Flagship Episode with Josh Bolling Week 1 Finals

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[00:00:50] Hey there and welcome to SharkCast Potter Podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. I'm Sam Shnazzi, OG 2015, and this is The SharkCast, as Luke Lewis calls it. Brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Port Hacking. Jason Hawes of Crypts and Crypts Real Estate, and we get our copy from Mr. Paisley's. Now for those watching, you can see who our co-host is today. For those listening, he's a voice that you've come to know and love.

[00:01:17] He's been a bit busy lately, but he's back for the big game. Couldn't do a show, couldn't go through a week in the finals without having Josh Bowling back. How are you, Josh? What's going on? Good to be finally back, mate. The universe has just kind of worked against us the last couple of weeks. I've been sick. I've had things going on. Life gets in the way sometimes, but when the finals come in, I've got to make an appearance. I've got to get things off my chest.

[00:01:45] I'm really pumped and we're not far away. Not far away. We're recording this on NFL Friday. The game is on right now. We're just over 24 hours, a bit more. Before we run out there, Josh, let's get your vibes on what's been happening the past month. Let's go Dragons game onwards. Dragons lost, Canberra lost, Titans win, Eels lost, Melbourne lost. What have you made of that?

[00:02:16] Express a few things about that for me. Yeah, it's been pretty heartbreaking, to be honest, because you start to believe and you start to think. They've turned the corner and every time they give you a sniff, they take it right back off you. Dragons game, I was kind of like, that was a blip that we've had previously and kind of used as motivation. So I was not too upset. The Dragons played really well that day. Similar, it was like last year, right?

[00:02:45] Or the year before when they did a similar, it was at Oki and it was raining and they were up for it and all those sorts of things. But then it was the, even the Titans win, that was really like, it was one of the flatter wins I've had. And that's when I started to get a little worried in the Parramatta game. We've all, you know, spoken that to death how awful that was. And it's been disappointing.

[00:03:11] And then the Melbourne game kind of gives you a bit more hope, like getting some kids in, seeing the future and the way they hung in there with so much adversity. Like two Simbins, both rightfully so Simbins in my opinion, against the full strength Melbourne side. And it took one freak pass in the 79th minute and 59 seconds to get us. And it was just exciting to, you know, see some fresh faces and for them to do well.

[00:03:38] You know, it's always exciting, but sometimes a kid comes in and they can be a little disappointing or, you know, kind of go missing when the game goes by so quick. But I thought all of them were really good. And it was more of the senior guys that probably let us down that game. But Riley Jones, really impressive and I'm sure we'll get to it later, but really stoked that Fitz had the cojones to pick him again. Makes you think, would have Gabriel been picked? Who he would have gone? I don't know.

[00:04:07] So I've been asked that question. I hadn't thought about it before I was asked. But I mean, I think Gabriel had the better game, but Jones was pretty good. So I think Jones has that one game extra of experience. He's slightly older. But yeah, I don't know. That's a real tough one.

[00:04:30] I know that Marwini Hirata, who was in the picture, he's probably a few days off this week from being really able to be a serious threat to be picked. Yeah. I think he's in the squad, but I don't think unless things change, I don't think he's... Especially not half done. I'm even full done on the form. It's 50-50 on what you think. But I don't...

[00:04:57] I mean, Ricky, I was talking about that on the episode the other day, and I don't think that's going to be any kind of reality. But yeah, I mean, Jones got the new contract. He's a great story. Yeah. And they have full faith in him. So, I mean, you need your quickest guy out there against the Cowboys. Like, there's no doubt about that. So I think that's where, you know, your Siffers and your Mars don't really come into contention. And then probably it is about all the rookies. But it's a big ask. We'll get into that a little bit later.

[00:05:27] But it's a big ask for a guy in his third game to go play the Cowboys in an elimination final. But as you heard on the Shark Cast earlier in the week, he's up for it. Ready to rock. So, good times. I liked the game against Melbourne. I've got a lot of positives out of it. I thought discipline obviously was a problem. Yeah.

[00:05:50] And to a lesser extent, handling and that kind of thing, the game got better the longer it went. But yeah, they'll get a lot out of that. I just hope to goodness that the senior boys, and especially the guys who didn't play, feel the vibe and come in with that form. Because if they don't, it's going to be a long evening at Allianz. But I believe they will.

[00:06:20] They're in pretty good mood this week at training and that kind of thing. They're training hard. Yeah, I just want them to carry that enthusiasm. And we've seen it in finals, especially recently. Especially against the Cowboys, coming in with some really good energy. So, that's all cool. And you come to it with Allianz being the venue? No dramas there?

[00:06:47] I think, again, as everyone said through the week, we've heard all the shows and everything. Any other team, I have no problem with it being at Allianz. I mean, obviously, I'd want the game at Shark Park no matter what. But when they get 13,000 there on Allianz, and they could have been 14.5 at Cronulla, with a better atmosphere, the stadium's full, looks better on TV, all that sort of thing.

[00:07:13] I think the NRL just caves to the pressure of countless journalists and podcasters. Well, I think more than that, Josh, they cave to New South Wales venues and government and that kind of thing. I'm sure that they're aware of what's being said out in the street and that kind of thing and journos and that kind of thing. But I also think that Volandes is on our side. And I think that Volandes wouldn't necessarily cave to that kind of pressure.

[00:07:42] But I think if the government came to him and said, hey, we've got a stadium here and you're not using it, I think that's where it gets a bit more political. So you're right, though. Like, I know for a fact that ticket sales are not where they should be. Now, that could change in the next 24 hours. People get more excited. They check the weather. They free up their schedule. So we'll see what happens. Well, they can't give them away at the moment. Like, aren't they doing special prices and chips for half price to half time?

[00:08:11] I noticed that the ticket prices had come down since Monday. And I think that's pretty bad in a lot of ways because a lot of diehards are paying full price bright and early to get their ticket. Yeah. Yeah. And then I understand why it comes down. But it's also a bit of a kick in the teeth for those people. I'll say this. The NRL and the Sharks are doing everything they can to get people there. So I don't think they'll be at fault if people don't turn up.

[00:08:39] And I will say this, Josh, without trying to lose a whole bunch of listeners. Because this whole idea of boycotting going to the game, which I had no idea about until someone referred me to a few social media posts, is just nonsense. Like, you're not going to get anything out of that. The NRL aren't going to go, oh, well, then if your boycotting will come down next year, they don't bow to that kind of pressure. And I think the only people you're kind of hurting is the club.

[00:09:08] Now, I'm not saying that – if you don't want to go there or if you can't go there, then that's fine. But if you can and you choose not to because of some kind of inverted commas political view, I think that's pretty lame, to be honest. Because if you're supporting the team and you can get there and you can afford it and the whole thing, then you should just go do it. It's literally half an hour down the road. Let's not forget that.

[00:09:34] And it just makes the club look so kind of part-time and petty if you've got, like, fans squabbling and going, no, no, it's a home – like, I agree with the fans. It should be a home ground. Like, that's how it's stated. So that's what it should be. However, we have known it's coming for a while. And I think that's the only – the real problem with the NRL is they should have announced this in February and made it a blanket rule for us.

