Livestream: Live From the Hall of Fame w/ Sam Shinazzi, Josh Bolling, Gary Dover and Ash Taylor

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

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[00:01:06] Hey Sharks fans, my name's Sam Shinazzi, this is The Great Joshua Bowling. We are privileged, privileged right now to be at the greatest place on earth, talking about the greatest club on earth. It is Hall of Fame night and we're halfway through Josh. I'm ready to cry dude. I'm ready to cry. It started when we were talking to a Gap Miller about an hour ago. But we are here having a great time. Thanks to Sharks for having us first and foremost.

[00:01:36] Thank you Josh, you've become the one keeping me entertained. We've seen our five models get their Hall of Fame. He can come in. Come on in guys. We've seen our Hall of Fame jerseys. So we saw relations of Greg Pearce, Steve Rogers relations, Tommy Bishop's relations, the great Gavin Miller and E.T. are here. Do you want to jump on guys or are you good? Sure. Come on in. We've been carried over from the Sharks is here. Hello. And we are having a great time.

[00:02:05] I was just going through what's already happened. So Greg Pearce, Tommy Bishop, Steve Rogers, Gavin Miller, E.T. have been given their Hall of Fame jackets and that kind of thing. Jackets, pins. It's very emotional down there. I'll tell you that much. Yeah. Great, great vibes. Having a break now and then we're going to see the rest of the Hall of Fame and maybe something else happen special. But man, it's so emotional down here. Andrew Odenhausen. Yeah, that was for long.

[00:02:31] So we got a bunch of interviews we're going to throw up later on with a whole bunch of different Sharks people. But we caught up with E.T. first, actually, and I could tell he was pretty emotional, pumped up. But when you see and some people saw our live stream just before on Facebook. But when you see that footage you guys have put up of E.T., Josh, I know that got you feeling a few things. Yeah, I was trying to keep it together while I was live streaming on your phone.

[00:03:01] I was just like trying to hold back the tears because that's how I feel about the Sharks. Those are the emotions that I feel, what the club means to me. And it's just so special to see our greatest ever, arguably, if not the greatest ever, to have the same connection with the club that I do. I was just a fan, just a punter and he was the best ever to do it for us.

[00:03:24] And that's what strikes me in my heart is I have the same connection with this guy as I do with you or with Sam and with anyone out there that's listening. That's a sign of a true great, I think. Gary, what time did you start work today? 8.30 this morning. So feeling pretty good, which is, you know, when you come to an event like this, it doesn't matter how long you've been working. It's always a great place to be and I'm honored and privileged to be able to be down there and, you know, listening to these guys speak about the club the way that they do.

[00:03:51] I'm a little bit surprised by the emotion attached to the night. I don't know if that's the most stupidest thing ever said by anyone ever. But when our mate Donnie Rogers got up and he did a poem about his dad, that was huge. By the way, Donnie's playing at the Brass Monkey. He won't talk to me every day if I give him a shout out on Saturday night. That was a beautiful poem. And then Gavin Miller got up and a spoiler for what you're going to hear tomorrow in the Gavin Miller interview with us. Man, that guy bleeds black, white and blue. Again, I've kind of forgotten.

[00:04:22] I hadn't seen Gav for a few years. Holy cow. Now, as a double spoiler, I, for some reason, asked him about Tom Mason and his friend. We got an essay, man, and it's a good essay. Josh, he was ready to go to war for Tommy. Yeah. And just first of all, the man's handshake, he nearly broke my hand. He was the strongest dude of all time. But he's like, I think he's 70 and he'd still kill me.

[00:04:45] But just the way, again, the way he speaks about the club and Tommy, we've got a great answer that I think everyone's going to love when we get it out. Just a fantastic night. I can't state enough. There's probably a thousand fans here enjoying the spectacle. And hopefully you're enjoying what everyone's doing tonight in social media and everything about the night. But it's so special, man. Like this club freaking rocks.

[00:05:13] I almost dropped the F-bomb on SharkCast, which I never do. I never swear, Troy, but I almost did. Do you know who else rocks? Troy from Shark's Media. Yeah, absolutely. The guy. Seriously, we are the greatest club in the history of the world. And we've got more to come. We've got more guys to come. Which is super exciting. Exciting. We spoke to a number of people as spoilers. We spoke to Jason Stevens, who I don't think I've ever really met before. He's a bit of a cracker in my live life.

