Flagship Episode (kinda) w/ Rich Ossington from Mr Paiselys

[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] 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, this is a special episode, an unscripted, unprompted, unplanned episode, which is what we like best. And we're at Mr. Paisley's, and we are here with our special guest making his debut, not nervous at all, Mr. Rich Ossington. You've heard him on other podcasts, I know this for a fact. Rich?

[00:01:32] I'm good Sam, thanks for having me. Long time listener, big fan. Awesome. Yeah, thanks for having me. Pleasure. Tell us about yourself, when did you become a Sharks fan? That would be from a very young age, growing up in the Shire in Cronulla, and my dad's a massive Sharks fan. So, only fitting that I followed suit, and so, yeah, since I can remember, mate, always been a Sharky. All time favourite Shark? It'd have to be Matt Rogers. Why?

[00:02:01] I just loved him, mate. He was, you know, scoring tries, super quick, kicking goals, you know, just, yeah, it was always him. Him and ET, obviously ET's the, you know, the main one for that era, but no, for me it was Matty Rogers. Where were you sitting in the 2016 Grand Final?

[00:02:21] I was sitting about 15, 20 rows back behind the post while we were defending that, that last set that felt like it lasted a lifetime. So you were amongst it? I was amongst it. Feelings at full time?

[00:02:36] Mate, I was with my parents, my girlfriend, now wife, and my brother, so we were all sitting there and, yeah, there was a lot of emotions and man hugs with, you know, the brother, the dad, and tears flowing, and yeah, it was pretty special. All right, all right. Well, we can't just talk about 2016 Rich. Yeah. That's another episode we do. How do you think the Shark's going in 2026?

[00:03:02] It's funny, I actually saw a post recently where it had a breakdown of, you know, this point of the season for the last five or six years under Fitz, and the win-loss record is, has basically remained consistent. You know, obviously when we're good, we're real good. And when we're bad, we're, we're pretty bad. There doesn't seem to be much in between. Obviously we're, we're down a few troops and we have been for the best part of the season.

[00:03:30] You know, in parts we've plugged those holes and then, you know, in other games we seem to, it's been a real miss. I think we're, we're kicking along nicely, particularly the last two weeks. I know, you know, you can say that the Dragons weren't much of an opposition, but from what they did against the Bronx to, you know, that first half against us last week, you could put a case for the, you know, that was a danger game. It always is. You can throw form out the window in a derby, but that was a must win. That was super important.

[00:03:59] You know, obviously with the next two weeks and, you know, the road trip to NZ is going to be tough and then back up against the Roosters, albeit after origin. And I'd say we're tracking pretty well. And, you know, we've all seen what some of these teams from last year, these, you know, the red hot teams, your Broncos and Melbournes and Dogs Raiders, you know, last year's minor premiers and where they're all sitting.

[00:04:23] You know, you've got to think at some point at least two of those are going to click into gear and, and find their form and, and shoot straight back up to the top. But we just need to be there or thereabouts. And, you know, obviously we've heard for a number of years that this is the last, you know, the last dance for this team. So let's, well, we're nearly halfway through the year now already, which has gone quick.

[00:04:47] So let's see how much that, that drives them and how much that means as we, you know, get closer to the back end. Now we should point out the reason you're on the show, because not every man, woman and dog get on the show because there's not enough time in the, in the world for that. But you are known in some circles and hopefully more after people hear this to be a bit of a Jersey guy. And also you participate in passing on jerseys to others. Do you want to talk about that a little bit?

[00:05:17] Yeah. So look, I've always loved jerseys, spent way too much money on them in the past. And it sort of just got to a point where I had so many, they were, you know, they were in drawers, they were in different cupboards. My, my wife's cupboard, my, you know, my little boy's cupboard. And my wife just said, you know what, like, let's, let's get you a proper setup. So she actually bought it for me, which I couldn't believe. So I've got a big, you know, double rack there in, in the home office at home with all the jerseys on there.

[00:05:46] And, you know, it's always, cause it's a hunting, you know, the grail, if you, if you like that, that jersey that you always thought you'd, you'd never find or you'd never be able to get, you know, and having a few of those and, and finding them and, and then helping others. Cause you know, when someone goes, Oh, I'm, you know, I'm looking for this. Can you help me out? And if I've got it and that's one that I'm happy to part with, then I, you know, I've done that plenty of times.