[00:10:04] Even if it's just for us only. It's like, sorry, guys, it's not happening. And then we're all ready for it. But the fact that it was umming and ahhing literally up until last Sunday, that's not good enough. And I appreciate that there was still a chance. That's good. I get that. But that seems really amateur to me to go, we made our call now and you can't do it. Like, I know Dino was on the phone fighting the whole weekend for it. But, yeah, I just – it's – I think we've sort of lost that battle.

[00:10:33] And I think that fans who genuinely want to go but are making some sort of protest, I would advise against that. Just go and have some fun. We're probably going to win. It's going to be a tough one. But it's a fun atmosphere. And there's a lot of stuff pre-game happening. And if you want to have fun on the footy this weekend, you probably can. And as Josh said, you can probably do it for a reasonable price. So, anyway, see what happens. Yeah, I don't think they'll probably crack 17,000.

[00:11:02] But if they get to 20, it's a miracle. And as you said, it could be much lower than that. But we'll see. I mean, we'll see. We'll see what happens. I mean, hopefully this will be the last year because we should get that increase in crowd numbers following the opening of the Lease Club, right? So that – A little bit, yeah. A little bit. I think that will at least help the case of if you can get another 2,000 or 3,000 in there, that might be enough.

[00:11:29] There is a lot going on with, you know, talking to different people about getting funding and upgrades and that kind of stuff. But that additional funding and fixing up of the stadium, not referring to what you're referring to, that will take time. So – Yeah. Hopefully, though. But yeah. Anyway.

[00:11:55] Cowboys on Saturday night, 7.50 p.m. Now, they've moved the doubleheader of the NRLW over as well. So you can watch two Sharks teams play. It's actually a battle to get out of the spoon against the Dragons. That's kind of fun. They had a really good win last week against the Warriors away from home. So there's another incentive. They've moved the game, the NRLW game. So that's sort of more value for your money and it's more Shark time for you, et cetera.

[00:12:22] So they really are trying to get people there. I feel a bit of sympathy for the club because I guess, you know, their responsibility is to get to the finals, right? Yeah. And we've gotten to the finals. Okay. We've limped in. But we're there. We're in fifth place, almost in the four. So it hasn't been a bad year. And then we have people going, well, I'm not going to go to that game for this reason. Not for different reasons, but for that reason.

[00:12:52] I think, you know, if you work for the club, you must be sort of tearing out your hair going, what else do I have to do to get people into a seat? It looks worse on us as a club. We're going, like, we're getting smashed on social saying we cannot get 15,000 people to a finals game. What's the point of the club? You know? Yes. Yes. Full disclosure, I can't go to the game this week and I'm absolutely gutted and devastated. Doesn't matter. We're not talking about that. I know. But, you know, like, it's just that thing where if you don't go to the game.

[00:13:21] I've got no issue with someone going, I can't make the game. Of course you can't. There's a million things on. You've got a million responsibilities in life. The whole thing, I get it. Believe me, I get it. I've got a problem with someone going, I'm not going to the game because it's a boycott. That's what I've got a problem with, to be honest. And again, not trying to out anyone or talk down on anyone. But if you don't go to games all year and then you don't go to finals because of this reason

[00:13:46] or whatever reason that's not out of your hands, then I don't see how you deserve the wrong word. But they'll be the first ones to line up for a grand final. You know what I mean? And like, that's what ticks me off. Because if we think we're going to win this game, which we think we will, we go to week two next week and we play Panthers-Roosters. And it could be at Allianz. You'd think it would be, but it could be out of Western Sydney. But is there less complaining then? And is there more people going because we're closer to the big there? You know what I mean?

[00:14:16] Like, it's, yeah. Anyway, we didn't come in to complain. We came in to talk about footy. I'm actually going to read out some mail, Josh. This is from Noah. Last name, Gabriel, but I'm not sure if he's related to the great man or not. But it's from Noah. And he said, I've got a feeling the Sharks will start their run and go all the way to the grand final. I was speaking with a few other fans in our group. They believe the same thing. He thinks they were looking towards the finals. And that's why they've kind of pulled up stumps a bit.

[00:14:45] He said, every hater and everyone else has written us off. I'm hoping we put on a show on Saturday night. My prediction is 13 plus and our defense will dominate. Let the backs do what they do best. He also said, I noticed Liam Isen not named in the Jets. Is he injured? Keep up the great work with the podcasts.

[00:15:10] And then he said, if we keep winning the podcast, keep coming, firing us. Sharks fans up for each match. Let's go bring on the win. Up, up. That's from Noah. That's really nice, Noah. Thanks so much. The podcast is going to keep coming, win, lose or draw. So don't worry about that. And we'll be doing stuff all summer. So don't worry about that. Liam Isen is injured. It's not major. It might be a week or two, I believe, if they make the prelim.

[00:15:39] He's locked in for it. It might be, he might be right next week. I'm not sure. But a minor injury for Liam Isen. And what do you make of Noah saying that we were just sort of waiting for the finals to come around, Josh? Because I don't know if I necessarily believe that. I know it's out there, but I don't know if I believe that or not. Well, Fitz did kind of mention that in a few presses. And that annoys me. Because we've heard that before. We heard that in 2017 from Fino. That they'll turn it on, turn it on.

[00:16:08] And then we got knocked out week one. You know? And to be fair, that game was an absolute disgrace. We should have won that. But yeah, I'm not a fan of that, of the waiting. And I feel like sometimes it sounds like an excuse. I think it does too. And like, you don't see the Panthers waiting. Like, they go after every single game. And that's why they win four premierships. You know? Like, they go after every single contest, every game. It's round one or a grand final.

[00:16:37] And that's why they're the best. And whether, like, I don't know if they actually believe that they're waiting. But they need to go after every contest. And that's how you become the best and make grand finals. So, yeah, I'm not a fan. Yeah, I'm with you. I think it's a little bit of an excuse. I think it might be, why are we losing? They look into it. Obviously, they study these sort of things. The patterns and the moods and the behaviors. And then they go, oh, maybe they're waiting for the final. So, I understand that the coach might say it is a thing.

[00:17:06] And obviously, he's played at the highest level. Maybe it is a thing. But it can't be. It can't be okay to have that a thing. It can't be the reason. Well, no. It can't be the reason. And I would expect next year for them to go, oh, remember last year when we kind of had everything and we threw it away? Let's not do that again.

[00:17:27] And the reason I do think it's not true is because before the Dragons game, before the Canberra game, before the Titans game, before the Eagles game, they all were interviewed by me and a million other people. And they all said, no, no, we know what's coming. These underdogs that they want to get us and we're going to be ready. And they weren't. So, I don't think that's them waiting for the finals. But I do respect Noah's opinion. I respect the coach's opinion.

[00:17:52] So, maybe it's a subconscious thing and you can use that as the reason or whatever. But, yeah, I'm not comfortable with it. I can understand not wanting to get hurt before the finals. Like, that's definitely, like, that would have to play on your mind when it's round 27 and you're like, I have to get through this game and perform like a professional. Sure. But I don't want to break my arm. You know, like, there's got to be that, I'm sure. But at the same time... But round 24 against Dragons or whatever. Yeah, of course. And you need it to make the four.

