Post Season Livestream - Episode 900!

[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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[00:00:55] Hey there, hello, welcome to SharkCast, a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. My name is Sam Shinazzi, I'm an OG for 12 years now and been going since 2015.

[00:01:23] As you can see, if you're watching or if you're listening, one of our dear listeners, this is actually episode 900. That is incredible. I sound very mellow about it, but I'm super happy and excited to do an episode like this 900th episode. And we'll get into a bit of stuff down the track about who to thank and everyone else, but just thank the listeners and viewers, of course, especially this episode brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Port Hacking, Jason Hawes at Cripps and Cripps Real Estate.

[00:01:52] And we get our coffee from Mr Paisely's Cafe, Caringbah. So we're going to do a recap on the game. We're going to talk about the season and a whole bunch of other things. And we'll tell you who our player of the year is, our Shark Cast player of the year, as voted by all the hosts. It was a little tight there for a bit. So we'll get into that. There is a link if you want to call in. We've already got someone waiting. I won't keep him too much longer. But there's a link if you want to call in. Should be wherever you are watching.

[00:02:19] So if it's not, let me know and I'll kind of get to that. And Jay is going to say congrats on 900 episodes. Thanks, brother. You're a big part of it. So I appreciate you very much. The bad news, Sharks lose 46 points to 10. Still getting over that one. A lot to comprehend and take in. A lot to understand. I'm sure many of you have moved on. I don't blame you in my line of what we do. We like to analyze and see what we can and work out what we can and how we can get better moving forward.

[00:02:49] Love to hear all your thoughts. I want to hear your player of the year. I want to hear your thoughts on the game, the season, anything you want to talk about. I'm happy to talk about. But it can be fun. It can be serious. It can be nostalgic. It can be whatever you want. Just keep it above board. No swearing. And we'll have a good time. This will be a podcast later on. Monday, 730 is not the greatest time for everyone to jump on. But selfishly, it was the best time for me. So here to have a lot of fun. Just talk all things black, white and blue.

[00:03:18] Apologies about the no live stream after the game was a bit difficult logistically. And I thought rather than kind of rush home and jump on late anyway, which we did to be fair for the first finals game, it was a thorough success, but wasn't really the easiest thing for me to do. So we did a recorded 20-minute kind of recap of the games. Go listen to that. It's on all the apps. It's on YouTube and it's just audio only.

[00:03:47] And tonight we'll do more of a traditional live stream, shall we say. Lots of messages coming in. Really appreciate it. Better go check that the Insta is working okay. And it is. That's awesome. Now, I don't want to keep this fellow waiting too much longer. If you want to jump on, hit the link in StreamYard. It's pretty easy to work out. If you can't work it out, let me know and I'll try and guide you through it. But it's pretty self-explanatory. If you don't want to have your screen on, you want to be visually anonymous, that's completely fine. You can just go no camera and just talk like you're on the phone.

[00:04:16] If you want to show your face, that's awesome too. Whatever you want to do. If you don't want to call in, it's completely fine. That's kind of all the admin for tonight, I think. But stick around for the Shark Cast Player of the Year 2026. Past winners have included Blake Braley, Will Kennedy, Ricky Letelli going back in the day. We've been doing this a while. 900 episodes, guys and girls. All right. Here comes someone who's been watching for 900 episodes. And what's his name? His name is Sharks Forever. Hello, Sharks Forever.

[00:04:46] How are you? Sam, I just wanted to come on here and congratulate you on 900 fantastic episodes, mate. Peace, brother. Thank you. Sorry, I've got to... Thank you very much. Now, let's not get too crazy about the shenaz. Congrats. Like, I appreciate it. And if you want to say it, I'll take it with all my heart. But let's say it quick and get on to the Sharks. As a day one listener, you inspired me to listen to podcasts. Oh, great.

[00:05:15] Of course, your former Sharks TV episode, sorry, Shark Cast TVs back in the old days. But moving on, my initial review on the game, it was frustrating. As soon as Nico went off for the HIA, my heart just broke for the guy. He has put his absolute heart and soul into his time at the club this year. I know he's still contracted with us. Of course, he's not leaving.

[00:05:44] But he's given absolutely everything for the jersey this year. And I know people put slander on him. And I just wish people would give him more respect. Because we're all humans. They're human beings as well. When Nico went off for the HIA, I knew it wasn't going to look good. I was hoping we could keep going without Nico.

[00:06:11] When we scored those two tries, a hope, a high of hope in me that there's a comeback coming. We all fought it as well. That pure celebration that lasted only six minutes. I wanted to come on here and also thank our departing players for absolutely everything they gave to the Black, White and Blue over the years. You guys will be missed. And we thank you so much for your time and effort to the club.

