Interviews with Niwhai Puru and Jayden Berrell (Rd 15, 2026)

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

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[00:00:54] Hey there, welcome to SharkCast Pod, a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. My name is Sam Shinazzi, I'm an OG from 2015, 12th season of podcasting, loving every minute of it.

[00:01:19] And thanks to everyone for their support along the way, whether you're an original gangster yourself, whether you discovered the show last week or somewhere in between, I really appreciate it. This show is brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Port Hacking and Jason Hawes at Cripps & Cripps Real Estate. Three long term sponsors who have helped me out with a few things to make podcasting a little bit easier.

[00:01:40] If you'd like to get involved in that side of things, if you have a business, if you have a brand, drop me a line, sharkcastpod at gmail.com and we can see about getting you involved with the show. The more people involved in that side of things, the easier it is for me to do this show for all of our beautiful listeners and viewers. Having said that, it's another great week in Sharkland.

[00:02:03] I'm blessed to talk to two of our lower tiered players, but really important in the scheme of things because they're our backups and they're going to be up this week in the main gig. I spoke to Nephi Puru and I spoke to Jaden Beryl, two chaps that I see around the traps, but never really had a heart to heart with. So I hope you enjoy their stories. I'm really impressed with both of them as speakers and as people. And they've got a really good crew down at Cronulla.

[00:02:31] I say it quite a bit because I believe it to be true. And it's probably not the same to be said every single year that I've been doing this. It doesn't mean there's one year where it's all bad or there's even, even remotely bad. But I'm just saying the crew they have right now, you know, touch wood. They're a really good crew to be around the community and their fans. So a team we can be proud of and performances like the second half against the Dragons, very much so on the field.

[00:03:01] We have the Warriors on Saturday at 5.30 p.m. Sydney time. Do the math for people living out of town, all of our friends across the world. But it's a big game and both teams are quite affected by both rep footy and injury. And I think it really is starting to even itself out. But I thought maybe the Warriors had, you know, a better chance given the teams that were going to be named.

[00:03:26] But the teams they ended up naming, I've come around quite a lot to our chances. So I'm going over there to win, that's for sure. But I'm actually even more hopeful at this point in time as I hit record on a Wednesday. Team flies out, I believe, Thursday. Captains run Friday, game Saturday. They're coming thick and fast. A shorter turnaround because we had the Sunday 4 o'clock game. I believe the Warriors had a bye. They had a bye last week.

[00:03:53] So we seem to play these teams coming off the bye more than I'd like to. However, no excuses. Let's go over there and let's win the game. Speaking to a couple of players on and off air, they're pretty confident. They're feeling pretty good. When I say pretty confident, don't freak out. They're not taking it seriously. I just mean they're going to go there with the aim to win the game and do all they can because it's a big one in the context of things. A lot of away games coming up.

[00:04:21] I think, yeah, a more gettable Warriors team than originally thought two or three weeks ago. Mind you, maybe they're saying the same thing about us, to be fair. We will have more episodes for you throughout the week. We're going to do a flagship at some point and we'll probably do a preview if we have time. Coaches, presser, etc. So stay tuned. And the best way you can do that is to subscribe. It's a free way of keeping up to date with what we do.

[00:04:49] So if you're listening on a podcast app, so if you're on Spotify, if you're on Apple, if you're on Google, if you're on Podbean, whatever the app is you're listening to this on. If you give Shark Cast Pod a follow, a like, whatever the word is, subscribe maybe, then you get the episodes straight away as soon as they drop. And they tend to drop at all hours of the day, to be honest. You can do the same thing on YouTube. I would suggest 95% of what we do goes to YouTube now, even when it's not video like this episode.

[00:05:20] And YouTube's a pretty important place to be, we're told. So give us a follow on there. It's free. Subscribe on there. It's free. And also our social media is somewhat important too in the scheme of things. And really happy with how it's all going. I don't mean to be some desperate plea for help. I'm really happy with Shark Cast Pod. Every week we're growing. So I'm really happy with that. But Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, we're all on. I'm not sure if I've left anything out there.

[00:05:50] But again, a free subscribe. And if you see our content on there and you like it, please share it. Get it out there. We want to keep growing and growing to our beautiful Shark Cast universe. Not sure about the injury status of Nico Hines. It's nothing bad. It's not bad. It's more he's doing pretty well. And he has to pass a bunch of tests, obviously, to get to where he wants to be. The Roosters game is a consideration. I'm not sure of the chances of that. But it's a possibility.

[00:06:20] And Blake Braley was also hanging around the facility today. And he is aiming for the Roosters game. Now, whether that's completely realistic or not, I can't tell you. But if anyone's going to do it, it's Blake Braley. So obviously, I don't want to rush these two guys because they are two of our best players. But I can tell you they're both trending pretty good to being back sooner rather than later, which is great news. Our friend Braden Wille, not so good news.