[00:18:23] Then it can't be. That's the thing. So, it's like, I can take or leave the last round when you know you can't go under fifth without losing by 40. And we knew by... I think after 20 minutes, I was like, okay, we're not going to lose by 40. Like, that was... We were there to play. Stormont don't let us or anything. But, yeah, when it's round 25 or it's round 24 and there's still so much that can go wrong or right and every team around you is a win away or two wins away.

[00:18:51] Like, it doesn't take long in this game, the way the comp is, for things to go south pretty quick. So, we've played the finals against the Cowboys six times, I believe. 2013, we won. That was a 13 tackle... Oh, 13 tackle. That was a seven tackle set. Seemed like 13. 2015, the infamous 39-0 loss. I'll get back to that in a second. 2016, the famous 32-20 win.

[00:19:18] Speaking of not wanting to get injured, 32-20 against the Cowboys. 2017, you mentioned 15-14 loss at the SFS. 22, we don't talk about this too much. 32-30 loss. Thanks, Valentino. And a couple of years ago, when Kieran and I went viral, we won 26-18 against the Cowboys at Allianz. So, we do seem to find them. For a team that hasn't been around forever, a seventh finals game against the Cowboys seems like a pattern. It's crazy.

[00:19:48] I think I've been at nearly all of those except for the one in North Queensland. Obviously, I didn't go there. But I think I've been to every single one of those games. And they have all... A lot of them have broken my heart. But, I mean, that Valentino home is one. I'm never... That will stay with me probably for the rest of my life. That was... It wasn't good. I was so convinced that... Like, we had the game won. And I was just... It didn't end my mind, the thought of losing that. And I was like, prelim!

[00:20:18] Like, we're going to do it! But... And... Yeah, the... The 2017 one, I broke my phone that day. When we lost... I threw my phone into my seat. And it bounced about six rows ahead of me. And it was shattered and gone. Never to be seen again. So, there's been some hard ones. That Cowboys one, the 39-0, whatever. That was tough.

[00:20:45] So, last night, a bunch of us were in the house for Chad Townsend's live show. It was such a good night. Definitely recommend it if he does again. This was 2016 features with four of his teammates. It was amazing. I'm sure you'll see a video of it today and that kind of thing. But they... I think Luke Lewis in particular spoke about the 39-0 loss. Because he and Wado and Gal were a part of that. Chad and Maloney were not.

[00:21:13] And they were the guys at the podcast recording. But Louis, in particular, hung on to that grudge from that moment. And they spoke about it afterwards. And he said that they knew they were super close as a team. They had to tinker a little bit. He talked about Barber going to fullback. He didn't mention Robson's name, but sort of mentioned Chad coming in. And a few guys like that. Just a few little changes.

[00:21:42] Subtle changes. But then they skipped forward to the 2016 prelim. And they'll talk about little moments in that game. And Luke Lewis, if you remember, absolutely destroyed Lockie Coot from a... Yeah. Like a kick chase. Just destroys him. I think it's early. And everyone was laughing. And he goes, Lockie Coot's one of my best mates. Like from the Penrith days. And he still is.

[00:22:12] And he said, but I was that pent up. And that... Like I was... You know, he said, I played the game out in my head like all week. He said, I couldn't wait. Or was it a two-week wait? Because I had the two weeks off. The week off. So it became two weeks. And... And way Graham also sort of chimed in and said, yeah, like we had a good chat after the 39-0 loss. And we made a vow to sort of not only get revenge, but, you know, turn it into something positive.

[00:22:42] And so they kept referring to that game. And then referring to the prelim. They mentioned Valentine Holmes' run against JT. Where he sort of knocks him back. And how that inspired everyone. Little moments in the game. And they talked about how they let in a few tries at the end. And also the fact that they weren't that far up at halftime. I think it might have been 8-0 or something. And... But the gal was like, we never had that one loss.

[00:23:12] Like as soon as we walked on the field, we're going to win that game. And, yeah, it's just that history of the Cowboys. So it'll be fascinating to see what happens on Saturday night. Right. Recently, we've had just amazing record against them. 14 in the past 17. There was that kind of weird game in round eight where they won 46-34. Very Cowboys scoreline.

[00:23:34] And I do want to remind people that the Cowboys, in the past, I want to say, five games this year, they've conceded in one game 82 points. In another game, 32 points. And in another game, or their last game, 50 points. So, they've conceded 30 plus 11 times this year. So they're there to be had.

[00:24:03] You just can't get into a shootout with them. And one of those 30 being us. Like we still scored more than enough points to win that game. Like we just... That was a really bizarre game. Like, you know, that was peak PVL, like six again, penalty. Like nothing going right. But I think this will be a lot different. You know, finals are ref different. We all know that. Same as Origin. Like, I think it'll suit us more.

[00:24:32] Keep like what Fitzio says, ball in play. Like they will not be able to handle that. It's just what we can... If we can just... If we keep them to 10 points, I think we win in a canter. Because we have more than enough in that regard. It's just shutting down that... Like Purdue and Chester. Like getting on the outside of their man. Good finishing wingers. Like we can't give them a sniff. Drink water. He's going to try some freaky things. Because it might be his last game. He's a gunslinger. And we know...

[00:25:01] Tommy Dearden and what he's like. It's just... It's all there for like a pretty comprehensive easy win. And I say easy. You know. In the terms of... We should score like plenty of points for it not to be a worry in the final 10 minutes. But... We know what this team's like. We know what the Cowboys are like. There can be a recipe for disaster if things don't go how we want them to. But I'm excited. Like it's finals time and I'm always excited. Like I can't wait for the game tonight.

[00:25:30] Like all the games are really good matchups. I just... I don't want the season to be over yet. Like... No. This team doesn't deserve... I know it sounds kind of silly off the last month or six weeks we've had. But the team doesn't deserve to go out in week one. Like they're a better team than that. Absolutely. And... You know. Without getting ahead of ourselves. We don't mind our chances against the Chooks. Should it be the Chooks? If it's Penrith... It's a tougher battle. But it's one that we'll have and that's fine and we'll get to that.

[00:26:00] But assuming it's the Chooks... And I'm... Honestly, Josh. I'm not... Here to say that they can't win. Whenever that is. Sunday night. I'm not... I think Penrith should be favourites. Absolutely. Yes. And I think losing Sam Walker is a bit of an issue. But if DCE can like... Bite down on that $1 million check he's got... They can pull it out. They definitely can. A lot of other things have to happen. Like their prop can't lose his mind.

[00:26:30] Their discipline. Ball handling has to be good. But they did it... What? A month ago or less. Like they were unbelievable. One of the great performances. So... Anyway. We're not here to talk about that. But... Point is... We want to go to week two and see what we got against those two teams. Both teams will be hard. But... We're probably hoping for the Chooks. And we want to win this week. That's how you do it. Let's look at the teams. We've got... Riley Jones coming in.

[00:27:00] So your centres are Riley Jones and Cale Iro. They're going up against Purdue and Chester. And I think it's... Based on what we saw of Riley Jones in that game. And what I've watched in lower grades. He's the best choice of who's available. And as you said before. For a guy like Fitzy who doesn't throw jumpers to guys easily. It's a pretty ballsy call. You comfortable with it? A hundred percent.

