Flagship episode with Jardian Ormsby (30/7/26)

[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 And to all you people back in the Shire, turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a trophy.

[00:00:54] Oh there he is dancing for those watching. Hey there, welcome to SharkCast, 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, and this is the flagship show with Jardine Ormsby as a spoiler, brought to you by Dysons Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Port Hacking. And Jason Hawes at Crips & Crips Real Estate, coffee supplied by Mr. Paisley's.

[00:01:19] And if you have the video version of this episode, and it's okay if you don't, we know many of you don't, but if you do, you would have seen Jardine grooving away to a track that he actually put together. But he didn't write the track, but he definitely put the track together for us a number of years ago. He said, hey, it's time for a change. I know you like R&B, hip hop, here we go. And your man was there grooving away. How are you, sir? What's going on? I am good. Thank you for having me back. Coming to you from HQ here.

[00:01:47] So it's been, I was just having a conversation with Sam about this offline for those who are joining. I was saying that I'm usually the person in the group that is very kind of mellow, sees something good happen, happen, and then will say like, that's great. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Let's take this one week at a time.

[00:02:15] But as it relates to my Sharkies, to our Sharkies at the moment, I got to say, I am dreaming. Right now, my friend, I am dreaming, dreaming big, feeling good about this moment, feeling good about where we are, and feeling good about the run home here. All right. So it should be a pretty upbeat episode in under two minutes. He's already said we're going to win the comp, so that's interesting. Right. How is life for Jardine and the Ormsbees off the field? Give me a brief update.

[00:02:44] It's good. It is good. Life in the streaming and entertainment business, which is where I work. I'm sure most people know this. It's always chaotic. So we're going through the disruption of AI and a whole bunch of other things.

[00:03:03] And working here inside the KO building, the KO team with the rest of the Fox League team here, it's always super helpful because however it feels when you're watching a rugby league game, I guess one of the perks and, quite frankly, blessings of the role that I have right now is being able to walk down the hallways

[00:03:24] and see how these shows are stitched together, whether it's a live game and you're in OBS or whether you're just kind of sitting at your desk and you're watching people come through the hallways who are just here to watch the Matty John show, which happens literally right underneath where I'm sitting down there in the studio. It's pretty cool.

[00:03:45] So I'm always reminded, Sharks fans, that if we're doing things to support our family, that we're all quite blessed. And if we're doing things that we enjoy while supporting our families, it's one step even better. So I'm feeling very grateful at the moment on the field for my team and off the field at home and in life. That's why we call you the wise man.

[00:04:11] They do hang out in our kitchen, level one kitchen. We share a kitchen, you and I, and on a Thursday and I guess Sunday, they pile in and they get free pizza and some booze and soft drinks. And they're all amped. It's really exciting. Like for you and I, like we see it every week and it's like, oh, okay, cool. Here's the Matty John show. But then when you walk through to the kitchen and get a coffee or whatever, or you steal a bit of pizza, they're all so amped.

[00:04:37] And I have to say a lot of Shark Cast listeners have been through there. I've been called out, hey, Shanaz, what's going on? Then all my work colleagues think I'm some sort of god. But it's cool. You are. It's cool razzling the opposition fans as well sometimes. And everyone's good-natured. And then they have the warm-up person up there revving everyone up. And then he pumps up some ACDC and they walk off down to the Matty John studio and they watch the show every good time. So we're here to talk about –

[00:05:07] It's like a mini – sorry, I was just going to say something. It's like a mini magic round every week. Yeah, it is. It's just a celebration of the game. People who are turning up for the show and their team might not even be playing that night. Absolutely. But they wear their jerseys. They love their footy. And there is a big TV in the room that they're eating their pizza in with the game live before they go downstairs.

[00:05:34] And it really does just remind me of how great our game is. The only thing I would change is I would have a big fat door right where the stats department is so I don't have to hear their cheering and doing while we're trying to work on the game, which is right there. So anyway, people who haven't tuned in for that, they've tuned in to hear about the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and Sharks. We're sitting in fourth equal third Jardine. We're daring to dream. Decent run at home. We'll talk about it all.

[00:06:02] I don't want to get too in-depth about the Manly game because we've discussed that in a number of episodes. But I'd rather hit just where we're at, Jards, for you and we'll discuss that. I think it's four in a row now. Maybe eight of the last nine. There was the Roosters hiccup about a month ago. Certainly swimming. We know how well we're going. But let's hear from you because we haven't heard from you for a little while. Where do you see us at? What are you liking? Where can we improve? Let's just sort of hit those subjects for now.

[00:06:32] I'm liking a lot. It would be very cynical to pick apart. Obviously, there are some areas that we can still improve. But that would be a cynical way to lead off how I'm feeling. I feel like this team has potentially arrived or is continuing to arrive and very, very close. Potentially just right on the door, knocking on the door at their peak group positioning.

[00:07:00] So this team has been a work in progress for years. It's actually taken a little bit to get to where we are. And there have been ups and there have been downs. But it feels as though the summit of where this group, this particular assortment of players can get to is not actually that far away from where we are.

[00:07:22] It feels like the maximum that you're ever going to see out of this particular configuration of 17 or 25 people. We're right by it. We're right next to it. They look sharp. They somehow continue to keep teams from scoring a great deal, even though our discipline is not necessarily...

[00:07:52] It's improved, but it's still a work in progress. It's still the worst in the NFL. We go. So it's kind of either they've cracked the code on how to have ill discipline and still keep people away. Maybe if you give away enough penalties and you just frustrate them enough, they'll give up trying to score and can go away that way. It might be a little bit of attrition there.

[00:08:16] But they look really good and they look happy playing their footy. They look like they're in a groove. They look like between our halves that there was a little bit of... I used to feel as though only one person could have a good game between Tricky and Nico for something to click. It couldn't be both at the same time.

[00:08:42] Either Nico was carrying the team or Tricky was doing that. But we've gotten to a point now where it's not just one or the other and we win. It's both and we win big, which is what has been seen the last few weeks. And so they're probably as primed as they're ever going to be with this group of people to give the finals a proper crack.

[00:09:06] And considering how we started the season and where we looked like we could potentially end up if things didn't change, they're just doing phenomenal. So a few things there to touch on. The last point is such a great example and we all forget it. But it's such a long season. And when there's a loss or two, for example, in our group, Clinton Maynard just throws the ticket out the window. We're done. We'll see you next year.

[00:09:35] And he's not alone. There are lots of fans like that. And I understand the mentality behind it. But I think we do lose sight that it's a long season and you can get it together with a good group and good coaching group and turn it around. You can learn from your lessons. The other thing I want to touch on is with the discipline, I can confirm yesterday, which was Wednesday, that there was a referee.

[00:10:00] I'm not going to say who it was, but a referee in referee outfit at training yesterday going through some things. It's a normal procedure for most teams, but it was actually quite heartening for me to see it with my own eyes. There's a lot of players, I would say, a notable referee at training giving their time to us. And I'm imagining that just so we can be a better disciplined team. And as I said, there's nothing sort of shady behind it. It's not a secret.