[00:06:14] And, you know, a few, a few different people that obviously you, you deal with along the way that I've bought from or sold to in the past. And you start to build those relationships and a heap of people along the way. And then it just sort of, you know, it stems from there and you build kind of a, I guess you'd call it your, your circle where, you know, certain people that are going to have what you're looking for,

[00:06:39] or either you're buying for yourself or you're helping someone else, you sort of start to know who to, who's your go to, you know, steer someone in that direction or. Yeah, mate, I love it. I've got way too many at the moment. I've just added to my collection. Thanks to yourself this morning, which is good. What's the best way people can check you out? Is it Instagram? Yeah. Instagram, um, Rocky's underscore jerseys. So I've got a predominantly sharks collection on there.

[00:07:07] Um, but I'm also a big fan of the English Super League. So I've got some, some pretty nice Leeds Rhinos jerseys on there. And, and then along the way, you know, it's a few other pieces that I've loved, you know, Gold Coast Chargers and, you know, some Melbourne Storm jerseys. Actually, I know they're the enemy or they were in 2016, but they've got some crackers in the past, um, that I love to, you know, been lucky enough to, to find.

[00:07:33] But yeah, I love the, you know, hunting around on eBay and, you know, marketplace and, and finding, you know, what people have and what's around. Yeah. I love it. What's your favorite sharks jersey? My favorite, there's two. So I've got a, uh, 95 sharks Reebok. Mm-hmm. That's probably always been my favorite, but then you can't really go past the Super League. They're just, yeah, something about them, they hit different.

[00:08:02] Um, so they, they'd probably be my two. All right. So Rocky's jerseys, Rocky, Rocky's underscore jerseys. Is that right? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. Back to the footy. What did you make of the Dragons game? The first half was super patchy. I put it down to just poor handling. I can't see much else that went crazily wrong in that half, except for the handling. But what did you make of the game? And where were we struggling? Where'd we pick it up? What did you make of the Dragons game? I have to agree. The handling, it was poor.

[00:08:30] It just, that game and sitting there at halftime and it really, you kind of had the vibe that it was, it was going to turn out to be like that Roosters game. Although, you know, in that game we were in front and we ended up losing. We were behind. I mean, it just, it had that feel about it that, you know, this team's come out on fire, confident after last week. They put a bit of pressure on us. We just didn't seem to have a plan B.

[00:09:00] Once that sort of pressure was applied, you know, we were matching them in the middle, but we just couldn't get it done. So, to see that second half performance where we completely flipped that game on its head, gave them absolutely nothing. They didn't even look like scoring, to be fair. And just, we came home with a wet sail. It was, it was good to see. Because there was definitely that feeling that, oh, okay, this is going to be one of those days.

[00:09:27] And it just doesn't look like we're, we're going to be able to get there. What did you make of the subs with your, your knee fires and your heppers and your barrels? What do you mean, think of those guys this year? I think we've, you know, for so long, obviously we all know Braley's record. Unfortunately, that was just broken with his arm. But running with the two hooker scenario with barrel and her hepper, I've, I've actually loved it. And it, it seems like it's given us a little bit of that point of difference. We haven't toyed with that.

[00:09:55] I can't remember, you know, the least 140 games. Well, that's exactly right. So, you know, we've seen many teams doing it at not just club level, but obviously state of origin as well. And with the new rules and how the game is sort of being played this year, I think it's nice to see that we've gone, okay, let's, let's adjust. Let's try this. Cause it works. Um, I think I've probably been a bit critical of our bench rotation at, at points this year

[00:10:23] with, you know, certain players, but they got the job done. That's the main thing. And now they need to kick on and do it again this week against the wires. Yeah. Tough one coming up. That's for sure. Uh, where do you stand on Mt Smart Stadium and all the hullabaloo? Not so much the hullabaloo, but what's, what's your thoughts on the stadium? Absolutely. It's home for the playing group. You know, they've, they openly come out. Fitz came out and set it in the presser. You know, they love it. They don't, obviously they don't want to go anywhere, but for the fans, I mean, you

[00:10:52] know, for me, that's all I remember being a kid. I think I went to my first game when I would have been five or six, you know, sitting there with my dad and, you know, watching ET and Peachy and, you know, Matt Rogers run around. That's their memories. Obviously, you know, semi-final football different. Fair enough. Um, you have to move to, you know, either a neutral ground or a bigger one to get that capacity. Great. But club games, no. You're not moving. You lose that atmosphere.