[00:27:29] I was stressing all day Tuesday. I'm thinking like he's going to name Siffer. Or he's going to name Hiradi. And he's not going to be a hundred percent. Even though like respectfully I don't think he was... His performance has probably justified a final starting centre spot. But I thought even if he's at a hundred percent. Okay. Like whatever. Let's go for it. But I... Like Riley Jones was the guy. Like he proved himself. I think against Melbourne. He's got a great try. He's really quick on his feet. Really good footwork. Yeah. Like even he's trying that slow-mo shot front on.

[00:27:59] The way he kind of jumped. And then came back against where he was... Where he should have gone. The way he's jumped led. Like it fooled Suofar Longo. Like those just little... Those little traits that people have. Like that's... Like that's... Like good skill. And I haven't like watched a ton of him in reserve grade. But everything I have seen of him at centre. I've always really liked. It's just the other positions. I'm not so fond of him playing. But that's... You know. He's playing out of position. So I think... Yeah.

[00:28:28] And Kayla Ero coming back. I think that's... That'll help with our yardage out of our end. I thought we struggled a little bit. Coming out of our end. Like I thought Sione and Kennedy and Ronaldo did well. But... And Gabriel was really strong with his runs as well. But he's not Kayla Ero coming out of our end. Yet. And so I think that will really help. And that will take a little pressure off Jones. Because I think he struggled a little bit there. That's probably the one criticism I had was... Some of his yardage play. He was... He got smashed a few times. And it's fine.

[00:28:58] Like... It is what it is. But... I think that... I think that is a really well balanced back run. Yeah. And... They obviously have faith in him. I don't... I don't know if the contract... Timing yesterday where he got the new deal. I don't know if that's... To boost his spirits. I don't know if that's... An extra reward. Or it's just how they did it. That's the timing of it. He agreed to it and they did it. I'm not sure the reasons of the timing of the contract...

[00:29:28] Being announced. But it can't hurt... Going into a... Elimination final. So... You know... Wish him all the best. And we're pretty comfortable with him playing there. Braden Trindle returns. Now this could be a major storyline... Positively. I hope there's no negative... Attached to it. And when I say negative... I'm a little worried... Without any traces of information from the club... Or obviously not being a doctor... And far from it.

[00:29:57] I hope the shoulder's good to go. I'm assuming Josh... They're not going to play him... If he's... Not able to make tackles... And that kind of thing. I think it's like... Excuse me. I think it's like the Pemrith approach... With Isaiah Yeo... Where it's like... It's not going to get any better... Than what it is now. And it's worth the risk. And if it goes... It goes and you deal with it. And if it doesn't... We've got our best player back on the field. So I think...

[00:30:26] If it was 80... I think it was under 80%. You don't play him. But if he can get through... If he can get through the game... And he can kick in. He can set up tries. And then we just... Whoever's... Who's his back row? Is it... Is that Teague? Teague's on his edge, isn't it? Yes. Yeah. I'll just... Teague's got to babysit him. Maybe a little bit more than usual. He's a good defender tricky. Like... Yes. And it's more... I don't think any of that front-on contact... Is going to be an issue. It's just if...

[00:30:56] Whenever that... When he's got to reach out... You know... And stretch an arm for a... An inside shoulder tackle... Or whatever shoulder he has... Injured. That's going to be the only thing... That really... Causes an issue. But the fact that he also... Wanted to play last week... And they had to hold him back. He wanted to play when he did... The injury. Yeah. Came back to the bench. Yeah. We were there. And I was like... I think they put him on the big screen. And I was like... He's already back on the bench. Maybe he's... He's going to come back out. So... I'm not... I'm not super worried about it. It's just one of those things...

[00:31:26] In the back of my head... Where it's like... If he's good to go... Then I think we're... A long way to winning. So... Look... It could go in the first minute. Or it could... Sure. It could go... Play to the grand final... And be fine. Like it's just one of those things. Like and... Realistically that's... Every single player that steps on the field... That could happen right? So... Going to be interesting to see what happens... With Nico Hines and him. Does he just hand... The keys back? Or does he have to take... Slightly more responsibility... And what he would do... When he's normally there...

[00:31:56] Because his mate's coming back from a... A major-ish injury. Like it's going to be quite fascinating that... Who's going to do the majority of the kicking? We'll see how that plays out. But he needs to have a big game, Nico. Yeah and I just think... I don't think they need to change anything... From before Tricky got injured. Because it was working. You know I think... I think the... It got unsettled there when he left... And he was trying to... He had to step back into the main guy role. And it's been shared... You know pretty evenly.

[00:32:25] And I think that was just probably... A hard adjustment. I know that's a cop out for a guy... Who's on a million dollars a year... As the guy. But those partnerships... And the connections they matter. And... You know I don't think the connection... With Nico and Nephi... Was as good as it was with Tricky and Nephi. No. And I think... Pollard would have been a better partner... For Nico I think. And Highs. I was going to say... I don't mind that. Because Pollard is your classic halfback. And he would steer him around.

[00:32:54] He didn't get as much an opportunity... With Nephi calling the shots. And that's fine. Like he's the more experienced guy. But Pollard still got to shine... And do his thing. But I do wonder how... That would look. And Nico and... Pollard combo. But probably won't see that for a while. But... We've got Fanua Blake against Tamalolo. That could rock the Richters I reckon. That would be a... A good one. I think whoever wins that battle... It might go a long way actually... To who wins the game.

[00:33:24] Definitely. Jason's kind of... Wham back the clock this year. I don't know if this is his last year. If he's got one more to go or not. But that could be a factor as well. And like... He's been back to his sort of damaging best. And that... Those kind of players... Like you know... The Fahu Whites of the world. And Jason Tamalolo is always worrying me. Because they can really disrupt our middle ruck. And our speed there. And they... And once teams start playing through there... We don't seem to recover. And they really... And teams can just roll through us... For extended periods of time.

[00:33:54] So then... That's what I worry about with Tommy Hazleton. When he comes on... We need to time that... As best as we can with Tommy. When we're on top. Because when we're... When the ruck's rolling on the other team... And he can kind of get stuck at marker... Or stuck on an edge. We're in big trouble. But if we're... When we're dominating... And things are going... Tommy's the perfect guy to bring on. So those are some of the things... I'm just... We've got to be mindful of. And Fitz, you can't just throw Tommy out there... Because that's when he's supposed to go on.

[00:34:24] Like he has to time those... If we're losing... That's when you bring a sif or on. Yeah, I agree. I've asked him before... When I've chatted to him on record... About the interchange thing. And I'm sure his answers were not... It's perfectly scripted. I know it comes across that way to us fans. But... I have to believe that... It's just not the way. But I completely understand what you're saying. And I agree with what you're saying.

[00:34:53] As far as we know... Team is staying as is. But McInnes is there at 13. And he has been switched around a couple of times this year. With much success. I wonder if that'll be a factor or not. We'll find that out. But your bench is... Talakai, Burns, Kofusi, Hazleton, Hoheppa. And Toby... At the moment... Nephi, Peru, Sam Stone Street... And Mawini Hiradi are on the extenders. Now I would imagine... You can definitely rule out Sam Stone Street.