[00:05:44] We spoke to our friend Dylan Wright. We spoke to Nico Hines, a whole bunch of people. You'll be hearing about that tomorrow. But it's talking to the old guys, man. E.T. Garlick. I said to you, Sam, when I shook A.T.'s hand and looked in his eyes, like I got kind of lost for a second. I kind of was just like, I never really stumbled on my words or get that starstruck. But like A.T. just looked right down the barrel. And yeah, you know, it felt like I was the only person in his world for that three seconds. And I just, I was a kind of like rocked my world a little bit. Yeah.

[00:06:13] I told you this, Josh, but I, we were talking to our friend Dylan. Dylan Wright, the singer, he's going to sing soon. And he's got a great story about how he, when he was five or six, was out in the field through a connection with the players, his heroes. And I said to him, you've got to go talk to A.T. We've got to tell him this. And so then me being me, I went, oh, I'll grab A.T. I went to grab him. And my words just wouldn't come out. I sort of thought I'd already spoken to him. But as Josh, you're just looking at that beautiful face. Dylan, you, let's go.

[00:06:44] Story time. Story time. And they had a really great challenge. But Gary, tell us about what sort of the night this, like what goes into making this a time? Yeah. It's a pretty big event. There's been so much planning and everything obviously going on behind the scenes to make this happen. And we're just glad that it's running smoothly for everyone involved. But yeah, as you mentioned, it's just those stories that you hear from those guys who've been around for so many years that makes it so special. And, you know, we can all see here reflect on the times when we started, you know, following the sharks. And I remember coming with my partner and he was a massive shark supporter.

[00:07:14] And the reason why I started following the club. And I remember the days when I was watching ET and guys like that out on the field and playing with Matt Rogers' son Jack up on the family hill there. And they used to have the Demountable up there for the players, wives and kids. They used to sit up there and we saw just play out the front, roll around on the hill. And, you know, they're just those memories. And we're such a community club. But yeah, that's probably one of the big things about working here that I love so much.

[00:07:37] It's, you know, you're part of the family and you can see that from the guys' speeches tonight, how much it means to them and what sort of emotions and feelings they get from a lifetime spent around the club. So I'll give a shout out to our friend Joe, who's overseas right now. We're looking forward to you coming back and serving us some coffee, my friends, out of the Baisley's. I hope you're doing well. I hope Miles is doing a bit better. Matt says, thanks for capturing it live. Oh, it's our pleasure. Josh and I debated about whether we should stream throughout the night.

[00:08:05] And it was like, we can't really talk over these legends. Let's watch the legends and let's talk when we can. So we're here now. Thank you, Matt, for tuning in to your support. I think the entire squad might be here. The NRL guys, coaching staff. Yeah, everyone came. So they know what an important event this is. They're flying out within 48 hours to Vegas. I interviewed Nico. What the hell's he been eating? He's taller and bigger in a good way. He's always been pretty tall and solid, but yeah, he's looking really good. Where did he get six foot four?

[00:08:36] Seriously. He was looking down. He's had a really good preseason. You know, we saw glimpses of that in the second trial there, but really looking forward to what Igo can bring this year. Josh, what do you make of the night? You're the, I think the youngest member on the panel tonight. Just maybe. By a few years actually. What's it mean to you at night like some of the judgment? Yeah, I think it's always important to learn about the history of the club.

[00:09:01] And I, you know, as someone who's obsessed about this football club, like, you know, dig into a lot and read a lot. And you still always learn something new and seeing the legends of like my, this club wouldn't be in too support if it wasn't for a lot of these guys that are being rewarded tonight for all the sacrifices that they've made. Like, you know, Gavin Miller's I never got to say play, but I'm the fortune of telling him that I'm just thanking him for what he did and what he brought to the club and being one of the greatest players, you know, the sports ever seen, let alone the club.

[00:09:30] And guys like ET, who I grew up, that's those are the guys who I idolized as a kid. You know, ET was the guy. Like, it's him and Peachy, like those, Matt Rogers and the Dean Treasers, like those kind of guys were just like my idols. That's all I ever wanted to do and be was those guys. And, you know, getting to meet ET tonight, shake his hand is just like, it's crazy. And same as you, what you said about the emotion of the night.