[00:11:21] I don't personally believe that the fans would travel. If, you know, we moved to Allianz. They might get, you know, ballpark 6,000 regulars maybe. And that's not good for anyone. I don't personally believe the NRL would have purchased, you know, the Quest Hotel. Yeah. Um, yeah. If they were just going to turn around and say, see you later. And that same hotel is a sponsor of the Sharks themselves. So, none of it kind of adds up.

[00:11:50] And we don't need to go to the source of that. Yeah. I mean, it's just not happening. I guess for me, Rich, the biggest thing that I took offense to was the reaction, uh, the effect it had on the fans. It's, so the fans, a lot of the fans don't know better. They don't know how to read the media, so to speak. And, and they just go straight to the worst possible scenario. And I was personally offended by that. I just thought that, because I was getting, you know, hundreds of messages from people who were legitimately worried, scared, heartbroken, anxious. It's like, this doesn't seem very fair. Yeah.

[00:12:19] I'm the same. And, you know, people, obviously I understand the media as their job is to get clicks and, and, uh, boy, do they get some on that. But the spreading of some of that information that was so inaccurate, scare the fans or there was an element of turning the fans against the club with some of the stuff that I read. Fans should seek answers from the club because we're being lied to. And it's just rubbish. I'm glad it's all died down.

[00:12:46] To be honest, I would have probably liked a, a shutdown or a response from the club sooner than what we got, but it came. So just on that, Rich, for all of our listeners, the reason I got from the club and it's, it's pretty good is that they just didn't want to delve into that kind of gutter journalism side of things. They didn't want to give it any attention and they knew they were going to respond within 24 hours, which they did.

[00:13:12] So the plan was always there, but they just felt like if they were to jump on every rumor, for example, it wouldn't set a good precedent. Now this was a pretty big one and I don't think there's a correct way in doing it. Like they could have, I'm with you. Like I would have liked something earlier, but when they said, well, why the hell should we give this any kind of credit? I see that side of things as well, but let's get to more positive stuff. Will Kennedy, fullback for the Sharks.

[00:13:40] One of the great fullbacks for the Sharks. Signed for another year. What are your thoughts on that? I think it's good business for both Will and for the club. I mean, a lot of people probably look at it and go, oh, just one year or why one year? I don't see that as a bad thing going in increments of one year. We've seen obviously this year he's behind Brails. He's, you'd have to put him up there as our best, at least most consistent performer each week.

[00:14:08] That's what we're going to get out of Will on a weekly basis. And obviously not everyone's going to love him and people are going to knock, not only him, but any player on performance. But I think some of the knocks on him in recent times have probably been unfair. You know, he was arguably one of our best last week, but I did see some comments from fans saying that he was worst on ground, which I'm happy with the re-signing.

[00:14:34] Obviously, we've got some young guys coming through and, you know, Liam Eysen is obviously coming back from an ACL. So there's guys there. We've got depth. I don't mind the one year deal. I think for the player, it's probably not ideal, obviously. Although in this case, I'm assuming that he got a bump up rather than a bump down. So if you go year by year, you can go, hey, I've had a pretty good year. Like, come on. But from a club point of view, you're right. Like, it makes great sense.

[00:15:01] And you would think if they could do it more often, they probably would. It's hard to swing those ones, though. But yeah, I'm with you. I think he's one of our most consistent players. And he's not perfect. He made some errors last week, but he was still probably top two, three best on field. So he's signed. Big Felix Vartili has just signed yesterday a two-year deal. He may be up for a debut next year, I feel like, if he has a good off-season.

[00:15:29] But the rise of Felix over the years has been pretty cool to watch. Came from, I believe, Queensland as a, you know, not the fittest human being, but with this amazing body. And now he just looks like a piece of art. And I see him down at training. He does all the reps. He's worked his butt off for this. So have you seen much of Felix? I have. Not a lot, but I, you know, I have seen him, you know, a few outings for Newtown. And yeah, he's an exciting prospect.