[00:10:29] A lot of clubs do it. So it's good that they're still addressing things they need to work on, which is the big message coming out of the club. The happiness thing cannot be denied. I interviewed a bunch of guys yesterday, which you can go listen to on all the streams, but Jesse Colquhoun was borderline blissful.

[00:10:50] And when I say that, he wasn't not grateful for where they are and he wasn't assuming they're going to win the comp, but he was just in a great state of mind as all the guys were. But it was very noticeable yesterday that they're so proud of their achievements, but then they double down and go, well, we haven't achieved anything at the same time. So there's a lot there to sort of discuss.

[00:11:19] My question to you though, Jardin, is you're saying we're close to peaking to our powers. How do we maintain that for the next six weeks and then nine weeks? Like how would you challenge that? How do we address that? Because if this is where we're at and we're close to the mountain, we're still not quite at the top of Everest yet. We're like three quarters there. Yeah.

[00:11:46] I occasionally wonder how early is too early to peak in a game that has this many rounds left. And I was talking to my barber actually the other day. He's a big Penrith fan. And we were just kind of discussing how Penrith are looking and feeling. And the thing that I'm reminded about during those conversations and with teams specifically like Penrith is that the champion teams that are out there, they tend to time these things really well.

[00:12:15] So Penrith don't look fantastic at the moment. They might still get the result here and there, but they're not looking like the Penrith that we know. But there might be a school of thought that they know who they are already. And so when it's time to go, maybe three weeks before the final start or something like that, the expectation amongst the fan base is that they'll turn it on. The professionals, they'll rock there.

[00:12:39] We are a little bit different in that our runs to the finals haven't been as deep as Penrith have over the years. But we do look different though. There's just a different feel about this season and this run-in than any of the last two, three years, frankly. And I'm not going to say that it's got a 2016 vibe to it.

[00:13:05] But they definitely look like a group that is simultaneously comfortable but locked in. So they look locked in. They look like the rooster's loss may have awakened a sense of, hey, we're there, but we're not there there yet, if you know what I mean.

[00:13:31] And the last few weeks have probably been positioning themselves for a game or two in the run-in in which they will be challenged. Looking through the calendar, looking through the rest of the games left, they should win. They should win. All of those things. And it's helpful in a sense that there's like the Rabideaus are probably the hardest game and that's next.

[00:13:58] Like I would like them to treat the next game as if it's week one of the finals just to see where you're at. Because then after you've done that, you probably have a better sense of, okay, we've arrived here pretty close to the summit. But do what we need to do. Manage bodies. I'm a big fan of like once you know who you are as a team, it's okay to give someone a spell in the run-in to the big dance, so to speak.

[00:14:28] So I'm curious to see how they manage that. All right. Check one. He's mentioned a big dance after 14 minutes. He hasn't mentioned last dance yet. We'll get to that. I can tell you that we have Rabideaus at home, Dragons away. Now, Canberra at home, I would argue, is going to be a bit more difficult than South just because of the form both teams are in. But Canberra at home. Titans away is going to be tricky because they've just got nothing to play for except contracts and fun, and they're a very good team when they click.

[00:14:58] Power away. Storm at home. And Storm at home is going to be this huge event. But we've also sort of factored in. It could be, and I hope I'm wrong, but it could be Craig Bellamy's last game. So there's a lot there that makes it not the most easy spectacle. So they all have their challenges. You can find challenges in any game, and you can find sort of easy spots in any game. So I'll take your point there. South will be difficult, no doubt about that.

[00:15:25] And maybe to be fair to South, they are this year a better team than Canberra. Canberra is finding a bit of form. That's why I mentioned that. They will be resting players, I think, Jard, to want for a better word. In my opinion, Tom Hazleton was rested last week. He had some back spasm issues, but he could have played, but they chose to rest him or give him a week off, whatever word you want to use. And I think you will see that from time to time leading in. I don't know if it will be all around the team. I don't know if it'll be the backs.

[00:15:55] I don't know if it'll be the halves. But I would think forward-wise, you will see a guy rested every now and then. So I think Fitzy and you are on the same kind of wavelength there. Great. I mean, again, once I think you know who you are, you just want to get to the finals healthy and knowing who you are. If you've got those two things going for you, you can knock off any team on any day. I heard Craig Fitzgibbon this morning, Thursday morning on SEN Radio.

[00:16:22] Go have a listen on their, I guess, podcast stream and on their website with Brandy and Jimmy Smith. And we don't get to hear from Fitzy that often. I personally have communication with him. I'm sorted. But as a fan, to hear him speak, we don't get a lot of longer-depth interviews because he just doesn't really like doing them. But he spoke for about 10 minutes today on SEN.

[00:16:48] And I was just thinking to myself, I really like hearing this guy talk. I'm an unabashed fan. I'm a fan from day one and he's done pretty much nothing to make me think anything less of him. But I really enjoy hearing him talk about footy. He doesn't do it that much in public. And everything he kind of has aimed to do, aside from win the comp, has kind of come to fruition.

[00:17:16] A lot of the guys, if not all of them, have gotten better under him. Now, I'm not suggesting it's completely him. He has assistant coaches. He has a great squad. But they're under his leadership. Things like, and this wasn't on his list, but things like going to Brookvale now. It's a walk in the park for us. He doesn't lose in Brookvale. You know, we're consistently top four, top six. All these things that were kind of missing from our club he's brought.

[00:17:46] And we've seen some amazing coaching performances from him in individual games. The Melbourne game from a few years ago comes to mind. Some great games this year. But just hearing him this morning, Judge, reminded me of what a good spot we're in with coaches. We're lucky. We're fortunate. I mean, he gets a good wage. Don't get me wrong. But the fact that the higher powers chose to bring him in when they did, it was a little bit controversial. But they knew that a change was needed. And they had a feeling he was the guy.

[00:18:16] I'm so happy he's our coach. I don't really know who else I'd rather have at this point. But, yeah, I just wanted to get that off my chest, how much I love Fitzy at the moment.

[00:18:27] He is the perfect combination of a person that is very intelligent when it comes to the game of rugby league, who has a connection with the club, going back to his time as a youngster there, who genuinely cares about people relationships as well. Bring those three things together and put them in one person. And it's really hard to be disappointed at anyone there.

[00:18:57] I'm the same as you. I don't know that I could think of anyone I'd rather have as our coach right now. And I didn't hear this particular interview that you're talking about, but I have heard him when he's been talking footy. And he is one of those people where sometimes you're listening to – like I've listened to lots of coaches over the years, whether it's, I don't know, just being within earshot of them at a cafe or something like that. And occasionally I'll be like, okay, whatever, man.