[00:09:55] Like, I just thought we'd have a good night and, you know, have a few drinks and tell some stories. But it's like, just really kind of at home how much sport can change you and define you in a way. Yeah, it's quite overwhelming. Like the three of us are obsessed with this club. All of our listeners are new as well. We know that. And hopefully I think some of them are in the house anyway tonight, but that's the thing. Like, just seeing all the, even like your 2016 guy, you know, I shook a gal's hand. I was like, oh my God, you are a gal.

[00:10:23] Like, I still feel like it's crazy. Yeah. Like when I first started working here, it was so surreal to be around those guys every day. And now to be able to, you know, be in their presence at Mars like this is something special. Yeah. And they earned that status because I'm not, like, I don't really get that way around the current guys. Where the current guys, I just think I respect the hell out of you. You know, like you guys are amazing. But I don't have that kind of, well, I don't really have that feeling that I have, which is particularly like, okay to do that.

[00:10:50] But I just, when Miller's there or ET or even, you know, Doc goes out there and Matty Rogers walks by. It's like, whoa, it's Matty Rogers. Yeah. It's crazy. Absolutely. And I don't want to get all big brother. I'm not going to say far from leaving you guys. It was really cool for me to give you the opportunity to hang out with ET and just guys. Yeah. I got to thank you guys.

[00:11:10] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've seen it. I've seen it for us like that. You know, last year when I brought you into the sheds for the team song and stop it. You know, you're telling me that's the first time you've been in there and like, like to be able to give you that, I can totally see what it means, you know, to repay someone like that to a raladj off. And yes, it's awesome.

[00:11:40] That's all we need for. Yeah. And everyone in the crowd has that same feeling about what they're watching. Shane Flanagan's here. There's a whole bunch. Who am I missing? Who looks like? Shok Mundine's here. Shok Mundine is here. I think he's here to cheer on someone who might be receiving something soon. I'm not allowed to say much more than that. I'm just speculating, but Shok's in the house. Yeah. There's a, there's a whole host of people here, which is, uh, which is brilliant. It was a great night. Sharks and foot on, not to say, Max, they put us up for the night, but a great night. I spoke to Nico.

[00:12:09] As I said, I asked him about random wine. He said, they're pretty amped. Yeah. He says, and you'll hear this tomorrow, but they want to, they want to see some connection on the field. They think that'll be enough to get the two points. They were all in pretty good spirits. I spoke to T Rudolph. He's only a few weeks. He's like round three, round four. Yeah. So we should have a lot of troops back. Uh, Gary, what are you sensing? We're getting closer to round one. How are you feeling and how, how's the team been around?

[00:12:38] Around the house, around training. Around training with Vibes in the office under the pump. Cool. There's lots to do before we head over there, but yeah, it's a, it's a different feeling to start the year. That's for sure. It's not like probably any year that I've started. It's my ninth season at Sharks and yeah, this year feels a little bit different. And I don't know whether that's the shorter preseason. Everything feels a bit jammed in, but yeah, I'm looking forward to getting over there and to see the work that everyone's been putting in, in a shorter preseason and doing things a little bit differently.

[00:13:06] I think we're in a really good spot in terms of, you know, fitness troops that are ready to go on the, on the field and, uh, troops that will be getting back within the first few weeks. So I think, yeah, it's going to be a good start to the year. I think we're pretty lucky to be getting Panthers, uh, to start. It's been big HU. He's looking amazing. He's sounding amazing. It's great. Sounding with such conspiracy. Overhead. Yeah. The new dad bit helps as well. I think he's in a really good head space and he's got things going on off the field

[00:13:33] that just contribute to his, uh, uh, positivity and happiness on the field as well. So it's good to see those guys going through those things. And yeah, I'm really excited for this year actually. He looks so fit. They all are really fit at the moment. It's probably the fittest they've been, you know, preseason wise. And I'm looking forward to seeing how that translates in a proper 80 minute match, not a trial or anything like that. It's yeah. The season proper coming around. I'm really looking forward to it. I want to give a shout out to your people who are in the house, uh, who have been waving and saying good day and coming up safe on this.