[00:15:58] And he's not the only one. Obviously, if you do get a chance to either head to Henson or wherever the Jets are playing and check out some of this young brigade, because they're going to be, as you said, he could debut next year. And there's a few of them that could be knocking on the door. Yeah, it's a good group. It's a good, good group. You know, you've got Riley Pollard. You've got Taj Ford. Nakora Williams is a bunch of them. Tom Dello has just been picked for under-18s origin, I think it is, under-18s, under-19s.

[00:16:25] And he's just a workhorse, only a sort of smaller middle forward, young for his age group. But he's got massive raps on him. And I won't be the first or last to say it's kind of Paul Gallen-like in a lot of ways. Smaller body, but just that kind of drive. So there's a lot of good guys coming through. Unfortunately, it just takes time. Unfortunately for us. Yes. It takes time for him to come in. Won't be thrown in at once either.

[00:16:53] But Stone Street versus Katoa, where do you stand? If we had to have such a debate. Oh, right. If it came down to you need to pick one of these two, who are you picking? Again, it's one of those things. You're on record here, Rich, forevermore. You see players getting knocked for all sorts of things. Sammy, unfortunately, he does cop it a fair bit from our fan base. But look, I'm taking Sam. You know, he's by no means a finished product.

[00:17:21] But he has shown that he is up to this level. There's nothing but improvement in him. And he's the future. I don't see, unless his form dipped dramatically or he was injured, I don't see, unfortunately, Sione coming back in. I love Katoa. I love him. And he's been phenomenal for us. But I just, I don't think Sam deserves to lose a spot. But, so what if you were coached this week against the Warriors away?

[00:17:50] Really important game. Not suggesting it comes down to a winger winging the game. But say they're both available. You're going Stone Street? I'm going Stone Street. All right. Beautiful. I agree with you that the rise in him is good. Like, he keeps improving. He's got a pickle every game or two. But a lot of players do. The thing I like about him is that I like to believe he's not going to make the same mistake twice. Within reason. So on the weekend, we saw him with a pretty inaccurate chase on their winger, which led to a try.

[00:18:19] I don't think he's going to do that again. No. And I think we saw that in the Manly game. He did come up with a few errors. He seems to be one of those players, you watch him if you're watching on TV, if you're not at the ground. And you can obviously see people closer. If he does make an error, it doesn't seem to phase him. No. You don't sort of see him go into his shell and his form dips. And then things continue to unravel for him. You know, we saw in that Manly game, yeah, he did make a few errors. But at the same time, when that game was on the line,

[00:18:48] he came up with some massive plays, bundled Saab into touch twice, two or three times actually. So, yeah, I'm with you. I don't think he makes those repeatedly. Yeah. And you're right. Like, he is criticized by some. And my theory on a bunch of that, Rich, is that when you have this consistent team for five years under the same coach,

[00:19:16] and we're not losing more than two or three games at a time, it's never disastrous, really. You've got to pick on someone, right? And so, Katoa's not as fast as he used to be. He's got to go. Stone Street dropped the bomb or had a missed run. Kick the fence. He's got to go. Nico didn't get a field goal. Like, someone's got to go, right? But with Stone Street, one of the big things is he's not big enough to do hit-ups and that kind of stuff. But we've seen every week that that gets better and better and better, you know?

[00:19:45] It's getting less problem, even if – I don't know if it was a problem in the first place. He's obviously got that body where probably when he's 30 years old, he's still going to get smashed a little bit. Yeah. It's not the most ripped body I've ever seen. But let's see him with two or three proper off-seasons as well moving forward as his body continues to grow and the whole thing. If it came down to this week, Rich, I'm pretty torn about who I want. But long-term, I think it's a no-brainer. Three-year deal. It's not breaking the bank.

[00:20:15] They obviously believe in the kid. He's a local junior. And, yeah, there's a lot of upside to him. But it's funny how it's just the world we're living in. And I don't really want to get into that, Rich. But, you know, this instant gratification, success thing, if you're no good in your first game and you're done. Like, thank God Nephi's had two or three good games. Otherwise, his career would be over, you know? So with Stone Street – and, you know, I've criticized him about a bunch of stuff. But it's all been relevant and certainly not personal.