[00:06:49] Spoke to him this morning. And I think right knee has an issue. I believe it's MCL. And I believe it'll be about seven weeks or so from now. He's confident of getting in eight to ten games, whether it's NRO, whether it's Cup. Obviously, he'd probably come back through Cup to get some juice in the legs. But he hasn't given up on playing this year, of course. And he's also fighting for a contract. So we wish him all the best there.

[00:07:18] We're quite fond of Braden and his work. And he's had some pretty bad luck with injuries in the past couple of years. So we'll watch this space on that one. Without further ado, I'd love for you to stick around. And please listen to these two interviews with Nephi Puru and with Jaden Beryl. Up up. We'll talk to you soon.

[00:07:53] Boy, what a great moment for Nephi Puru. Nephi, great to meet you. I had the pleasure of having your brother on the show last week. So I know a lot about your upbringing. But tell me about you and your brother, the relationship and how it's developed over the years and what it means to play with him and that kind of thing. Yeah, no, family of six. And obviously being in triplets, me and Pep are identical. We're literally split an image. You know, personality. He's a big, big spot for me. Growing up, we were yin and yang. So obviously playing touch football, any kind of sport. We're pretty athletic.

[00:08:22] So I've always been his left hand. He's always been my right hand man. So no, definitely a close connection. And it shows on the field. And what about the triplet? Where does the triplet sit? That's my sister. Yeah, my beautiful sister. She was really athletic, but obviously took a different career path in her teenage years. And that's fine. You know, everyone's got their hobbies and their abilities. And yeah, she was athletic, but chose a different path. Tell us about the move from Penrith to Cronulla. A pretty big one for you a few years ago now. What was the transition like? And what did you find when you came to the Sharks?

[00:08:53] It was pretty scary, to be honest. You know, I did live out of home a fair bit in Penrith. But, you know, I moved to a different place, you know, different system. Obviously knew the lifestyle. He was beautiful, which made it a bit easier. But it was scary being a teenager. But, you know, these boys made me feel at home and pretty comfortable straight away. Aside from your brother, who are you closest to within the group? To be honest, we're close to everyone. We're a pretty connected club. But, you know, playing Jets for the last three, four years has definitely built a lot of connections with, you know, the younger boys.

[00:09:21] Obviously, Bez being a core part of, you know, the spine that we built. Michael Gabriel, Chris Vaila, and obviously Pep Tooks. Yeah, they're big. We play week in, week out. So, we've got a lot of connections, obviously. What's it like when you play first grade with those guys now? Particularly, say, Beryl last week, for example. No, it's good. It's good. It shows. Like, we obviously won a premiership. And we were really close last year. We've got the squad. We've got the depth. And, you know, 50's given us our up, which we need to obviously showcase that up in first grade. So, you know, three wins now. It shows that we've got the depth in our squad.

[00:09:51] And we're definitely ready for the job. What's it like being a first grader? How does it feel? Is it physically different? To be honest, it is. I wouldn't say it's not. But, you know, I'm pretty comfortable in that transition. You know, I played a bit of games. All-stars and that. It gave me a bit of taste and experience of what it's like. So, yeah, I was pretty comfortable coming into, obviously, my debut. But the boys made it a lot more easier for me. Just to know my job and, you know, my defence on the field. Warriors on Saturday flying over pretty soon. What are you expecting from them?

[00:10:21] They're flying pretty high. Yeah, they are. They've got, obviously, a good depth. You know, different line-up. But I wouldn't expect anything different from them. They're sitting on top ladder for a reason. You know, it's obviously going to be a hard challenge on their home turf. But, you know, we prep well. Right attitude. We'll go over there with determination. You know, make it four on the trot. But one more before you go, we asked all the people appearing on the show for the first time. What sort of music do you listen to? Whether it's artists, genre, what are you into? No, it's usually me and Pep that jump on the music. So I'm all-rounder. I love a bit of country, a bit of house music.

[00:10:51] You know, a bit of hip-hop, pop. But, yeah, no. I love all types of music and, you know, whatever the boys want, I usually dream. What about game day? Is there anything you go to? I usually start with country. I like to build up to the day and then obviously go to house music because I don't know why. But I feel like when I go on the field, it's like a game, a party. So it gets me more energetic up for the game. But, yeah, that's usually mine. I go from country to hip-hop, rap and then finish with a bit of house music. That's awesome. All right. Thanks for your time. Thanks, man. Good luck on Saturday. Thanks, Lippo.