[00:14:03] I appreciate everyone's support. Uh, we do have to point out that, uh, my colleagues in my other job, Von, Vonnie Sampson, Andrew Boston, great job hosting. Yeah. Dylan Wright's going to do a couple of songs pretty soon as well. Uh, the judging criteria for what is coming up all the fame to be considered exceptional performance on and off the field, international test reps, including a world cup matches,

[00:14:30] played state of origin, played a hundred first grade games for the sharks or won a premiership with the club or received one of the big accolades you can in the game. Spoiler. We know who's going to be announced. Yes. I don't know if Josh does. I don't, but so. Josh doesn't. We know. No spoilers. No spoilers. I was, we'd be in the world of pain, but there is a host of people in the building who can possibly get this accolade. I'm pretty excited about what we're going to see.

[00:14:56] It's going to open up a big, not debate, but just talking points about who, why, when, who didn't, which is great. But yeah, I'm super excited about what's going to happen the next hour and a half. ET, make sure you watch the vision somehow. He started early. He got up and he was like, straight away. My voice was like, oh God. Yeah. It was the whole, but that's, it was beautiful. It was so good. And yeah, as you mentioned, Don Robbins, that little poem that he read out was just, yeah. Something I'll never forget. Yeah.

[00:15:25] I was sitting down there taking photos of the guys and they came up on stage to get their jackets and I see Don walking right over to me and he puts his hand on the grass right in front of me. I was just like, to be 30 centimeters away from him rubbing the field and looking in his eyes was just something I'll never forget. So for those who don't know, Steve Rogers, the late Steve Rogers, some of his ashes are scattered on the shark park and Donnie told story about how he, yeah. What you just said Gary, he, he's got a ring.

[00:15:53] I believe his dad's sharks ring. Yeah. And he spread it around the ground. Just yeah. Really good stuff. As someone who's known Donnie for quite a long time now, his music career is really starting to take off. It has to be said. And he says it himself quite late in life. Like he's not 20. He's doing really great stuff. So hopefully he continues to bloom in that profession. But tonight was probably the most kind of pro I've seen him. Just the way he kind of owned.

[00:16:21] He was really composed and like knew exactly like the moment that he was in. And he really owned that moment. As you said, it was beautiful. Congratulations to everyone, you know, behind the scenes, the sharks, you put this event on because it's come together really well. And as you said, to have the fans here in the stand as well, to be able to enjoy it. And look on, I think it's something really special. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolute sharks, tragics here, which is what the three of us are. And we love those people who get night. Your boss, Dino, looks pretty proud. Dino's walking around. Yeah, for sure. Sure.

[00:16:48] It's, you know, been something that he wanted to put together for a long time and to see it come to fruition tonight. I think he would be proud and he should be proud. It's a really great event and something that the club can hold for a long, long forever. It's going to be fascinating to see when we do this next. I know we haven't even done the next five, waiting the next hour for that to happen, but I don't know, four or five years, who knows? But that'll be real interesting. Especially with our little piece, what happens there. Can we talk about that? Why not? So... Or should we not?

[00:17:18] Well, what we can say, because it's been documented elsewhere, is that when you get past Shark Park in the coming days, there will be... Just take a look. Take a look. There may be a new piece of art. Yes. That's okay. We can say that. And that's fantastic. Everything the club is doing right now is going through the post. It's an amazing time to be a Sharks fan. I know we want to see him win every game and win the comp, but we need to just appreciate what we've got right now. The coach spoke. He was beautiful.

[00:17:48] The coach's dad spoke. I love Alan Fitzgibbon. He was here. Man, these guys just bleed black, white and blue. But again, I hadn't seen Fitzy in the flesh for, I don't know, 30 years or something. When I was a kid, I'm sorry, I'm your coach. You know? Amazing. Amazing to hear him talk. He still got that passion. And then ET and Gavin Miller choking up around him. When we interviewed Gavin, he was really complimentary about how Fitzgibbon and his son is our coach. Yeah, I know. And that's like a mapping.

[00:18:17] All over swore. I love this stuff. You know, like working here for the amount of time that I have over the last couple of years with Fitzy as well. This has probably been the most that we dove into the history and, you know, the current playing spot are really getting some lessons around who's come before them and what the jersey really means. And to be able to watch the presentations that they have in their team meetings and everything that they do for under scenes. Yeah. For me, it's been an eye opener and saying that I'm really proud to work here and to know the history of the bottom. Now it's about to celebrate it.

[00:18:47] I feel like what you almost said, Gary, and what I was hearing you about saying is everything is meaningful. Yeah. That's the coach. Everything he does. And you work with him closely with putting up things in the dressing room and presenting things for the players, both visually or visually, but it all has meaning. Yeah. That's probably one of the biggest things that I've learned working with Fitzy is, you know, every season he's got a plan and he knows how he wants to present it to the playing group.