[00:20:44] And I'm also honest enough to say when he's going well, there's so much more upside than the downside stuff. And if we're going to critique every player, it's like I've been joking for the last few months about Will Kennedy. Whenever he drops the ball or someone is critical, they get the contract and they inch it away, inch by inch. Oh, no, I don't think so, Will. Oh, hang on, you've got a line-breaker system. And that's just how we are as a fan base and it's pretty annoying. But Stone Street's with those young kids coming through.

[00:21:13] Like, he's played, what, 20, 30 games? But that's not very many. So, as you say, like, he's not even close to where he's going to be. So, yeah, it'd be interesting to watch. I'm not 100% sure, Rich, that he's going to be this amazing NRL star. But I'm certainly not willing to put a line through it and go, no, he's not. Like, it's more likely than not. But that's young Sam, local junior, and plenty more of those guys in the wings.

[00:21:42] Where do you see us, Rich, in round 27, aside from at Ocean Protect Stadium playing the Storm? Where are we going to be on the ladder? What's going to be happening? Look, if you'd asked me at the start of the year, I would have been pretty confident in saying top four. But how the season's played out to this point, how the game's being played, probably an element of how it's being officiated.

[00:22:05] There's been points in the year where I don't think that we have adjusted to the current game. I believe we will get better, hopefully. I feel like it's getting better. I feel like it's getting better, for sure. I feel like probably the bottom part of the top eight, I can see us finishing fifth or sixth. But, you know, if we can chalk off some of these big wins while we're without, you know, your Nikos and Brayleys and then, you know, go on a run.

[00:22:32] I do believe we've got a fair run after the bye. So it's going to be a big stretch. And obviously, we've got a, you know, a current run of no games at home. So the away form hasn't been great this year. I don't know what you call a fair run after the bye, but it's not a good run. No, no. No, it's not. I mean... But that's okay. Look, if they want to be there at the business end, and we touched on it before, that, you know, it is the last dance. Let's see...

[00:23:00] Let's see how much that drives the boys, you know, to really give this a nudge. Interesting everyone, including us today, acknowledging the last dance. The four spine guy's going to be there. Kay O'Leary is going to be there. Stone Street's going to be there. Ronaldo's going to be there. So I think that it's slightly exaggerated. Cam McInnes won't be there. We know that. Cifatelica won't be there. So it'll be different. And Fitzy's gotten quite emotional at press conferences talking about how much behind the scenes it hurts, how much they don't want to lose these guys.

[00:23:30] So it definitely will be a different team next year. But that's the other thing that I find quite amusing as someone who consumes, like you, Sharks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is that we're going to have kind of the same team. So there'll be little chinks and changes. But I would suggest three quarters of the team will be the same. And I don't have a problem with that. Successful team and this year's been a little bit off. But no, you're right. Last dance for a guy like McInnes, Cifatelica.

[00:23:58] I would love to see those guys have the best seasons they can. Are you keeping Telicai if you're CEO of the Sharks? Given the circumstances, so not like some fantasy thing, how it went down. Are you keeping him? No. And I'll just preface by saying I love Telicai. I've been a big fan for as long as he's been in our colours. For me personally, on Cifatelica, and it's no knock on him because it's by no means his fault.

[00:24:25] But I just don't think we were getting value for money out of his contract. And that's not his fault. We've all seen what he can produce on the field. But with the plays that we've got and the squad we have, and him not getting probably the minutes he deserves, the best for Cifatelica, for the Sharks, to be able to let that contract go. And I wish him all the best over at Perth, and no doubt he'll kill it. But that's kind of my stance on that one.

[00:24:55] No, I think it's pretty universal, that one. Like, there's a part of me that goes, nah, no matter what, I would have kept him. But then I'm playing him for much bigger minutes than what the club is. You know, I'm getting the value out of him. So that's where we get a little bit of fantasy booking there. So that's how that goes down. Give me some of your, like, favourite games that aren't in 2016. Like, what comes to your memory? Whether it's, like, something when you were a kid, something recently. Give me some special games. Probably one of my earliest memories was Shark Park sitting in the ET stand with my old man.