[00:19:25] But there are also coaches that are out there who, when they're talking and you're listening to them, you feel like you're being elevated to a higher place of thinking about the sport and thinking about the game. And they aren't just filibusting you. They're not just blowing wind up you to try and make them sound smarter. They have a real emotionally mature approach to things that are happening out there.

[00:19:52] And I think one of the things that we asked of Fitz over the years was for him to be a little bit more ruthless in his decisioning around changes. And I think he has done that. I think he has made changes where he's needed to make changes, but not to the point of changing his identity as a person.

[00:20:13] And I loved listening to the pod and kind of thinking about the dialogue that happened around the Katoa Stone Street potential situation there. Situation is a strong word. Just the idea that Fitzy recognized that with Jesse and Katoa both moving on, this is kind of the last dance for this particular group. And they've earned the right to go for it.

[00:20:42] He may very well feel as though Sam Stone Street is the future of that position, but he has an emotional maturity to also recognize the human element of this. And magical things happen when you know you're doing something for the last time. And I think we're seeing that out of the group that are out there, knowing that this is going to be their last six, nine weeks in a Sharks jersey.

[00:21:10] Yeah, it is a big call because Sam was doing really well. She only had some off games. He went to the Jets for a game. He got injured, but then he was back. And it was a big call. And that was right when they signed Sam for three years. So it's like, what's going on here? Like, I've got to get my head around this. You were the first person I'm aware of to say that once Blake Braley played Origin, we would reach the top of the mountain.

[00:21:39] And we're on our way at the very least. But let's spend a bit of time on that effect of the three lads. And we've seen all three come back bigger and better, in my opinion. Britton, Adan, and Blake. Like, what are your thoughts on how they went and more specifically, what they've brought back? I think the person who's actually benefited the most from the Origin experience, like they've all benefited from the experience.

[00:22:05] But the person who's looked a lot better post-Origin from where they were going into Origin is probably Britt out of the three. He had a good Origin series. He did everything that they needed him to do up there. And he was aggressive. And he filled in a lot of gaps for them.

[00:22:30] Like, I've been talking to people who are hard stalwart Maroons fans. And they'll be the first to say that he didn't get everything right. But he covered a lot of holes that other people were creating up there. And that doesn't really get recognized or talked about a lot. But that was there.

[00:22:47] But when you step out of those high-level, those high-performance things, my view on that, particularly as it related to Blake initially, but true for all three, is that, I guess, going back to my years at Basketball Australia in high-performance teams,

[00:23:04] working with the Boomers and the Opals, it wasn't uncommon for these people who were really good at club level to, who, once they got onto that national scene, it was just, and you're actually playing with the people who are in the NBA and stuff like that. You go back to your clubs a different person.

[00:23:24] You go back to your clubs with a lower tolerance for dumb stuff, for poor performance. And it's not that you think less of the people that you're going back to when you go back to the club level. It's just that you demand more excellence from the people around you. Because that type of behavior that you see at the high-level performance units, it is contagious.

[00:23:54] It is like you hang around. I truly believe that in the game of rugby league, but also life generally, that you do become the company that you keep. Hang around with someone that's performing high-level enough, and eventually you will want to be that. You'll become that. Hang around with someone who doesn't care about anything enough, and eventually you won't either. Hang around with someone who doesn't care about anything else.

[00:24:16] So to be in the orbit of the other players who are playing Origin, who have years and years of experience inside the finals, on grand final day. You're playing, like, Blake is game one. It happened, like, I was so happy I was there when this happened. And if you had told me that in game one, Blake Braley was going to throw a try assist to Nathan Cleary to help them win that game, I'd just been like, whoa.

[00:24:47] That is basically going to translate to five try assists back at club level, because that gives you the confidence that if I can do this with the top dogs, I can do this with anyone. And so they've looked amazing since coming back. They really have. They've looked excellent. Blake looked phenomenal going in to Origin. I was really happy that he ticked that box. And yeah, I've put it on the record. I'll re-put it on the record.

[00:25:14] For me, all it took was Blake to get that experience in there. And I knew that he was going to come back and kind of demand a little bit as the club captain a little bit more. So in my head, and I don't want to jinx anything, but in my head, we're now on the clock.

[00:25:34] So the scenes between Cleary and Braley, even at training for Origin, but especially after the tries in the celebrations after both wins, they definitely bonded. I know they went away to England on a trip last year, so there was that too. I think they probably played together as juniors in rep teams and that kind of thing. You sort of forget that a lot of these guys are teammates in rep football because they're all the same age.

[00:26:03] And then they break away for their club footy. But to see him and to see the respect Nathan Cleary gave Braley was, I think, justification for all his fans on this show who have loved him for a long time. He's been good for four or five years. It took a few years to sort of find his feet. He was still good.

[00:26:29] And then maybe three to four years, he's been very good and improving. And every year, year on year, improving. He's been our Shark House Pro of the Year a number of times. It wasn't a fluke what we saw out there. And I think people are finally catching on to that. The whole thing which we talked about week on week was, it's great. He's just got to keep doing it. Like how many conversations have we had? Hundreds about that, Jardin. But we don't do that anymore, thank God, because he just keeps doing it. And he's proven his point.

[00:26:58] And if he doesn't do it one week, it's okay, because you know he's going to do it the next week. We're past all that. But to see the respect Cleary gave him, and even as not a huge Cleary guy, I still understand the relevance of him in this game. Like complete respect. To see him talk to Blake Braley about footy, it's like, yeah, this is where we should be. This is where we need to be. And you're right. Like Britton came back as a new fella.

[00:27:23] Just even seeing him walking around the complex with his shoulders a bit higher and his head a bit higher. Fanua Blake looks refreshed. You know, we've seen him start. We've seen him off the bench. Done really good for Cronulla in both positions. So the whole thing that we kind of thought would happen has happened. Like they've come back bigger and better, and they're providing that knowledge to younger guys, even to some of the older guys who won't have that experience in their life.

[00:27:53] And it's a great advertisement for the club. Come to Cronulla. You play rep footy. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I do want to shout out here, I do want to shout out Laurie Daly, strangely. Absolutely. On this whole thing, because there have been times in the past, maybe we can take Nico as an example, where Sharks players have been called into origin and been put in unfair positions. Yeah.

[00:28:18] And been put into situations where, like, they absorb the bulk of the criticism for reasons that is not entirely there. As I mentioned Nico, because, like, him being thrown out into the origin game, which I think was being played in Adelaide, and, like, the momentum was already swinging away from the Blues there. He gets thrown out, maybe drops off one tackle, they score, and that's on him.

[00:28:43] And then, you know, the next time he's back in origin, he's got a teammate getting sent off in the first, like, few minutes, right? And so he's got to play an entire origin game down one man. And somehow it's not about the missing player, it's about how he couldn't get it done. So I felt like that was unfair. But in this particular situation, I would have liked to have seen Blake start in one of those games. And he's definitely capable of doing it.

