50:40] estate agent in the Sutherland Shire Jason Hawes from Crips and Crips Real Estate he's an expert in the Karemba 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 and Crips Real Estate call him on 0410 417 450 that's 0410 417 450 Jason Hawes Crips and Crips Real Estate

[00:51:10] in the Shire turn your points lights off because we're coming home with a trophy Crips you