[00:19:14] And yeah, to be able to sit there and, you know, sit in his office for an hour or two and chat ideas around design to know that he's, you know, got his head in that space and he knows I'm not just making things to make them look good. Like there's meaning behind everything and hidden meaning in things that, you know, might be seen publicly, but it's got a separate meaning to the players. And, you know, to have those advisors around the place for them, it's something really cool that, yeah, I get to work on every year. But there is also so much that the general public don't get to see.

[00:19:43] And it's for the players, obviously, and staff to a lot of extent, but for the players to inspire them. He just doesn't cut corners. Yeah. Even to the point of like, over the last three years, he's brought staff into team meetings just to chat about who they are and their life story and, you know, where they've come from and what it means to work here and all that sort of stuff. Like they have these meetings every week and, you know, like I've never seen another coach sort of do that.

[00:20:09] Like, yeah, they have little things here and there, but Fitzy really dives into who you are as a person and what makes you a great person first and foremost before an employee of the club. And yeah, it's a great space to be around for sure. My big brother has chimed in, he's saying he's that Fitzy's jacket. It's very much on par with my brother rousing me in public, but we have a great love for each other. In fact, my big brother, I don't know if you guys have met my husband's brother David, it's about eight years between us.

[00:20:39] He is very much responsible for me doing this, being obsessed by the black one, I believe so. It's a fantastic nightmare. I just can't say that enough. It's actually good weather. We were all a bit worried the other week, Gary. We had a bit of a meeting and it was like, what's the weather like? We were stressing a little bit, yeah. Open air out there. It seemed good go wrong. We've seen what could happen here on a bit of a crazy night at Chart Park, but yeah, tonight's a really, really nice one. So happy for that. Yeah. Very good. Joshy, how are you feeling? What's going on? What's going through your head? What's going through your heart?

[00:21:09] I'm just excited to see the next Invac Ds as I don't know and don't want to know. So I like that. You won't know. I can't wait though. The rest of the night, there's still so much to come. We'll see Dylan Wright sing a few songs. Yeah. Invac Ds and then hopefully a couple of chat afterwards with Self Gaz and maybe. I was that guy down on the field before getting a photo with Dylan Wright because my kids are obsessed. He's a great dude. He's going to put it up there, Gary. I know we're getting into trouble with this. You know what? It might have been trouble.

[00:21:38] If you live in the area, just come down. Like is there security at the front gate? Surely it would be. You sure would be. Surely it would be. You know what? Tell them Gary Dover seems here. They're outside anyway. All I'm suggesting is there's still a large part of the night to go. And if you're in the hood, try and talk your way in. There's actually a little walkway at the back of Family Hill. It's a public footpath. Okay. So if you just happen to be walking past at this time, you got to hear it. You got them thinking.

[00:22:07] The Chinese restaurant lights are on. Are people having? Yeah. A few. Anyone's hungry. They have a TV in there or anything? Probably not. Yeah, but I don't think they'd be broadcasting this. But it should be. That would be a great night out. Golden Bay Chinese. Holy smokes. Boy oh boy, fellas. What a great night here at Sharkland. Still a long way to go. I just can't believe all these legends going on place. David Pagey, Gatlin, Andrew Erdinghausen, Nico Hines, the Fitzgibbon father and son combination. Yeah, that's it.

[00:22:35] We saw some NRLW stars here as well as all the NRL squad. So the club is absolutely on the road now. How are you feeling about round one, Josh? I'm so excited. I've got to get through a couple of days in LA to survive. I've heard that first, but I can't wait. It still doesn't feel like it's actually happening. I don't think until they actually run out on the field and they kick off that'll feel real. It's come around real. It has. It has. You think you have so much time playing overseas, trooping, and all of a sudden, crap, I've

[00:23:04] got to get tickets and a combination that I have no money in. Extrange rate is what? Yeah. Oh, good. It's like 62 cents to the dollar or something. So, yeah, but I mean, look, like money is irrelevant for this. How do you feel about the game? For the game, I think I'm pretty confident, but I always am. I'm probably, you know, an optimistic guy, but, you know, Dylan Edwards coming off, you know, off-season surgery, Nathan Cleary, they've all played a lot of footy.