[00:29:12] But the way it panned out might have actually been more beneficial. He came on in game one, granted, with New South Wales, like, when they had a man's advantage, really, towards the... They still had to score the points, though. They had to score the points. That passed, Cleary didn't throw itself. Blake had to throw that to him. I mean, he had to draw someone in to make that play happen. But there was that. And then the level of trust that...

[00:29:42] Because I actually thought that Reece Robson played a much better game three than he did in game one there. I think he played much better there and was kind of a lot... He did a lot of the dirty work. Defensively, Blake's my guy, but defensively, Robson was great in game three. And I think that other coaches may have been tempted to just let that play out. Like, I was worried that we weren't going to see Blake at all in game three.

[00:30:10] We didn't see Appy in game two. Like, that didn't happen. And so I was worried that that was going to play out that way. But Blake getting thrown out there when the game still needed to... When the game was in control but still needed to be finished off, the trust to send him out there as a very different type of hooker to Robson, the trust to keep Fanua Blake in the team when there was pressure to maybe just have him removed altogether. And put them into positions.

[00:30:39] Like, we saw what... I don't know if game one was Adam's best game there. Like, there was a bit of huffing and puffing that happened there. But he was put in a much better position by Laurie for the remainder of the... For what happened after that. And he stood up and delivered. So shout-outs to Loz for actually helping our Sharks find themselves on that stage

[00:31:04] and not being someone that, you know, that put them in a trickier situation. It's a good shout. I mean, I haven't been shy about my feelings on Laurie Daly. I'm not his friend. I barely know him anymore. But I used to work with him on a weekly basis. And you will not find a better person in this world aside from maybe your good self. But as far as the football brain goes, like, he's got it all. He's done it all. I appreciate that his coaching experiences haven't, you know, been up there with a Craig Bellamy or Wayne Bennett or whatever.

[00:31:35] But the fact that people were sort of just saying, like, this guy doesn't know about rugby league. We heard all the things that they said. It was borderline outrageous. And I was actually happy for him that he had the last laugh. It doesn't mean that he is a football genius. It just means that sometimes you've got to wait till the end of the battle before you make your comment, you know. And, yeah, super happy for him. And you're right. He definitely showed trust in the guys who needed to show trust.

[00:32:04] He brought in the manly second row after dropping him. He's like, no, you know what? I got that wrong. Let's bring him back in. And he was great. Like, my favorite thing of Game 3 Origin Jards was when the Shark Cast text crew were doing the interchanges. But everyone got it wrong. He's not coming on. I've used four. And then I think it was Josh or someone went, no, I think I've only used three. It's like, you guys, you're killing me.

[00:32:32] I would have been devastated if he didn't get on. But, like, he did. It was a great experience. I really like what it's done for Britt as a person who may not have been in his best form going into Origin. But certainly over the years has earned that spot. He has been one of the best second rowers in the game. Yeah. For a little bit. So I was happy for him to be rewarded that way. Well, let's do a little bit of mailbag, Jar.

[00:33:01] It's not a big bag this week. But let's just respect the people that have written in. Sean wrote in. These are all unseen by me. So we'll just jump in and do it. Our listeners are pretty good with that kind of thing. Sharks are looking good, says Sean. Hines has been reborn from his Dallium form and the rest of the team are hitting their straps at the right time. Freddie Michalak, we haven't mentioned on the show yet, Jardin, still undefeated since returning to Cronulla.

[00:33:29] Now, Sean has bad news. And I don't know why he's done this. But he's booked a cruise from the 29th of September until the 8th of October. Oh, Sean. So I hope they got a good stream from K.O. on that ship where he's going. He does say, and this is very pivotal to your opinions here, Jards, I've never been to Ocean Protect Stadium but always wanted to go and watch a game and absorb the atmosphere.

[00:34:00] And my nearly six-year-old wants to get there as well, hoping I can make something work. It's a five-hour one-way trip from, I think, past Canberra, he's saying. Also hoping to make it to NRLW Magic Round in Wagga this week, which is awesome. Oh, they're from around June East. That's where they're from. And he's also got a name for our Monday show with Kieran, which is a very popular franchise. I don't mind it. I don't know if we're going to go with it, but I don't mind it.

[00:34:29] He's suggesting we call it Coffee Cronulla Conspiracies with Kieran. Kieran. Thanks, Sean. That's awesome, dude. So hopefully you can make it to Shark Park Ocean Protect Stadium. Drop us a line if you do, and Jardy and I will meet you at the gate with a handshake and a tour. Actually, our mate Ash Taylor can give you a tour of the stadium. But he's booked a cruise, Sean. So hopefully – well, we're going to be there. So hopefully, Sean, you got a good stream from KO.

[00:34:59] That's for sure. I don't know, Jardy. Can we talk about the Nico part of Sean's comment there? I was doing a little bit, so it's like very, very quickly. Because his game this week was probably one of the top three games that he's ever had in a Sharks jersey. Yeah. Just as Jimmy Carr would say with no words, it was that type of game.

[00:35:29] And I had to – I'm not a fantasy guy anymore. But I do think that there is still value in some of the fantasy kind of metrics that come out of it. Yeah. That you can pull some pretty interesting stuff out of fantasy. 106 points in the game against Manly. Now, considering that was when we scored like 48 and he had 107 points when we played against the Dolphins. Now, granted, in the Dolphins, what was he? Like 11 from 11? Yeah. At the boot.

[00:35:59] There's a little bit of stuff going on there. But 8 from 8 against the Seagulls. As it relates to conversions, what's the date now? The 30th of July. I had to go back to the 4th of July to see when he last missed a conversion. Yeah. So against the Broncos in the 22nd minute.

[00:36:25] He only needs a couple of goals to beat Luke Cavell's current streak for Cronulla. Current being the streak that's standing. Which I think was in the mid-2000s. I've got a document somewhere. But the record as has been widely distributed is Hazem. Record in NRL era. Going back, it gets a bit sketchy. But since 98, Hazem for the Bulldogs. I think it was 03. Is it 35, 36? Whatever that is.

[00:36:55] So we're kind of on Hazem watch here. But at the same time, it's one of those things where I'd love him to break the record. I want this guy to break every record because he is the underdog for whatever reason. But we're also just... We do want to go week to week, Jardim. We just want to win the games. Now, him going from 4 to 6 every try, that's helping us win games. So I'm sort of torn between like, yeah, break the record. Don't miss a goal ever again.

[00:37:24] But if you do miss one and we still win the games, it's okay. Like, he's not a failure. You know, I hope they're not setting him up for failure if he gets to like... Because this could be the storyline, right? If he gets to 34, Nico Caves under the pressure. It's like, no, he just missed the goal. Of course. Yeah. And, you know, it's kind of interesting that you frame it that way because against Newcastle, we scored less tries than Newcastle did. But his boot was the difference in that game.

[00:37:51] Like, to the two points, his three from three on the conversions and then his one from one on the penalty. That was the two points in the bag for us. So even when he's not kicking at high volume, like either eight or 11 conversions, like the four that he is taking are delivering competition points. So like, as a kicker, it feels like he's also arrived. I mean, he was always... He was good for...