[00:35:21] I think that Nephi would probably... Probably come in on that bench... Unless they're 100% comfortable with a different scenario... Should something happen to one of the halves. Obviously one being Trindle. But I... Would you have Nephi on that six-man bench? Or would you just kind of make do and see what happens? I think in finals I probably would. Yeah. It's just so important to have two guys...

[00:35:50] Like... I just don't want to throw McInnes to six... Or Blake Braley to six... In the 50th minute mark of a final. Do you know what I mean? Like... Yeah. It's just not worth the risk. And we're not going to... Like... If everything goes well, he doesn't play. And you've got five other forwards to pick from anyway. So... That being the case... We're counting in Talakai. We're counting in Burns. We're counting in... I think we're counting in Kathusia. Yes. Not 100% there. I would. I'm just trying to think of the coach.

[00:36:20] We're counting in Hazleton. I think we're going to... Keep Hoheppa... As a possible... Coverage for the other things. Yes. I think we're cutting Toby Rudolph. Yeah, I think so. He's in that... He's in that six-man right now. And I think Nephi might come in for him.

[00:36:46] Because I don't think Toby goes ahead of Oregon Kifusi at the moment. No. Yeah. And Toby had a chance to prove himself on the weekend. I thought he was pretty poor. Yeah. Some crucial... I mean... I would say he was just not conditioned. I don't know if he was poor. Yeah. But I just thought he was just... He wasn't... Yeah, he wasn't... He's played a couple of... Maybe two or three cup games and gone okay. But obviously the level up is different.

[00:37:15] And he just looked a step behind all the other guys. And you can't have that in finals. So... So yeah. Maybe both Puru's are on that six-man bench. And maybe they both... Maybe they both don't play. Best scenario. I think because... Hoheba covers hooker and lock and front row essentially. And Nephi covers the halves. Yeah. Yeah, I'm comfortable with that. And then Ronaldo, whoever, covers Will.

[00:37:44] Like, you know, there's coverage kind of everywhere else. Yeah. You make do with what you've got. Yeah. It can be interesting to see what happens there. Because... Because 50 hasn't really gone with a half back on the bench. Much. But I do think if you guys coming back from what I would say is a major-ish injury. A serious injury. If he goes down in the third minute. Touch wood. He doesn't. But if he does. He'd rather have a half out there. As you say.

[00:38:14] Than playing funny buggers with everyone else. I guess Hoheba could probably do a job at six. Like... He could. But I... When was it that he did that recently? He wasn't that. Was it the Canberra game? He defended in the middle. Yeah, it was Canberra. He defended in the middle. Blake defended on the edge. And essentially he just was a pass and receive guy. Yeah, but he... I don't think... If you wanted to run with Toby. If you didn't want to carry the half. Yeah.

[00:38:43] That's the option you have. I don't think that was very effective. I think that's the least effective Hoheb has ever been in a game. In the NRL. Yeah. It was big minutes for him. And maybe they didn't have it go to plan like they would. Maybe they'd go, Hey, if this happens again, this is what you've got to do. So maybe they can correct on that. But... Yeah. We'll see what happens. That's the bench. What about... What about your buddy Ruben Cotter getting off? That was a bit of a pickle.

[00:39:13] Yeah. I'm... I've given up on trying to understand what they're doing these days, man. He's found guilty. But then within half an hour, he's downgraded. And you can play. The second he was found guilty, I was like, he's getting off. Like, there's... It's finals. You know, they make different rules. And look, we've been the beneficiary of that before with Nico. Like, I understand that. But... When was that? Remember with the hip drop on Montoya in the last year against the Dogs? Yeah, yeah. And then the Dogs provided the...

[00:39:44] That's right. That he was all good. That's right. And then he didn't play again that year anyway, so he wasn't... But yeah, I just... I think when... You run out on the first tackle of the game, so there's no problem with, like, your fatigue or anything like that. And you go to put a hit on someone. Yeah. And you get him in the head. Yeah. Like, that's... To knock out Josh Papalihi is also a pretty good hit. Yeah. And then Michael Gabriel, you know, bad shot.

[00:40:12] I think probably it was fair enough to be a Simbin. But to miss two weeks of really, like, there's no malice. There's no intent there for him to take his head off. And Ruby Cotter gets off. It's a lottery, man. Same with the six against. It is. It is. Glad to see Fitz come out and, like, stick it to him a little bit because... Man, that pass was right in front of where we sit, as you know. And I had to hold back here and he was, like, going to jump up to the end. It was, like, just calm down, brother. He's, like, it's forward. It's forward.

[00:40:42] I was, like, I know. I saw the same thing you saw. But it's gone now. And it was pretty bad. Like, even watching it, I haven't got the greatest eyesight. But watching it right there, I was, like, that seemed a bit forward. And watching the replays didn't get better. And, like, the touchies are, like, 15 meters back on the play. I know these guys are fast and it all happens quickly. But you know that there is two men in the bin. So maybe stand up on the edge that they're going to probably attack. Like... Josh, there's guys in their ears watching on telly and at the ground and in the bunker.

[00:41:11] And they just got to go, hey, bring it back. It's a forward pass. That's all they had to do. They do. And no one... They do do it. And no one would even know. The referee would go, yep, let's go back. That was forward. Yeah. So... It costs you the game. Like, that's the kind of stuff that's going to cost someone a final. You know what I mean? I'm like... Oh, yeah. Yeah. We've seen it happen. Like, the 2010 grand final where one of the Morris boys, he had his foot out. Yeah. And they gave it to me.

[00:41:41] No, it was play on and they scored, I think, not long after. But the touchy... There's a photo of the touchy looking at the guy's foot. And the foot's, like, this far out. So, mate. So, I mean, that's human error. I get that. But, yeah. And the... You can copy a strip or something like that. But it's, like, when it's, like, forward pass leading to record. The other one as well, where it was the dead ball on try.

[00:42:07] Like, I appreciate they might go, no, we've got an angle that you haven't got. There's a blade in it and he got it. Like, I can live with that. But they didn't come out and say that. They just went, nah, it's a try. I was like, there's no evidence. I can live with that either way because it's that close. But when it's given no try, that's the thing, right? Yeah, of course. Makes it more political. Absolutely. And Fitzy was right to bring that up. And you were right to bring up the fact that he brought it up. And, yeah, he's not a happy camper at the moment, Fitz.

[00:42:35] And it's good because he's on edge a bit. And the players know it. And, yeah. You look at the sheet that I sent you of the penalty counts and six against combined. And Warriors are like plus 55 and we're minus 33. And I know we're an undisciplined side. I know a lot of the ones we probably deserve. But, like, are we 88 penalties and six against difference to the Warriors? Like, we're not.

[00:43:01] We're not 50 penalties and six against worse than the eighth best team. Like, I'm not going to get started. Sorry. No, no. It is another factor to it all. And I definitely don't think about it because it's just too depressing. But when you're at the game and it happens, I mean, you know, don't want to name and shame, but there's that dude on the X who's the Penrith guy and he just cries about Penrith refereeing decisions.