[00:23:32] We're fresh, we want revenge up the prelim. Let's go get them. Yeah. Feeling really good as well. As Josh said, like, we could probably get them at the right time, but they haven't clicked as well as we know they can. They haven't trialled at all. They haven't trialled. Yeah, what's up with that? They played a game here and it was just their kids, right? Yeah. And then cancelled the one against the reserve grades. They weren't happy with the... Oh, really? They can't want dissented. Yeah, they weren't happy with the team at the... Bands? Yeah, they were the Bands.

[00:24:01] They weren't happy with the team. But they had some hit out, right? They had a scrimmage privately. Yeah, like a closed door on the weekends. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm living in a bubble. The bubble boy. They cancelled the game. Yeah. Against a lower... Like a reserve grade side, yeah. And I think they thought there was going to be a few extra players that were playing and that none of them thought were just to play. I think they cancelled on the day. Like, they were there. I'm pretty sure that's true, yeah. We're behind Sam. Hey, hey, you got one. You're watching the stream. Bye-bye, man.

[00:24:32] SharkCastPod forever. Hey, boys, I haven't told you the big news. What's the big news? Just this podcast media thing that we do under the banner of SharkCastPod, it's got a live website. I'm a website creator. SharkCastPod.com.au. Jump on. Don't stop watching this, but SharkCastPod.com.au. No. I've messed it up already. Okay. Here we go.

[00:25:01] SharkCast.com.au. I sound 100 years old. It's okay. SharkCast.com.au. We've got a website. It's going to expand, but there's some cool stuff on there. Merch on there? There's a link to a merch, but a lot of the, all the episodes are there. You just got to go through them. But there's the latest episodes, latest videos, a little bit about what we do, about who's on the show. So, social links. Social links. A million reviews. Yada yada yada. I'm a live site creator. First of all, that's awesome.

[00:25:30] I'm going to have to go check it out. Yeah. True story. I just remembered when that gentleman showed up, showed me something online. I went, Oh, we're online. SharkCast.com. You're showing us. I saw that. I saw that. I appreciate it. SharkCast.com.au and there'll be more stuff happening. We just thought we'd get it out there and get a bit more prof. So, yeah, there's something for everyone to look forward to. Our friends at SharkCage said, bring on the first promo game. Can't wait to show the interrelated SharkCage of what is they're going to produce.

[00:25:58] Now, these are the guys and girls that have like big photos and banners and they sing. They're at the trial, right? Yes. Salakai, Trane style. That was awesome. He's kicked those up. I love those. Yes. The players love it too. Yeah, absolutely. Can't be said enough. Players love it. Do we have any information on the person singing right now, Gary? I'm not sure. But we'll find out next time I'm on here. Very, very good. Well, yeah, just do have them at our presentation nights and things like that.

[00:26:27] Yeah, there is a female singer with an acoustic guitarist doing a great job doing the in-between kind of thing. So, respect for them for sure. That our mate Dylan's going to go up pretty soon. I actually know what he's going to sing. So do I. And it's going to be a mushroom. Yeah. Then I said something about the Proclaimers song that he did. And he goes, oh, maybe I should do that. I was like, how long have you been doing this grant?

[00:26:55] But yeah, he's going to do a song which some of you already know. It's a song that he wrote, shall we say, September 2016. So it's going to be emotional. I think when we get to ET, that's for sure. Yeah. What a sweetheart, Andrew Reading has a Marini stand. It's a great place to be. It was my mate Newman. You say the ivory tower. Great night. Can't say enough. Great night. Josh. What'd you think of Fenua Blake? I got the idea to see him up close and personal. It looks really trim actually.

[00:27:25] But trimmer than I probably thought. Not the tallest guy on the wall, but definitely like just, just stocky, but trim and fit. And I would not want to tackle him. So presence, right? Like just like when he walked past, I was like, I just like sit the top and like stood up in a straighter. And yeah, it looks really good. And so did Talika. I thought Talika looked really good too. They all look really trim, but strong and ready to rock. Oh, look what's happened here. Lucky we've got a fourth mic.

[00:27:54] I actually have to go and get it. Okay. Let's do a swap. It's maybe perfect timing right here. I know Ash is here for a different reason, but Ash jump on board. I appreciate it. I'll see you guys. See you guys. Everyone. This is Ash. He was on the show a few weeks ago. He is a club historian and you are a major reason as to why tonight is happening. How do you feel? You see Buzz? It's amazing. Yeah. Like it's, it's just, just in amongst the crowd, just to have the, you know, anyone here to open to anyone.