[00:25:25] It was against the Broncos, and Matt Rogers kicked a goal. And I think that gave us the win. You know, that's probably one of the earliest memories. Oh, you've put me on the sport here, Sammy. Yeah, yeah. Some notable away trips, even though I seem to be the curse playing at Suncorp. But that's always been a fun one. You know, travelling, you know, interstate to watch the boys play is pretty cool. I've seen some bad Suncorp games. Oh, yeah. I don't think I've seen any good ones, actually.

[00:25:53] I believe it was Ronnie's debut. Oh, you were there, though? Yeah, I drove up. We got absolutely pumped. Did you go to Vegas? I did. Because that didn't feel like an earth-shattering loss. Because you're in Vegas and you're having fun. And like, yeah, it was disappointing. But at no part of that trip, even on the leg back, was I like, oh, I regret this. You know? No, that's got to be up there with one of the best sporting events I've ever been to. Tell us about your Vegas experience. Because a lot of our listeners didn't have the opportunity, unfortunately.

[00:26:23] So Vegas, the only way I could manage that. So I'd actually said to my wife the year before, I said, look, if Cronulla ever make this, I'm going. And she said, yeah, babe, no problem. Obviously not. Thinking that Cronulla would ever get the opportunity. So year two rolls around and we get names. So I start planning it with my mate. And she comes in one day and goes, what are you doing? And I'm like, I'm going to Vegas. And she's like, absolutely not.

[00:26:51] And I said, look, honey, you said last year our son was one and a half at the time. And I said, look, how about this? Let's do a family trip. Oh, wow. How that looks, I don't know at this stage. But, you know, let's do it. So long story short, we ended up doing a, we went Sydney to Japan. Oh. And then, so we did Japan for a few days, flew into the US, did LA, Santa Monica, and then drove to Vegas.

[00:27:22] Four days in Vegas. And then after Vegas, back to Japan for a week and then home. So that was an incredible, incredible holiday. But yeah, Vegas, I've done Vegas a few times. I don't know when I'll go back again, but in terms of an event, if your team's there and you haven't been, I can't knock it. Been to UFCs in Vegas and, you know, Origins, Grand Finals, I don't think anything really came close.

[00:27:50] Did you do all the fan event things? Yeah. So, you know, the Fremont Street, Old Vegas, for those that haven't been, that was just pumping every day, you know, every night. There was NRL 360 and, you know, all those shows being filmed right there live. And, you know, the players are there, you know, mingling and fans from different teams. And obviously you had your English fans that, you know, they were something else. They drink and they sing. They do. And it was awesome.

[00:28:21] Having, having chats with those guys and, you know, people swapping jerseys. You know, you've got. Well, yeah, you would have been in heaven with the jerseys. Sharks been swapping with, you know, Wigan fans and that sort of thing. I didn't see any negative to it. And from what I've heard, you know, when I was there, it was, oh, this is so much bigger than last year. And then again this year, that was, it seemed even bigger again. I was overwhelmed with the size of the whole thing. And it started, to be honest, it started on the way over.

[00:28:50] And I was like, oh, okay. It makes sense. It's a plane for league fans. And then at customs. And then, because I got there quite early. I think I was there maybe the Monday or the Tuesday. And then I was having dinner with some Australian friends who live there and they're not really league people. And we're sort of on the strip and just people walking past, Sharks fans, every jersey you can think of. And this was like the Monday, Tuesday. And I was like, oh, man.

[00:29:16] And then, yeah, once it built up, it was legitimately like a 90% takeover and crazy. And yeah, as you said, everyone was pretty well behaved. You're having conversations with opposition fans at all times of the day and night. And yeah, it was quite the scene. And then the events that they did were just through the roof. And it was good because a lot of fans, like there were fans from America. There were fans from all over the world who traveled to this one spot.

[00:29:44] It wasn't just Cronulla people, you know, living in the Shire. So they had these opportunities to sort of mingle with the players and the coach and that kind of thing in a way they'd never imagined. And I think it took a toll on all the teams. I don't think they realized what they were in for because they were rock stars for like three or four days. So how they manage all that, I mean, full credit to all the teams. But yeah, I still am overwhelmed by the size of the whole thing. Yeah.