[00:43:31] Like, it's – and it's a serious business because, like, this guy is mentally unhinged. And that's his problem, not my problem. But, like, there are people who obsess over these things is my point, including Cronel fans. You know, I know I get messages from various people informing me of who the referee is, which is interesting because I can work out who the referee is, guys and girls. That's me being funny, not being mean. But also, I don't really care. I mean, they all suck. That's the thing.

[00:44:01] They're all going to make mistakes. It's not they all suck. It's just that I have no faith in them. And I think I said it on one of the shows this week. It's like politicians. I have no faith in politicians. You can give me the best politician and I might like him for a little bit, but he's going to lose me. So I have no faith in that kind of thing. I have no faith in the refereeing. That's a them thing, not a me thing. I'm a pretty fair guy. And if you're going to keep bottling it up, well, I'm going to just not care.

[00:44:27] So absolutely, we can lose by a forward pass on the weekend and then we'll talk about it. But I certainly have enough on my plate where I don't want to spend the week of worrying about what the refs are going to do wrong. It's going to cause us to lose. If in fact that is the case, because a lot of the time, believe it or not, guys and girls, the Sharks are the reason that we lose and not the refs. I will give you though, last week was pretty poor and that chap has had some poor games at the stadium this year, which you and I have been to.

[00:44:56] I don't know if he freaks out when he comes down in the South. Something happens. I'm glad he lost the finals game. I'm glad he's not reffing a finals game off the back of his era. And Adam G, I'll say he's probably the best ref. That's the last thing I'll say on it. He's pretty good. Yeah. And it's to the point where if the fellow who did the game last week has some great form and wins his place back, then I say go for it. Good luck. I couldn't care less. But yeah, it's a real mess at the moment.

[00:45:24] Now, Josh, 7.50 p.m., the Sharks on the back of our friend Tim have organized an event at a place called Watson's, which is in the Fox Precinct, which is a five-minute walk down from the ground, encouraging everyone to get down there from about four o'clock. If you want to go watch the NRLW, it's on at 5.10, and we encourage you to do that.

[00:45:54] You can go to the Watson's place and have a beverage or a bite to eat and hang out with some Sharks fans. Then go to that. If you want to stick around, there'll be plenty of Sharks fans to stick around and watch the game from the pub. And then I think around 6.45, 7. There'll be a former player, actually, in attendance. I'm sure there'll be more than a few players, former players there. But the club have organized a former player.

[00:46:19] All I'll say is the last I heard, Josh, without naming him because I can't confirm he's going to be there, it was a Hall of Fame player. So one of 10 players. Then he can do the math, work out who it could be and who it couldn't be. But a Hall of Fame player, last I heard, was going to help steer the Sharks fans down the road. And our friend Tim might even have the drum.

[00:46:40] And if you don't want to do that, and you know, this is where I get in trouble from fans, Josh, who think I'm sucking up to the club and I'm a homer and all this sort of stuff. I'm actually going against the club's wishes. And I'm saying if you don't want to be part of a march down the street, because it's not for everyone, then you don't have to be. Just come to the pub, hang out with us, have a chat, have a beer, leave whenever you want.

[00:47:09] You do not have to be part of any organized event. Do we encourage it? Sure. But don't feel like there's any obligations to anything. If you want to come have a drink and then go watch the ladies, we encourage it. If you want to come have a drink and stick around after everyone leaves and get there real late, then do it. Do whatever you want. You're your own people. But that is what's happening, Josh. There's free transport on the trains if you have a ticket. I'm assuming that extends to light rail. Any confirmation there, Josh, you reckon?

[00:47:36] I mean, surely you just show your ticket and they'll just say, get on. Yeah. That's not legal advice. There's some buses from Ocean Protect Stadium. You do need to pre-book. I believe they're free, which is amazing. But you need to book your spot on there. So if you haven't done that, jump on the Sharks website and get that organized. So they're making it as easy as they can, Josh, to get there.

[00:48:04] Now, it's not always easy for everyone, so we'll leave that with how people can do it. But that's what's happening. And I'm hoping we'll have a lot of fun. Let me just check my messages here, Josh, because this was... Oh, yeah. Okay. Whenever I get a message from Dave Riccio, I have to look at it straight away. But it's nothing related to the team, so don't worry. We're all good. Not that I'd necessarily be able to say it on air anyway. What's your prediction, Josh? What's going to happen out there? I think... Look, we should win.

[00:48:34] There's really no excuse. I'll be pretty disappointed if we lose. Actually, I'll be pissed off. Just get my one swearing for the day. I think as long as... If Tricky can get through the game, I don't see any reason why it's not a fairly comfortable win. You just got to shut down those edges. You know Tommy Dearden loves to dummy and show and go. Like, you know that. It's the first tip on his tip sheet. Like, dummy and run from Dearden. Don't take it.

[00:49:02] Scotty Drinkwater likes to throw massive cutout balls and chip and chase. And we know Chester and Purdue are fast. Like, it's simple. Like, it's not going to take much to beat these guys. And they can't defend. Yeah, they can't. Sustain pressure. Keep the ball in play. No stupid six agains and penalties to get them down there. Because that's when they're dangerous. So... Yeah. It's gotten to the point now where fourth and fifth tackle... I'm happy for you guys just to roll off and allow a quick play of the ball.

[00:49:32] Because you're getting pinged on those fourths and fifths. And you can see it coming from a mile. Yeah. And, I mean, I spoke to Tommy Hazleton during the week. It's on one of the episodes. And he was mentioning about the hip drop. And I just had this lightning bolt moment. I was like, I'm going to ask him what it's like to be part of a hip drop. You know, because I said to him, I never get the chance to talk to a football about hip drops. Let's go. So... And he said, there's no malice in it. It's spur of the moment. You have no time to think. The guy's gotten past you.

[00:50:02] You need to make a tackle. You make a tackle, they call it a hip drop. Yeah. I was like, yeah, I figured that. But it's good to hear you say that. But... Same with the six agains. Now, they're a little bit more manageable. But if you know it's fourth or fifth and, you know, the pressure's building and the ref's just waiting to wave that hand, you've just got to roll off. Like, just roll off. And allow a quick play of the ball. Like, whatever. Hopefully nothing comes of it and Fitz, you won't have a go at it at halftime, full time.

[00:50:32] But you can't be conceding those fourth and fifth tackle ones. If it's earlier in the set... Whatever. It's somewhat more okay, yeah. But if it's the fourth or fifth, like, and we're pretty good at the fifth tackles. I don't have the stats on me, but the fifth tackle, ruck infringement, there was a few last week already. And it was... They were nice and early, too. It was just like... That guy could not stop waving his hand. It was hilarious. But... But having said that, I could picture one.

[00:50:59] I don't know if it was McInnes or Colquham, one of those guys, just laying on the guy at fifth tackle. It was like, get up. Come on. What are you doing? And, you know, it was even a split second. My point about Tom Hazen, it wasn't like... Obvious that that was going to be one. But when we gave it, you're like, okay, I can see what he saw. Yeah. Yeah. Although half the time, you're like, six again, and it's like the guy's been on him for like a millisecond. And it's like, six again, like slowing down the ruck. And you're like, what? No, he didn't. Or like...