[00:28:23] It's just amazing. I've seen one of the guys before, like most clubs, you know, this happened in the twenties, thirties, forties, you know, the dragons for it to happen in 2025. Yeah. Michael, you'll get closer. Just for that to happen in 2025 is just, it's, you know, and for all of us to be able to be part of it. Unbelievable. Yeah. We've been talking for half an hour about how emotional the night's been. I'm a little bit surprised. I would take it back by it. E.T. just stealing the show. You must be, you're a bit red-eyed.

[00:28:52] You must be a little bit feeling. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I've said to anyone that listen, I, Steve Rogers. Sorry, by the way, you met Josh. Yes. Sorry. Sorry, go ahead. Um, yeah, no, it's anyone that I've spoken to this night, Steve Rogers and Greg Fish were a little bit before my time. So I didn't have the, um, didn't have the privilege of watching those guys play live, but I've certainly seen sort of plenty of footage and having said it, E.T. was very much my era and I've never seen him so emotional.

[00:29:21] E.T. renowned for his, um, ability to, you know, hold a crowd, palm of his hand, his ability to talk. And he was, yeah, it was, he was very, very surprised. And, but that's what it's all about. Isn't that Sam? Absolutely. Like it's, that's the emotion. And to be honest, he was set off by Don who's, that poem was just next level. Yeah. We covered that a little bit. Uh, we can't say that enough to our listeners. It was, yeah, it was, it hit the heartstrings. That's for sure. I'm going to give him a plug.

[00:29:51] Bill here at the Brass Mike here on Saturday night. Uh, tell us about your night tonight and you're part of the night. You were, you were one of the judges. Now, Josh doesn't know who's being inducted. Our listeners and viewers don't know. You and I know. You particularly don't. Tell us about how you're feeling about now the night's finally here. Um, it is a sense of, it's both relief and achievement. Achievement because it's taking, you know, what's behind the scenes.

[00:30:19] And I'll certainly say that I'm not the main driver behind the, behind the scenes. My, my part was really the easy part. Selecting the players was the easy part. So once, once the criteria got set in place, you sort of have a group of players. That's the easy part. But all this out here, what you see tonight, I'll tell you, these guys have been lurking around the clock. Yeah. And the, and the number one thing that none of us could control the weather has just absolutely. It's nice. On point. On point. Like it's, and also he's hit on the head. He's just like, this is amazing.

[00:30:49] It is. The ground looks great. It's the thing I like about what they've done is they haven't aimed too high. And when I say that, it's not exactly bells and whistles, but it's not low fire. It's just really nice. Everything's kind of how it should be. Yeah. But Sam, you've been around long enough to know we're not a bells and whistles club. I agree. That is not, that is not good. We, this club's built on Sutherland Oval, wooden grandstand, sheds out the back, you know, and Vossi hit the nail on the head.

[00:31:19] That's what this club is built on. And we, we're not shy away from that. Like the fact that Alan Fitzgibbon's here, I think that's next level, isn't it? To see Fitzy, young Fitzy present the jackets and the medals. And you saw how emotional in particular Gap was with the accept that he's a board. It's just, it's, it's, this is, this is bigger than what we could have imagined. Yeah. Right. And we, we spoke to Gav on the way in and he was really generous with his time.

[00:31:44] And he was, he was wound up and he just lives for this club. It's such a beautiful thing. And like any job or anything you do, you don't play for accolades or awards. But when this sort of stuff comes around, like these guys are just so appreciative of what's been rolled out. And I think the jackets are a great touch and the, and the medals. And there's something, once these guys move on, it's something they can pass on to the next generation. Like you saw with Greg Pierce is up here when we fitted his jackets, we fitted his jackets for his son. So for Greg's nephew.

[00:32:14] So for Greg's grandson. So that's where those jackets will go to. You know, so it all stays. It's all nice. I think we're going to go around it. What kind of work went into the dealing with, as you said, the players who either couldn't be here or have passed on. So you were dealing directly with the families. Yep. Yeah. So we, obviously the aim when you, with anything like this, the aim is to get as many inductees here as you can. When you can't, and there's instances with Tommy, I mean, in the ill health, lives up on the Gold Coast. Neil's here on his behalf.