[00:38:21] He has been good for a long time. But like, he has truly arrived in this elite place. You know, one of the things I would love to know, and maybe when you're down there at the Oval, Sam, you can ask this because I'm not at every game anymore. But I would love to know when Nico is absolutely just killing these conversions from the sideline. And he's turning around and smiling. Who is he smiling at? I gotta know. Is he smiling at a heckler? Is he smiling at someone cheering him? A lot of the time at away games, it's to a heckler for sure.

[00:38:51] I can lock that in. And he's always very polite about it. At home, it might just be to the fans, get them revved up, unless there's a heckler in that spot. But usually they're pretty good at Ocean Proofydeck Stadium. But away games, definitely. And he loves it. He loves it. I love seeing it too. It's becoming one of my favorite things to see on game day is Nico drilling a conversion from the sideline and then turning around and smiling at someone. A shout out to Daryl Halligan, his kicking coach.

[00:39:19] He's been down there a bit. I can't remember what game it was where he had a bit of an unhappy game, maybe. At least, you know, as you say, four or five games ago. But Halligan's been down there. And he's a regular, but they've been working on things. And it's obviously going swimmingly. So that's good to hear. Chad Shark has been in touch. Wishes us well. He says Fitzgibbon has a team firing. No major injuries. Definitely helping.

[00:39:49] I'm not just loving the scores that we're racking up, but the way we're going about it. Fitz has his feet firmly on the floor, and I hope the players do too. Nico and Tricky finally showing how good they are. Numbers on jerseys don't mean anything, but Nico seems to be playing more of a running half. Tricky is killing it. We haven't even mentioned that guy, to be fair. We haven't mentioned a whole bunch of guys. Our back line is ripping the rewards, and Will Kennedy is playing out of his skin.

[00:40:19] Forward pack is immense. A lot of praise from Chad Shark. He says, come round 27, if for some reason we miss out on the top four or top two, do you think Fitz would rest the majority of the team? So will we rest players for whatever reason, Jards? Keep that one in mind. It might make a few people unhappy because it's the 2016 reunion. Old boys, they'll be sold out crowd. What are your thoughts on that? Do you think he would? Do you think he should?

[00:40:48] I mean, form going into the first week of the finals is always helpful to have. Yeah. But if there were people who were genuinely going to be benefited from getting a week off, then do it. You know what? The 2016 old boys who will be there would want out of that team that day is to play in a way that positions them to win the big dance.

[00:41:11] So if that requires Fitz to rest people, you know, these guys have all been there before. I'm sure they'll be okay with seeing the forest through the trees on that one. Some wise words from Jardine on a Thursday morning. And Chad says he'll be in the game and he'll say hello if he sees us, which is awesome. Thanks, Chad. Hope you are well. What else have we got here, Jards?

[00:41:37] It's a lot of messages we get, which we address on other shows or some of them are just for like my own personal viewing, which is great. I think that's – oh, did this fellow have one? Let's have a look. Oh, yeah. So this is from Jay.

[00:42:05] And he's talking about how on another episode we were discussing the angle, how we haven't really brought many new players in over time, but we still make September. And he says the other angle which Fitzgibbon doesn't get credit for with the recruitment team is the whole time he's been there with Darren Mooney, they've worked hard with the lower grades, ensuring that we have players ready to come up.

[00:42:28] We haven't had to do that much yet, but there's been a lot of trying to make sure we've got a core group behind the first-grade squad. And I think next year to Jay and to Jardin, that's going to come in pretty important because we're not going on a signing spree, although I can confirm today as we record Jardin there will be a signing announcement. If it's not today, it's tomorrow. It's of the younger variety. It's a little bit outside of the box. People who have been following the press will know what it is. I'm not going to say what it is. But Jay's point is correct.

[00:42:58] Next year in particular, we're going to have some guys coming up into the main squad, whether they play NRL regularly, I can't tell you. But if you threw out names like Michael Gabriel, if you threw out names like Felix Fartilli, if you threw out names like Sam Stonestreet, even some of the young pups like a Tom Dello, who's still extraordinarily young but has the world at his feet, we're going to develop these guys.

[00:43:27] Liam Eison's going to stick around. So there should be credit there as well because we don't buy a lot of players, Jards, but somehow we're still cracking the finals. Cracking the finals, looking good, doing it, work in progress on our facilities as well to be able to recruit and get people to stick around there is a testament to the club and to what they've got cooking. Yeah, absolutely. Well said.

[00:43:57] Jardine, the Leagues Club's opening soonish. It won't be until probably October onwards, but it's in the final stages. Are you keen to check out the club? 100% I am. No King Juan? Or is there a King Juan? I don't know. I don't know very much about what's going to be in there, what's not going to be in there. No official King Juan, but I think they're trying to work out a situation where the most recent

[00:44:23] King Juan was, for want of a better word, to rebuild that and have someone else come in and do a King Juan. They're working on a Chinese restaurant at some point. I am very proud of the pizza ovens from Italy. So I expect you and I to have a couple of pizzas and a couple of Coke Zeroes or whatever your poison is. And it's going to be a lot of fun. So I'm excited, though. It's been a long time coming. And my expectations are just sort of like, I'm super happy it's going to be there.

[00:44:53] I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun in the complex. Let's see what you got. I'm not expecting it to be the world's greatest venue when I walk in. It very well may be. It may not be. I think I'm just more appreciative that we're kind of getting to that point where we can go, hey, we've got another club. We've got one up in Carrilla, which is really good, really good club. But it's nice to have one back in the actual complex, so to speak. It's been a while coming. It'll feel nice. I truly have...

[00:45:21] Do you feel like I've forgotten what it feels like to just walk down there on a stray afternoon knitting a snitty or something like that and just popping into the club? And you just feel like you're inside the stadium, even though you're not really inside the stadium. You kind of feel like you're part of the premise there. And it's got a great vibe to it. But I'm looking forward to it.

[00:45:47] NRL dub, Jardians, slow start to the season, got a good win last week. Magic round this week. Yep. West Tigers in Wagga. But they're slowly building. I know it's slower than what we'd hoped and what we expected. But there's still an expectation they'll make the finals. They can't slip up too much. But I'm optimistic about that. They're not where I thought they'd be. So that's a bummer.

[00:46:15] But they have the chance to get there. They've got the talent. Good coaching systems and that kind of thing. What has been your thoughts so far on the NRL W Sharks? It's been... I have been... Look, disappointed is going... Like, it feels like a strong word. But it is the word to describe how I would... How I felt about the team. But I also...

[00:46:43] Like, I'm not all too disappointed because this was a little bit of a year with question marks coming into it. But it's not entirely... I'm not sure it was entirely recognized and understood the... Or maybe it was. Like, I'm sure it was in the coaching staff. But maybe as a fan base, we didn't properly recognize the vacuum cleaner that Emma Varen was when she was playing there.