[00:51:29] It's crazy that Harry Grant, Ken McInnes, and obviously a whole bunch of other people have come out and... Oh, look, the Jonas brother made it to Melbourne, Josh. He missed his plane, but he's there. Did he? Yeah, he missed his plane from Dubai, I believe. But he's part of the Halftime Entertainment. I'm happy to lock in that that's the guy that I saw. I don't know my Jonas brothers very well, but they're there and it looks like a lot of fun. I didn't know they were that big an act, the Jonas brothers. They're massive, dude. Yeah?

[00:51:59] Yeah, they're huge for some reason. I don't really get it, but I mean, more power too, if you enjoy them. No, I get it. I get it. I knew they were huge. I didn't know they were still huge. They were like Disney Channel guys. Yeah. Yeah. Well, they're rocking the MCG Halftime Entertainment. Do you reckon they're really playing their instruments and really singing? I can't hear it, but... I've got it turned down, but I'm going to back them in. I'm going to back them in and singing. I don't know about playing instruments, but they're... I'm going to back them in this day and age. I think you sort of have to do it.

[00:52:29] Do you know what their biggest hit is? What's their biggest hit? Oh, yeah, I know it. What do I know it? Yeah, isn't it? That's what makes you beautiful? Oh, no, that's One Direction. Yeah, come on, man. Let me do a quick look. Let's find out. Jonas Brothers. They've been around a long time. They have been around a long time. Yeah. Leave Before You Love Me is a song that I like, actually, and it has over a billion streams. Can you Google what the age difference is between these guys? They're not triplets, obviously.

[00:52:59] No, they... You'd have to think they're mid-30s by now, right? No, but what's the difference between the ages of the brothers? They all look the same. I'm sure this is riveting for Shark Sports fans, but... That's what they'd shoot in for. Yeah. Jonas Brothers. Okay. I need some ages. So, Joe Jonas is 37. Mm-hmm. Kevin Jonas is 38. Mm-hmm. And Nick Jonas is 33. Oh! Okay.

[00:53:29] So, two of them pretty close. Okay. Okay, cool. Good on them. Now, we haven't announced Grand Final Entertainment yet, have we? No, I think Volandis was on something the other day saying it was... They're close to announcing it. I'm sure it'll be John Farnham. Did I hear it was... Well, respectfully, it won't be John Farnham. We send our best wishes to him. But they mentioned local, yeah? Or legendary or something? Is that right? I mean, of course he's going to say it, though, isn't he?

[00:54:00] Like... Mm. Could be... He's like, we don't need international acts to big it up. And it's like, yeah, but if you could, you would. Could be Shepard again. Yeah. The Living End? That'd be cool. That would be cool. I love The Living End. Yeah, I love The Living End. And AFL has Kylie. That's pretty big time. That's pretty good. Pretty big time. Yeah. I don't know if she's... Has she done that before? Yeah. Pretty sure it's locked in. I don't know if she's done that before, the AFL Grand Final. She's a Melbourne girl. She must... She's a big AFL girl.

[00:54:30] I don't know about that. Have you watched the doco? I haven't watched the doco yet. No. I didn't even know there was one. Yep. On the flicks, there's a doco. Pretty sure. Anything else you're watching on telly I should be watching? No, I've just been... I've just been watching the same stuff I always watch. Just comfort stuff while I scroll, you know, doom scroll the phone. I want to watch that Lantern show. Everyone's saying that's really good on HBO. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Been watching a lot of...

[00:54:59] Better than doom scrolling, man. I'm not saying... I know we all do it, but that can't be if I say, what have you been watching? I saw a guy eat a potato with a pumpkin over his head. You know, I've been watching a lot of YouTube. I'm really like... Like I'm a YouTube guy. Like I just watch like video essays and like documentaries and stuff like that. Okay. Fair enough. And listen to the Shark Cast pod. There's a lot of Shark Cast pod out there. We appreciate everyone listening and watching. And we're going to get out of here. Thanks for your time today, Josh.

[00:55:28] Busy guy, but we're glad we pinned you down. And I'm sure we're going to roll again next week and we'll pin you down again, hopefully. So we'll get you back on the Shark Cast. Everyone else thanks for tuning in. We'll see you out of the ground somewhere. Have fun. Stay safe. Stay out of trouble. You're not representing the club, but you kind of are. So if you go viral, make it for good reasons. Who am I to say that? Live your life. Do what you guys do. This is Shark Cast pod. None of my business.

[00:55:56] We'll be out at the ground having fun and we'll talk to you all soon. Josh, we'll get out of here with our little video clip song. Oh, how do you feel being the first guest after the goat? The goat was on the last episode. How good was that? He was so good. He's a great guy. And Gal was good too. Yeah. Hope that doesn't get back to him. Oh boy. I got to say he's the most chilled I've ever experienced him in my 12 years of being around him.

[00:56:23] And it's probably only recently where I would probably say I'm comfortable to say g'day or have a combo or whatever. Like I've known him for 12 years to say hello and he's always been fine. But he seems very at peace with who he is and what he's doing. He doesn't see him as on edge and incredibly fit. I know that's a stupid thing to say about a guy like him, but he looks different fit now. He looks really healthy. Yeah. Really healthy. Yeah.

[00:56:51] Like human fit, not football fit. Yeah. There's still that there. Like he could still go, but yeah, a lot more human fit. And even he said like he's just looking after himself a bit better and he's not drinking and well, he didn't say that, but just not going out as much and, and you can see it. Like you can see that he just looks pretty healthy and he looks pretty happy and you know,

[00:57:19] speaking well and, and opinionated as always. But yeah, it was fun having him on man. He's a, he's a funny guy. There's a lot going on with Gal and I say it respectfully. Like I think he's a really smart guy with a lot of opinions. He's a pretty sharp guy and it's pretty fun to sit in there in a combo trying to pick his brain. And yeah, there's so many things you want to ask the guy. And I knew we only had him for a little bit of time. Hopefully he'll come back on, but we covered a lot of bases.

[00:57:48] And the thing about him is he goes from like really funny to sort of semi emotional, like really quick. Yeah. And I love that. Like, I really love it. Like it's a good trait to have. And it's not a trait I necessarily think of him like that, but that he's done so much press over the last month about the grand final and everything. I've seen a few things where I've been, been there and he, and he, even last night at Chad's thing, like it was a pretty loose affair, but then he'll just sort of drop the story and

[00:58:17] you'd be like, Oh man, that's so amazing. And did you see that one on that channel nine did like Instagram and he was like, I'm going to cry. And then he was talking all this. And then he just was like bawling his eyes out. And I was like, he's getting me now, like my captain, our, our goat. So he's talked about it a few times, but the, the, the game against Canberra that he missed, he was like, his back was so bad. He was like on the floor lying down watching it. Yeah. And he said it like a lot, a lot of times, like he cried when like they won the game

[00:58:46] and when prior score to that sort of stuff. And he said to his wife, we're going to win the comp like that night. He goes, we're going to win the comp. We're going to win the comp. And he's like crying and letting it all out. And then, then there was a bit of speculation about not so much from him, but I think from other players and, and people like, would he be, they'd wheel him out in a wheelchair if they had to, but it wasn't like the perfect kind of setup for him to go play a grand final. He'd be waiting his whole life to play. It was like a bit touch and go there. But isn't that so shark?