[00:30:12] And I mean, it's still, even up to the day, walking to the ground, it just didn't feel real. It was just like this, no. And then you get to the stadium, you're like, whoa. We're actually playing in Vegas. Like, and even sitting there in the stadium, which for those that haven't been to Allegiant Stadium, this thing is unlike anything you've ever seen. Yeah. It's unbelievable. But, you know, I was just kind of in awe the whole day. And, you know, even still, talking about it now, you know, got the goosebumps.

[00:30:41] It was pretty incredible. And we played pretty good. Like, it wasn't like we got smashed. We were probably the better team. Maybe. I'd have to re-watch it. But, you know, it was a close. That's it. I'd still talk about it. The fact that, you know, we lost by six and Ueli knocked on under the sticks. You know, that game could have been... Don't say it too loud around here. He drinks here. That's it. No, it was... I know it was against the, at that time, the four Pete Premiers.

[00:31:09] Teams don't generally get that close to them. And we did. And we did it on the global stage, which is pretty cool. Yeah, it was awesome. There was no shame there at all. Let's plug your jersey business again. Rocky's Jerseys. Is there anywhere else aside from Insta or Insta's the place? No, Insta's the place. For now, it might go onto Facebook. Sure. I think, yeah, Insta for now. So give you a follow. Jump on. If you have any questions, they can DM you.

[00:31:38] If you can't find Rich, if you're not on Insta, get in touch with me and I'll pass it on, obviously. And let's play quick questions before we go, Rich. So we've already got your favourite players, favourite moments. Who's your most despised club? Like, not right now, but just as in historically, like all time. All time. And I can't justify it and I don't know where it came from, but I just... Newcastle Knights. Wow. Yeah. And I can't answer...

[00:32:06] Wait, if you ask me why, I couldn't tell you. Prelimits maybe? Oh, I just... Yeah. I just can't get around them. Every time we play them, I'm... Really? Yeah. I just... Okay. Yeah. For some reason, they just hurt me. Okay. Cool. No wrong answer. Who is your all-time favourite player that's not a shark? Ooh. It doesn't have to be the best, just someone you loved. Growing up, Ryan Girdler. Oh, yeah. Intercept King. Good answer. Are you a Blues fan? Big time. Big time. Do you wear the wig and everything? No, not the wig. I have. You have?

[00:32:37] I have in the past. Yes. Blake Braley playing for the Blues, that was pretty major. That was huge. That was unreal. And, you know, he didn't look out of place. No bias, but I believe when he came on, albeit they were a man up. Yeah. But I felt like he changed the game, along with others, obviously Casey McLeans and that sort of thing, but he did not look out of place in that arena. Correct. Do you still go to Origin Games?

[00:33:05] I haven't been to an Origin in quite some time, but I will tell you a little bit of a story. I have never been to an Origin and seen New South Wales lose in person. Oh, okay. And that even extends to when we broke the drought. I was there when Trent Hodkinson scored. But you must have missed a lot of games then. Yeah, I missed a fair chunk in that period, but I've never sat in the ground when New South Wales have lost. Wow. Okay.

[00:33:34] Laurie Daly might want to get you on board. Give me a buzz. Let's get personal. Tell us about life as a dad. You've got a little one. How's that been? Mate, unreal. He's three in October. Goes by quick, huh? Oh, sure does. He's a lot of fun. Keeps us on our toes. But yeah, he's unreal. And I've done the... My wife said to me pretty early on, she goes, look, you know, I know you want him to grow up and be a Sharks fan, but it may not happen that way. And I said, no. Why wouldn't it happen that way? If I've got anything to do with it, he will.

[00:34:03] And I've got him to a point now that, and I'm not exaggerating for the listeners, if there is any form of sport on the TV, whether that's NRL, AFL, basketball, cricket, he will look at the TV, fist pump me and say, go Sharkies. So... That's pretty good. I'm raising him right. He's a good boy. And wife goes for Sharks? She didn't, but she does. Okay. I don't even want to ask.

[00:34:32] I don't even need to know, because I could get the answer I don't want to get. Okay. That's awesome. How did he go in Vegas? And how'd you all go in Vegas with a one and a half year old? I can't imagine that kind of vibe. So it was tough. As perfect as the kid might be. Yeah. You know, obviously the multiple time zones and getting sick. And yeah, it was pretty tough to adjust. And obviously he and my wife didn't go to the game. Right. Yeah. It was a, you know, it's not easy traveling with kids. Yeah. But I wouldn't change it for anything. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. All right.