[00:47:10] She would often do a lot of cleaning up around her there. And with her not being there this year, like, I think we felt a little bit of that. But our go forward doesn't seem as strong as it had been in past years. There's... And maybe that's not necessarily about our players dropping off as much as it is other teams catching up in that particular space. We've...

[00:47:36] You know, we haven't always had Tiana Penetani's leadership out there. Just injury and stuff like that. Really? She's a huge... She's a huge part of that team. And when she's not out there, we really feel it. So, it feels as though it's still a team trying to understand who they are. Yeah. Like, if our men's team... If we spoke about at the top of the show, the men's team may be arriving at the point where they know who they are as a squad.

[00:48:03] It feels like for our women's team, we're still a work in progress in trying to establish what that looks like. And I've got no... I've got high confidence that they will figure that out. But when you lose those games kind of coming out of the gate there, the margins for error, if finals aspirations are what you have, they become thinner and thinner. Right?

[00:48:27] And so, we might be able to drop another game, maybe a couple of games here and there. But you borderline got to be running the rest to perfection in order to be at the finals. There's not the same number of games that we have in the NRL to fix up. Like, one loss feels like two. Yeah. Mathematically. The feeling that last week, their trip to Canberra was, we need to win this. That's the vibe I got. That's the vibe I saw.

[00:48:57] They played pretty good. And I expect that from here on out. I'm not saying it wasn't there before, but I think it dawned on them that it was like, if we go 0-1-4, that really mathematically is getting a bit trickier. So, there's a bit of breathing room there now. It's still a really good squad. We shouldn't leave out Brooke Anderson going to St. George. She was an unbelievable lock slash hooker for us. So, there is a bit of change. I personally also underrated the change. I put my hand up.

[00:49:24] Like, I thought Emma Barron and Brooke were two of the best we've ever had. But I kind of thought, well, there's replacements there. But to just have that replacement come in and work straight away, that was probably unrealistic. And I know I put this out in the chat as well.

[00:49:43] One of the players that I really enjoyed watching every week for just her commitment to the position, her commitment to the support, was I really thought Tale Holmes was an important part of that team that we had in the last couple of years. And you can kind of see, you know, that they miss her out there. Yeah. They miss her consistency. Yeah. She's a fantastic player. One of my favorites. I can confirm, Jardin.

[00:50:11] And I can confirm this because later this evening, we're going to release the first of a short new series of podcast episodes. And it's in conjunction with the club. And it's all about the NRL dub, but it's a little bit different. It's behind the scenes. And so I'm lucky enough to be a co-host with Jada Taylor. And we interview a certain person every week.

[00:50:37] And this week, as a spoiler, it is Madison Ashby, our awesome, I guess, utility. He's done a whole lot of things in her life at a young age, sporting-wise. And we have a good sort of half-hour chat. I think everyone's going to love it. But they do reveal, here's the big spoiler, that Tale isn't that far away. They believe she's going to play this year, and she's not that far away. Now, what that means, I don't know game-wise, but she's back at training and doing things. Love it. There is a bit of hope there.

[00:51:07] Okay. Also on... That's a... Go ahead. A woge bomb. That's big news. Boom. Get her out there. Yeah, absolutely. Also, on the lower, on different grades to NRL, NRLW, we've got the flag and New South Wales Cup boys, both going decently. Cup was a little bit of a drag the last few weeks, but they had a big win against Manly at Brookie. Liam Eison was just unbelievable, Jardim.

[00:51:35] I watch the games back usually on a Monday at some point, and he was legitimately, you know, Nico Hines 10 out of 10 kind of territory. He was unbelievable. So there is a young fella coming through to play fullback when Will gives it up, which isn't any time soon. But they're both under contract. I think Liam's off, but he's going to sign. There's no issues there. And he's a really good one for the future. Who else have we got there? We had Felix Vartilli. I mean, a great game.

[00:52:05] A lot of the Shark guys have big games. And our flag team won as well. And flag will play before NRL this week. So 11.45 kickoff at Ocean Protect Stadium. They had a big win over Manly. And they're still on the hunt for the top five. So lower grade's going well. Jets a little bit up and down, but sort of coming good. But their team fluctuates so much with, depending on NRL and who's in and who's out.

[00:52:32] But I think now we're on the ride to the finals and no more rep rounds, et cetera. The Jets team will be a lot more stable and hopefully they can have some success. But again, it's all under the umbrella of the Sharks. And it shows that we're going okay. Love it. Now, South's a coming to town, my friend. South Sydney. Two o'clock Sunday, Ocean Protect Stadium. They're sixth. We're fourth. It doesn't feel like they're sixth.

[00:53:01] It feels like they're a bit lower just because, I mean, let's face it, they've had some horrific injuries throughout the year. All clubs do, but they really have. When I look at their team jarred in, Matt Dufty's at fullback, so he's holding out Jai Gray. It's a pretty standard team that we've had the last few weeks, although Brandon Smith will play. We thought he'd be out with an arm injury, I think, or a hand injury. He's playing.

[00:53:32] And on the extended bench is Tom Fletcher, Talos Duncan, Adam Elliott. So there might be a bit of change there. But when I look at their immediate bench, they've got Jamie Humphries, good player, but a half. Liam LeBlanc, solid forward. Sean Keppy, veteran forward. Jaden Sullivan, outside back kind of guy. Edward Cossie, winger, potentially could play something else. But then I look at us, and we've got Talakai, Burns, Kofusi, Colquhoun.

[00:54:00] It's like there is a big advantage there. Very big advantage. And my expectation is that we're going down the middle hard and vast for a large part of this game. That's my – just looking at our bench, looking at their bench, that would be the instructions I'd be giving them. So their pack is Tertola, Smith, a young fella called Riddell. But the back row is pretty good.

[00:54:29] Columatangi, Aitken, and Hubner. Not lights out, but it's solid, especially Columatangi. But they're going against, at the moment, if it stands this way, for Newell Blake, Blake Braley, Tom Hazleton, Nicker, Wilton, McInnes. So I think even there, there's a chance to do some damage. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think it will be tricky in the championship DNA perspective.

[00:54:57] Like, I'm not saying that everyone in South has that championship DNA, but they're a pretty seasoned group there, particularly in that pack. And as much as we spoke earlier about our people bringing home their representative experiences, like South also have people who, like, it's topical for us because we're bringing back first-timers who didn't have that experience. But South are an organization that, you know, they've been sending people to rep 40 for years. So it's probably not as topical for them,

[00:55:25] but all of the benefits are still there for them. So I do, I agree with you a lot in the sense of, I do think that they're a sixth-place team that maybe feel like they're a ninth or a tenth-place team at the moment. But we, I felt as though if there's anything that you learn from the Roosters game, it's that you really just can't switch off against these teams who have this kind of metal to them.