[00:11:25] KL, how's the leg? What was going on last week? Yeah, no. I had to wear a big pad over there. Obviously, I've had a bit of a cut and there's a bit of fluid in there. Jayden Berrell, welcome to SharkCast Pod. First time. You've been here a while. I want to hear about your backstory. You played a lot of Queensland Cup, but where'd you grow up? Yeah, so I'm originally from Ipswich in Queensland. Spent the first seven, eight years of my life there and then moved to the Gold Coast where I spent all my teens and whatnot growing up there.

[00:11:54] And then through that, I ended up in the Broncos system at about 15 years old. So did the junior pathway from 15 to 20, cruising up the highway there to Brizzy. Spent a bit of time in Brizzy. And then when the under-20s competition finished, I ended up playing Queensland Cup for Wynnum Manly. So yeah, spent my time there playing for Wynnum until I was fortunate enough to come down here. Awesome. What was the trip like when you came down here? Was it life-changing?

[00:12:24] Yeah, well, there was a good eight years there, seven years where I was chasing that full-time deal and career to come be a football player. But yeah, it was... Yeah, when you strive for something for so long, that was pretty life-changing for me. And then also a bit of a shock to the system to come down and be around professional footballers and realise, I guess, what it takes, I guess, to be here. What about the family, moving to the family as well? Did you bring family with you? Yeah. Yeah, so my partner and two kids, they come down.

[00:12:53] I think I come down for a month on my own and then they come down. So yeah, we've been here now for I think four and a half years. And yeah, we love it down here. It's become home, so it's awesome. Tell us about your debut. What was that like? Oh, that was special. I still remember it. It's funny, like, I watch the video every now and then. My son loves it when the boys will jump on me. But yeah, I think it was my third year here. Had no real whiff that it was coming either.

[00:13:18] It was very off the cusp, coming in one day and Fitzie threw the number up on the board and then that's when it all happened. But it was good. It was fast. The week went by so quick. But yeah, unforgettable week it was. What's it like with Blake Braley? I know there's a lot of jokes going around from time to time that you can't get on because Blake's so healthy. I know what he's like as a guy around the club. Tell the listeners what he's like as, I guess, a mentor of sorts. Yeah, and Blake's awesome.

[00:13:48] Like, me and him have gotten on real well and we've come very close since I've been here. We've actually been pretty lucky, I guess, to work under Blake and kind of see what it takes to be that kind of caliber of nine in this competition. Like, there's a reason he was on the Kangaroos tour. There's a reason he's in that New South Wales team. Like, he is probably the standard that you expect from a really, really good nine year in the NRL. And honestly, I haven't been fortunate enough to get more game time.

[00:14:16] But being underneath him, working with him, you know, seeing how he goes about his business and how he plays has made my game definitely improve and go to another level since I've been here. So, haven't got the games, but what I've gained from just working alongside him has been amazing. When you have got your chance, though, you've been more than great. I mean, as a Sharks fan, we know the guys coming through, especially this year, to replace the top tier guys, we don't really lose much. Yeah.

[00:14:46] Yeah. Like, everyone here, I guess, in their department, whatever position they play, you know, we've all got, I guess, a pass mark of, you know, your role when you come into the side and what you're expected to do. And, you know, it's been good to see blokes come in, get opportunities and go out there and do their job and do it well for the team. And we've had a bit of success this year for it, too. So, we have Warriors on Saturday flying over there pretty soon. What are you expecting from them? I think it speaks for itself. They're sitting second at the moment on the ladder.

[00:15:15] They're obviously a really strong team and I think it's a really good test for us. And the boys are all looking forward to getting over there and ripping in. Personal question we ask a lot of the guys the first time they're on and we've heard rumours. What's your music taste? What are you expecting? I'd definitely probably be country. Okay. But I listen to everything. A bit of indie rock, a bit of old school, the Credence and whatnot. Oh, nice. I like to, I get around everything on Spotify.

[00:15:43] Because we had someone write to us last year, I think it was, and they said, find a metal head in the group. And I was like, oh, there's got to be one. There's always one metal head. And then a few people were like, oh, Beryl could do it with the tattoos and everything else. Yeah, maybe not too much metal. I definitely go back to my high school days, a bit of Blink-182, good Charlotte. I can get into a bit of that. But yeah, honestly, if you went through a new Spotify, you'd find stuff from metal, country, a bit of R&B, see a bit of K-pop from the kids.

[00:16:13] You'd see it all through there. All right. Thanks for your time, Jayden. Great to meet you. Thanks, mate. Thanks, brother. Appreciate it. Thank you. SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire, Jason Hawes from Cripps & Cripps Real Estate. He's an expert in the Caring 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 Cripps & Cripps Real Estate.

[00:16:40] Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Cripps & Cripps Real Estate. Sharkies! Sharkies! Back in the Shire.

[00:17:10] Turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a trophy. Go! Go!