[00:35:00] And what's your prediction this week against the Warriors? And give me a, give me a, the most intelligent response, not from your heart, but from your head. And that'll be the great answer. Look, I won't sugarcoat the form of the wires. You know, they're red hot. They're firing. And they've been hit with similar scenarios with us, you know, in terms of injury. And they've got a fair few out this week as well. So, look, I think we'd have, we'd go into this with confidence.

[00:35:30] We've already beat them this year. You know, as we've seen, not many teams have. So it's Penrith, West Tigers and us. Yeah, that's it. And I believe, I could be wrong. Feel free to correct me. But our form at Mount Smart. Six of the past eight. There you go. So I think it's, I think it, it could be the game of the round. I think it'd be close. But yeah, look, I'd, if we can, if we can get that start right.

[00:35:57] And, you know, if we, if we turn out a performance like last week's first half, I think the game could be, could be done at halftime. But if we're in the fight and we're close, I think, I think we'll get the job done. Yeah. The closer we get to kick off Rich, the more confident I get. I think after the Dragons game, when I sort of realized the injuries and the rep footy and that kind of thing, I was like, oh, this might be a stretch too far.

[00:36:23] But given they've got a bunch of guys out, our form's not bad. Their form's pretty good. It's going to be, yeah, it's going to be a good one. Like all the stats are quite even, they're ahead of us in most categories, but we're not far behind in a lot of them. Like I think we're both top three completions, fewest errors. They've got better defense, but our defense is kind of, I think we're like fifth or sixth ranked there. I think second attack.

[00:36:52] I think it's there too, we're three. So a lot of it matches up and it's going to come down. I think who plays, it's probably going to be slightly wet weather you would think. It'll be a cold night. If we can adjust to all that, as you say, start well. I think completions is the key. We can complete. I think we'll be on our way. And then it'll be close. And then in a close game, you never know your luck. But yeah, the closer I get to the game, Rich, the more, I would say the more confident I get. Yeah. I'm the same.

[00:37:21] It's a big opportunity for these guys and, you know, to step up while, you know, we've still got some of our key guys out. Yeah. And, you know, you look at that WISE team, that forward pack, they're missing Barnett, Hella Seamer. You know, some of these guys that can really or would probably trouble us, to be fair, aren't there. You know, capable, obviously, Origin. And so it's one of those games that's definitely there for the taking.

[00:37:49] You know, as we touched on before, we do have a run of away games and our away form hasn't been great this year. But there's a definite chance to turn that around. Yeah. And I think it's just week by week. We've got to forget about the run home and all that kind of stuff. It's just, we've got Warriors away. Let's go win. And the more I see of, for example, Hoheppa and Nephi together, like I'm not suggesting that they're going to be all-time greats of the game. But they give me a confidence that they can get a job done.

[00:38:18] And then I think about the fact that the Newtown level, they've won comps. In their Penrith Junior Days, they've won comps. These guys know how to win. They may not be elite players, but they're stepping up. And so I think not so much about those guys, but if the whole team can kind of lift, play as a team, it's certainly doable. That's it. And, you know, for the Puroos, they'd be flying. So, Hoheppa obviously came in against the Dogs, you know, a week before the buy-in, a week before Nephi.

[00:38:48] They haven't lost. Yeah. You'd have to imagine that that brings a bit of energy from them to the playing group to keep things rolling. And, yeah, it's exciting. All right, Rich, thanks for your time. I know you just came down here for a cup of coffee and a jersey, but we got you on the show, which is awesome. Thank you for having me. Pleasure. We'll get you back on in the near future, no doubt. Everyone else, stay tuned. SharkCast Pod, you know what to do. Follow, like, subscribe, share the whole business. And we'll have more eps for you in the very near future. Up, up, Cronulla. Let's go.

[00:39:18] Sharkast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland 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.

[00:39:48] Jason Hawes, Crips & Crips Real Estate. Sharkies! Sharkies! Back in the shire. Turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a trophy.