[00:55:53] And so I actually would be, for me, if they were to win this game and win it convincingly, this would be the game at which I would feel totally confident that this team, they know who they are and they've arrived at this moment. Whatever happens for our team after that, whatever, I'm assuming that we will win most of those games in the run into it. But whether we win big or win small, if we can get this week right,

[00:56:21] that for me will be like, okay, this team has arrived. And it's not going to be easy because, you know, Cody Walker, if he switches on, he can set up three tries in two minutes. Like the guy's a freak when it comes to the attack, but he has other weaknesses, which is, we should certainly target. You know, I see Jack Whiten in the back line. I'm really not a Jack Whiten guy. And I've said that, you know, ad nauseum. However, on his day, he can do a number on you.

[00:56:50] So your point about turning up and being more enthusiastic, that's how you're going to win these games. I'm of the opinion, Judd, and if we turn up and we're primed and ready, we're going to win most games leading into the big one. Like it's just how the NRL is. Like all the teams are kind of, well, they're in different groups. There's like probably what, literally a top four. Then there's the next batch, which you'd put Souths in. And then there's the rest, of course. But if you turn up, for example,

[00:57:18] against Dragons Titans coming up in the next couple of weeks, and you really don't want to be there, if you really go through the motions, it could be a close one and they might win on a field goal. If you do that against Souths, they might win by eight to 12 points. So at this point for me, it really is about the mental game. It's not about, I mean, obviously physicality, sure, but it's not about skills. It's not about plan moves. It's not about game plans. The game plan hasn't changed in five years.

[00:57:48] Fitzy admitted that this week. It's about mentally turning up individually and then collectively. And I think more individually than collectively to be personally honest about that. So you do that. And in my head, that's a simple thing to do. Obviously, it's not. People have stuff going on in their lives and they have injuries and they're battling all sorts of things. But if we can turn up for that 80 minutes every week, I think the world is theirs.

[00:58:17] And it is one of those areas where we've spoken about this in the past, I guess a few times. And I'm reminded of this because I was just doing a binge rewatch of The Last Dance not too long ago. And one of the things that, like I've now watched that documentary, it feels like three or four times now all the way through all 10 episodes. But one of the things that stuck out in the last viewing of it was when they were talking about Michael Jordan's superpowers and how it's really called out that he was

[00:58:46] a mystic in the sense of that his gift wasn't that he could run faster, jump higher, and shoot the ball better than everyone else. But his true, true gift was that he was always, always completely present in the very moment that he was. And that was the separator for him. That he didn't even worry about the next shot that he, like he didn't even worry about

[00:59:13] missing a shot because that was going to a place that hadn't happened. Yeah, that he was just like people spend years and years training themselves in these meditation retreats and they'll go and do these pilgrimages into strange parts of the world, just trying to learn how to get their head to where their feet are on the daily. And if this team can master that, and it might have been the one thing that was left for them to do.

[00:59:43] If this team can master the art of just being truly present in where they are, then there isn't any other roster inside the competition that we cannot beat when we're in that mindset. And if you turn up that way, if they turn up that way and they are completely in the moment, if they turn up against Souths and they are completely right here against the team that's placed six, and they're not worrying about ladder positions or anything like that,

[01:00:12] they will win every game in which they are completely present in that moment. And so I guess that's the skill that Spitz has been working with them on because it feels like they are actually more present. Like it feels like, and you know what? Like a part of being present as well is actually being able to smile when things are going well. Yeah. It's not getting ahead of yourself to just be like, I'm in this moment.

[01:00:41] We're up 66 to nothing in this moment. I'm not being arrogant by smiling. You know, like part of being present and in the moment is celebrating those micro wins as they come. It's not to suggest, and I think sometimes we're just trying to form a protective barrier around us as human beings so that we're trying to protect ourselves from hurt down the line, that we don't allow ourselves to enjoy, to feel joy now because we're worried that it'll get taken away from us later.

[01:01:09] But that would be the opposite of being in this moment, right? And so for the players and for us as fans, I joke at the start of the episode that I'm dreaming big, but I'm dreaming big because in this present moment, it demands us, it demands me to take stock of where we are. And in this very moment, we are one of the top two teams in the competition and maybe not second. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good point. It's a good point.

[01:01:40] I love the fact you mentioned about the smiling and the appreciation from the players and to a lesser extent, the fans. But I haven't seen one hint, whether it's on TV or down at the site. I haven't seen one hint of arrogance or overconfidence. I've seen an appreciation of being in the moment, loving the fact that you're making records, loving the fact there's a team, you're achieving what you want to achieve.

[01:02:09] If you go back and watch that second try, I will count on the other post and it goes through 10 hands. And I spoke about it with Jesse Colquhoun on the interview episode, just back in episode. It's pure joy. And I was sitting with someone who is not a huge Sharks fan and not even a big necessarily regular footy fan. And they were like, that was pretty fun. And because I was up out of my seat going, you know, and that's where we're at. And yeah, it's not going to be every try. It's not going to be every minute of every game.

[01:02:38] It's not going to be every game. We saw that against Newcastle. Well, that wasn't fun. It was just good, tough win. But I do love the fact that they're going on with the job. I love the fact that they're there for each other. And that's what's going to take you a long way. Look, I don't like comparing clubs to other clubs because unfortunately in our lifetime, we've been the club people have been compared to. So in this example, we talk about the West Tigers. I don't want to labor on it. Don't really want to talk about it.

[01:03:07] But they're obviously in horrific circumstances. They thought they were on the way up and they're all the way back down the bottom. But I look at them and they'll look at us. And we are the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls without a title. That's how good we are on and off the field compared to where they're at. And that's not me gloating. That's not me. It's more just me appreciating it. And I think a lot of fans should probably appreciate the fact that,

[01:03:38] okay, we're not the richest club. We don't have the best stadium. Yada, yada, yada. But look at what we got. Look what's going on. And as you say, look what's going on right now in the present situation. It's awesome, man. Awesome. Get right. Yeah. Get right here and allow yourself, as if you're a fan, just allow yourself to feel the joy of a team that's performing the way it is.

[01:04:04] It's not arrogance when you see the players out there scoring and smiling. It may actually just be an appreciation for this thing that not everyone can master. This ability to get your head to where your feet are, which is something that in high performance sports, people really struggle to do because you're always so worried about making that next mistake, depending on how you're coached, depending on how you're trained.

[01:04:32] And that is the superpower of the people who we kind of revere, like the Michael Jordans and whoever else's. It's just that they don't allow themselves to think about potential failure because that would distract them from doing what they need to in that moment. And so I think I actually felt like as though the 2016 team had that as well. They had that magic to them. They were just in the moment.

[01:05:02] We went down to Canberra week one of the finals. We didn't have our captain. He was unwell. We lost Wade early, but we were in the moment. And we knew where we were. We weren't worried. We didn't pack it up and say, well, let's just think forward. We'll just take the next game after. We were in the moment. We Viking clapped our way out of that stadium, back to the Cowboys and on to Melbourne and won trophy later.