[00:32:44] And Neil's you know. While it would be great that Tommy was here. The way like Neil spoke from the heart, he was a great representative for the family. And he was a great representative for the family and he came Same with the Pears and the Rogers. It is what it is. It's hard that they can't be here. But you can see that the – and that's the thing with this club. The passion is so deep that they speak – they're a representation of their family. Like every bloke, the two that come up said, you know, Dad played black, white, blue.

[00:33:13] Like that doesn't get any better than that, does it? No, it doesn't. It's just – I'm so glad that we got invited. I'm so glad that we made the effort to do all this. It's a really beautiful night, connecting with the fans as well, and a lot of legends in the house, Ash. There are. I'd like to keep – what do you guys think about? What are your thoughts? I think it's great. Like you said, I think, like, we're not the roosters. We're not the big extravagant club. This is, like, very fitting of what we are, and I think we should embrace that.

[00:33:42] I feel, you know, a family club and a local community driven club, I think it represents us really well. And I wouldn't mind all that – all the flashy stuff, because it's not genuine. It'd be disingenuous to do that. And having all the legends here and the way they speak about the club and – you know, I don't think there'll be a lot of clubs that would have that passion still from their players from years gone by. So just really proud of the club and proud of the players that really represented us

[00:34:12] over the years and different generations. I think it's just – it's been really well done, really enjoyed it. Yeah, you still don't, Josh. That's not us, right? So during the week, obviously, you would have been seen as long, obviously, around the Bulldogs had their 90th celebration at Town Hall. And we're a shire club and the shire is, you know, we don't leave the shire. So I feel for us to have something at Town Hall, you know, it would have been fantastic. Probably half the people wouldn't have turned up because they would have had to leave the shire. But that's not us. It would still be amazing, but it'd be a different vibe.

[00:34:40] To be honest, and we love our friends at Dolphin House. And the events – I mean, it's an event centre. I get it. We love Dolphin House. But the weather held out. The gamble paid off. And I think that means when we're in Vegas, we need to have a little $10 flat on a bit of blackjack. In honour of tonight, boys, how worried were you about the weather? Massively. I mean, you know, it was a bit – No, massively. Yeah, and that's the one thing we couldn't control.

[00:35:08] So I knew, like, Kylie Lucas, Mel, Jess, Chich, those guys, like, I knew that it was going to be a fantastic event. Yeah. And, like, those guys worked honestly. But the one thing we couldn't control was the weather, yeah? When it turns out, like, this year just now, it's going to be unreal. And that's what it has been. And like you said, like, the stars in the house, like, to chat to a good friend of the show, Alan Wilson, Doc O, Barry Russell, you just – It's just rolling back the clock, isn't it? Yeah. The only thing you wish is they're all in jerseys running out. That's the only thing you wish. Yeah. Yeah, I do.

[00:35:39] But even talking to some of the current mob, like, I mean, we spoke to the King of Cairnman, Nico, and he's just – he's kind of in awe of everything I said to him. I'm sort of spoiling the whole interview. But I said, when you walk in here, do you now think, oh, I want to be for my fame? And he goes, I never really thought of it until tonight. He goes, now I absolutely want to be, you know, looking for the rest of my career and maybe achieve that. So it's obviously affecting those guys. I know Fitz is huge on the history.

[00:36:09] And whether you believe that helps or not out the field, I don't know. I personally do. I'm sure other people don't. But we're in such a good spot, man. Yeah, and we spoke at this, it's all about connection, isn't it? The connection of the past, future, present, and then that's where we're at. We're in a year-cold little window. It's been labeled different things. But I think we're just in a – we're in a good spot. All right, we're going to wrap it up for now because the show is back on, the real show. But thank you so much for tuning in for now. We'll have some more stuff for you later. Heap to stuff tomorrow.

[00:36:38] So stay tuned to SharkarsPod. Remember, oh, you haven't heard the news, Ash. We've got a website, sharkarspod.com.au. I'm a website creator. If you need anything, hit me up. We're going to say goodbye for now. But we will talk to you guys soon. Bill and Wright, it's hitting the stage. How exciting. Up-up. We'll talk to you soon. We are the greatest club in the history of the world. Sharkars is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire, Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate.

[00:37:06] 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 Crips & Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Crips & Crips Real Estate.