[00:59:14] That's like, that's why the story is so good. That's so us. Like as a club. Yeah. Maloney, Maloney, Maloney was talking about last night. He said, he said, you guys wouldn't have wanted the grand final to finish anyway. And like 50% of the crowd's going, well, it took a year off my life. And the other 50 is going, no, no, it was amazing. It's like, he's got a point. It's amazing because we won. And in hindsight, it's great theater to watch. But when you're there, when, like when it was happening, I was like, I wish it was 40 nil. Like I wish it was a shit. Oh, sorry.

[00:59:44] I wish it was a, a, a, a crappy grand final that no one remembers. But like the fact that it was so like, it was like what? 90% completions each. Yeah. And it was like the theater of like us getting ahead, Melbourne coming back for fetus tried. Then like they blew the try. They had the last, like had everything you want in like, it's like a movie. They, they talked about the, obviously the Fafita try at the Chad Townsend podcast.

[01:00:13] And something that I'd never really looked hard enough at was, I don't know if the camera angles are there. I guess they are. Apparently if they just go, if he's just a decoy and they go to Luke Lewis and Chad. Yeah. It's like a huge overlap. And they were getting very specific about it last night. And if you get the chance to have a listen to the, I imagine they'll record the podcast, have a listen.

[01:00:38] And they talk very footy tech talk about, you know, inside balls and shoulders and this kind of stuff. And I can't remember who was there. I think they were saying Tohu Harris was there and they were targeting him because he was like out of position or whatever. And apparently it would have been the easiest try ever, but they went the other way and just gave it to Fafita. And they had to go through like six guys to score and they're laughing about it going like, we literally could have scored without any effort. Yeah.

[01:01:07] So that's quite interesting to hear them say that. But again, that's better. And now it is, they weren't complaining. They were just laughing going, it's basically saying it's very shark-like, you know. Well, if Tohu Harris was the second rower and he's in the middle, I think. It's like, well, you can imagine there's only a center and a winger at best. Oh, I believe every word they're saying. But I just never really realized that.

[01:01:32] And even Luke Lewis has been quoted a few times saying that with his near try in the first half, that all he had to do was pass it back to Maloney and he scores. And I'd never really pictured it like that. I've watched it a million times. I'd never really just go, no, why didn't you pass to Maloney? It's like, oh, he did so well, not the score. But he's right there. So that's interesting as well. And then we could just run-based player try, which again is so awesome. Like that's like who would do in the grand final? They talked about that in depth last night, that try.

[01:02:00] It's called the big man down try. And they would practice it a lot at training. And it used to bore the heck out of most of the team because it only involves like two or three guys. That's it. The rest of them don't do anything. And so they used to always like not want to practice it. They rarely used it. And I think they practiced it the week of the grand final. And they were just laughing about it.

[01:02:29] And there was conjecture about what's the point, that kind of thing. And then day of game, the story was a bit convoluted. They weren't sure who came up with the idea. Wade said it was, I think Wade said it was either Gallon's idea or Wade's idea. But Gallon said it was definitely the coach's idea. And he called for it. And they were like, no, we're not doing that. And so he called for it like an hour before the game. And he was like, Gallon's like, that's ridiculous.

[01:02:59] Like, we're not doing it. Da, da, da, da. And then they had that scrum. And I think Ennis said to Gallon, big man down. And he went, no, no, no, no, no. And then he kind of looked around. And then I think Ennis said something like, we're never going to get a chance to do it ever again. Like, this is it. Yeah. And Gallon went, all right. And they just did it. And it kind of worked. But the other thing about 2016 is, like, everyone had an integral part.

[01:03:28] They were even talking about, you know, Joseph Paulo. They were very kind about every player. They didn't go into depth about every player. But they didn't have the time. But the one guy they kept coming back to was Mick Ennis. And the way he was and the way he trained and his appetite just for no BS. Like, there was stories like when Gallon turned up to training the week of the camera game and he had the back pain.

[01:03:59] He turned up, like, on the Thursday or whatever before the game. And he basically couldn't get out of his car. He barely moved. And Ennis is like, what's going on? And he goes, my back's no good. Da, da, da. And he goes, are you playing? Are you going to play the game? And he goes, I don't know. I don't think so. And then Ennis didn't say anything, turned around and walked off. Like, he didn't go, oh, it's a shame. We're going to miss you. He just walked off. And there's all these stories throughout the year.

[01:04:29] And don't get me wrong. That's not a standard not being good enough. That's just him being disappointed that his mate can't play. But there's all these examples throughout the year where just little minor things that you would, I think might be minor, someone saying something, someone doing something. And Ennis pulls them up. And he's like, you're a leader. You can't do that. You're this. You've got to be that way. He was very specific about the way he did things. And they kept coming back to Ennis being, like, so integral to that team, which we know.

[01:05:00] But when you think about the ego, Maloney, Fafita, like, you go through the list. And Ennis is there. But, yeah, behind the scenes, apparently just pivoted on the whole thing. Well, they always say that the speech he gave or something before they ran out was, like, ridiculous. Or was it the day before or on the bus? I can't remember. But they always talk about, like, the speech he made. And they were just like, oh, my God. Like, let's do it. Like, let's get it.

[01:05:30] And I'd love to know what it was. I'm sure it'd be hard to remember now. But he seems very inspirational. Just, like, he just seems to care so much. Some probably too much. But that's the kind of guy you'd want on your team. Yeah, it's funny. Because, like, obviously before he came to the Sharks, we all couldn't stand him as a player. He came to the Sharks. And, you know, within a few weeks, we all kind of liked him. I've had the luxury of getting to know him off the field through work. And he's, like, just the nicest guy in the entire world. Like, he literally is.

[01:05:59] But he has that about it. Like, he walks around with, like, pride. He walks around. Like, he's a larrikin. Like, he'll still give you a lip. And he's, like, he's funny bugger. He's not, like, this serious dude. But when he has to be serious, he really is. So, like, it's almost like what I was saying about Gala before. Like, he and I are in the kitchen at work. And we're just goofing around talking about whatever. And then I'll say something like, hey, Mick, what do you reckon about this? And he gets very serious about, like, football, you know. And that, obviously, is who he is.

[01:06:28] And that, I can't say it enough. Like, last night, all five guys were just, like, rapping Mick Ennis. They rapped everyone. They rapped all the young kids. They rapped the coat. It was a rappathon. But Ennis was the one that they just kept coming back to. It was quite eye-opening. So cool. Yeah. So awesome. All right, Joshy. We'll see you later. Thanks again for your time. Everyone else, we're out of here. Subscribe, like, share. I say that flippantly. But I mean it sincerely, like Mick Ennis.

[01:06:58] We'll talk to you soon. Up, up, cronel. Let's go win on Saturday. Sharkies! Sharkies! All you people back in the Shire. Turn your porch lights off. So it's like coming out with a chifey.

[01:07:28] SharkCast 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 Carring Bar 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.

[01:07:58] Jason Hawes, Crips & Crips Real Estate. Sharkies! Sharkies! In the Shire. Turn your porch lights off because we're coming out with a trophy.