[01:05:32] Let me ask you this before we let you go. We're talking about being present, being in the moment. And this is maybe the most they have been under Craig Fitzgibbon. Would you say they were in – it doesn't have to be the same moment, but would you say that they were in a moment similar from round 27 last year against the Bulldogs to up until the Melbourne game in week three of the finals?

[01:06:00] Because for me, if you remember the resilience which they were defending, the onslaught of the negative media, us against the world, that kind of thing. For me, they were in the moment. That Canterbury game, they weren't really expected to win. They out-muscled the Bulldogs. They won the Chooks game, which they weren't expected to win. They towed up Raiders, which they weren't expected to do. Went down to Melbourne. We know that. But do you think in that three-game line-up, do you reckon they were in the moment?

[01:06:28] Because I think they were, but now they're sort of doing it for a longer period. Yeah, I think they were in the moment. But the difference between them being in the moment then and them being in the moment now is that a lot of them are much better players being in the moment now than they were in the moment then. Like being in the moment sets you up to succeed, but you still have to execute. And they are better at executing now.

[01:06:55] Nico Hines is a better player right now than he was 12 months ago. And maybe he's the same player, but he's just in better form. But either way, same, same, right? Nico Hines is in better form than he was this time last year. Trindle, I cannot speak highly enough of a lot of the things that he is doing, but he is a better player right now than he was 12 months ago.

[01:07:18] So if all they're doing is bringing the same level of mental awareness and that they're in the moment, they are now in the moment, but 20%, 25% better than the players they were last year. And that could be the difference in the result. I hope that Nico is not taking away too many Dallian points from Trindle because Trindle was ahead of him. And I think we're going to win more than we're going to lose.

[01:07:44] And I'm not sure how far behind Nico was in the leaderboard, but Trindle, I think, was second to Cleary, I want to say, or to someone very good. And, you know, Trindle's, he's getting a point or two every week, no matter what. Sometimes it's three or six. So I would be very happy to see any shark, but I'd be very happy to see Trindle get that award because I think it would elevate him in many ways. We've already seen it this year.

[01:08:10] The maturation on and off the field has been remarkable. And the consistency now, he's playing good most weeks, if not great, delights out most weeks. Whereas, you know, sometimes earlier in the year and last year, we were like, oh, he's really good when he's good. And otherwise, he just sort of goes missing. He doesn't play bad, but he's just sort of missing and he's not stepping up. Can't say that about him this year. Can't say about any of them. Our boy Will Kennedy is just unbelievable how he still gets criticism. I have no idea.

[01:08:38] It's sort of lightning a little bit, but I think people just waiting to drop the next ball or whatever. But they're all just playing out of their skin and it's a great place to be. Hopefully, we keep it going, Jards. I know after talking to you for the last hour, I'm going to be booking my transport to the stadium October 2. And I'm genuinely very happy with what they're delivering. Like, it's just kind of inspiring.

[01:09:07] And the whole story is really good. Like, if you want to call it last dance, you call it last dance. The improvement. Can't win big games. Well, now they can. Can't win away from home. Yes, they can. Can't win a rookie. Yes, they can. Can't win at Suncorp. Done it twice. Can't put a number on a team. Done it three. I think three times this year we've won by 50. It might be four. Three or four times this year. Like, it's a club record. So, we're scoring, I think, the most points per game that we ever have on average.

[01:09:34] It's – there's crazy stuff out there if you look hard enough, Jardins. So, you know, it won't mean everything if they don't go and do something special. And that's a lot of pressure on them now. But that's the pressure we want to see and feel. But – and, you know, they could lose the South this week and we'll look like idiots. So, that's sport. One team – I always say this, Jardins. One team's going to win, one's going to lose. We think we'll win this week and that'll be awesome. But it is sport and everything can happen. But we are in a really good place.

[01:10:04] That's the great point. Whether it's short-term or long-term, we're in a good place. Absolutely. And that being in the moment, it also works both ways. Even if we were to drop a game here or there, if you're truly in the moment, it doesn't linger. So, even if something does happen, I'm not worried. I'm not worried about it because it feels as though this group has formed its identity at just the right time.

[01:10:34] They know who they are. You mentioned something that I haven't thought about. Like, imagine if – I'm just not saying that this is the way that people are constructed behind the scenes or that this is the way that they're being coached. But imagine if the team is actually so tight behind the scenes that Nico is just kind of having me. He's like, hey, how do we get tricky this day, Liam? Like, I'm going to do what I need to do to win the game. But how do we get this guy that middle? Like, I would love to know.

[01:11:00] So, like, when teams reach this type of utopian state of togetherness, and I'm not saying that that's happening behind the scenes, I doubt it's that. I doubt it's that poetic. I doubt that they're trying to set things up because that actually would be the opposite of being in the moment. That would be trying to game plan for something. It's harder to set up a Dally M run. I think it's easier to set up a 100th try or whatever. But I understand what you're saying. And I stand by my point.

[01:11:27] Like, I wonder where the tally is because Trindle was really on his way top two. I haven't looked. I think he can look or I don't know how they do it these days. But he was very close to the top, and it was awesome. So, I just know that, you know, Dolphins game last week as well, Nico would have got the full points and deservedly so. And maybe Nico's making a run for all I know. I've got no idea.

[01:11:50] But it's just cool to be talking about this kind of thing because, like, two months ago, we probably weren't considering this sort of thing. So, it's good. All right, Jardy. And thanks for joining us. Really appreciate it. You're a busy man, and we appreciate your time. Everyone else, thanks for tuning in. And then, Showcast Pod, we'll be back with more when we are back in front of you and in your ears. We appreciate your listenership, your viewership. There will be an NRLW episode coming out tonight, I believe, all being well. Touch wood.

[01:12:19] Don't yell at me if it doesn't, but I think it will. And it's a bit different, so I want you to check it out. At least give it a play, and you'll hear the difference. It's Jada, Taylor, and myself talking to Madison Ashby, and her story is unbelievable. And we hear all sorts of things, all sorts of emotions, and I think that people will really dig that. And we'll be back before you know it. We'll see you down at the ground. Jardy, thanks so much again. Love to the fam. Thank you, my friend.

[01:12:45] Just try and keep that beautiful KO existence standing so I can walk in and earn a buck or two. Really, we love the KO. Love the KO. We'll talk to you soon, Jards. Thanks again. I really appreciate it. Everyone else, up, up, let's go win on Sunday and NRL Dub on Saturday. Up, up, let's go. Sharkies! Sharkies!

[01:13:07] Back in the Shire. Turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a trophy. SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire, Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate.

[01:13:37] He's an expert in the Karimbaugh region and has his eye all across the Shire. Lifelong Sharks fan and supporter of this podcast, if you're looking to buy or sell in the region, the person you need to be talking to is Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Crips & Crips Real Estate.