[00:06:40] And yes, we're sorry you guys did not get to win a premiership with us. And hopefully you guys can go on to win a premiership at your next clubs. Well, let us not go too far, Ash. But thank you very much. That's very kind. So, go back to pre-season. So, the trial game against Parramatta. Yes, I know we had a younger squad, obviously getting the younger lads the minutes. It was just a friendly, of course.

[00:07:05] What I saw in that game, I'm really positive for the future. The club's future is in absolute fantastic great hands. And I'm actually really excited for next year with all these rising youngsters coming up and Leo Jacques coming into the squad as well. Next year is going to be a year to watch. And I'm certainly looking forward to it. And who's your player of the year, Ash? My player of the year?

[00:07:35] There was a few that rose to my mind. Of course, I like Tricky. But this guy gave it the next level. Put in the hard yards. Never complains. Yeah. Tough warrior, especially when he had that injury. Came back only two weeks later when he was injured. One tough warrior. Blake Braley for me. Blake Braley, please. Blake Braley for me. All right. We'll cast your vote.

[00:08:05] Hey, thanks for jumping on. We'll get to some other people. Really appreciate your time as always. Thank you, Sam. Enjoy your break and see you next year, my friend. No, no, there's no break, Ash. There's no break. We're not going anywhere. Good. I'm glad. So make sure you're subscribed. Make sure you subscribe. Don't you worry. I will. And we're not going anywhere. There's no break. No break. Appreciate you, mate. Thank you. Thank you. That is Sharks Forever with a lot of praise for everyone. That's great. Going to get to all your comments as well. That's what I'm here to do.

[00:08:32] If you want to dial in like Sharks Forever did, please feel free to. Jay said, I feel like I jinxed the Sharks after coming on the show for the South's win. It seemed all downhill from there. Come on, Jay. You're the only one that has correlated that with that event. So don't worry about that. It did go pear-shaped, though. That's for sure. That's for sure. Drew says, keep doing what you're doing. Love the insights. Speaking of that, any word on Taj Ford signing a Sharks contract?

[00:09:03] Well, thank you for the kind words, Drew. Appreciate it very much. There is rumblings that there is a word on him signing a Sharks contract. And I think next year he'll be a Shark. So stay tuned. Your official channels will help you out with that one. But I would say there is a very, very good chance he will be a Shark for a few years because he has a very bright future. And we want to be in the business of Taj Ford. That's for sure. So watch this space. All being well, he'll be a Shark.

[00:09:32] Wes says, hey, Sam and SharkCast. Say, Wes. Future Dude says, the Jets are our last hope. Come on the Mighty Blue Bags. They sure are. They're going great. A lot of our Sharks are playing in that team. And speaking of Taj Ford, a lot of young Sharks or Sharks-to-be. So I think it's 7 o'clock on Saturday night. You can watch that. Oh, I don't know how you watch it. Definitely Bar TV. I'm not sure if Channel 9 might pick it up or not. Just stay tuned to your local guides.

[00:10:02] If you can get out to the ground, that's even better. But Sharks, the Shark Jets, Newtown Shark Jets, grand final bound yet again. Jay says, disappointed not to be in the last four. We are on our day a better team than the Knights, for example, who are left in the last four. Jay, I don't know, brother. I know you live up there and you've got a bit of a dislike for the local team. But Knights are the real deal, brother. They brought it most of the year.

[00:10:29] From Vegas through to last week in New Zealand, I'm really impressed with them. And I think there's an upset in the making. On our day? Sure. I completely appreciate that. But we weren't on our day for the last six weeks. Aussie All The Way says, congrats on the 900 show. Sam can always roll on Shark Cast covering all things Sharks. Honestly, I hope so. Thanks for your contributions and your loyalty and all that. I really appreciate it. You know that. So thank you very much.

[00:10:58] Daniel says, 26 done and dusted. Who can we get excited for in 2027? That's a great question, Daniel. Who can we get excited for? I'm pretty excited about Leo Jacques, the rugby convert, originally a leaguey, then went to rugby. I think he's going to push for some first grade appearances. He's very tall. He's kind of broad, strong, winger slash center.

[00:11:24] And I think it's a little bit, he's not a Marky Mark clone, but it's that kind of novelty of a guy being out of the sport coming back. So he'll be a bit kind of raw. So maybe him. There's a bunch of young guys coming through. Felix Fartili will get a shot at some point from the bench. I think you'll see Big Tuku get a real shot. He's having a great year in cup. And even though he hasn't had much game time in NRL, I think that he's still young enough to really make a stand. Who else?

[00:11:53] You might see Stone Street back. I know a bunch of you love Stone Street. I want to see how Trindle goes. Great, great year. Even great with one arm. We'll see how he goes after. I imagine he'll have some surgery done. I don't think it's major necessarily, just some surgery on that shoulder. But I think it's a bunch to be excited for, Daniel. And I know a lot of people are thinking, what's going to happen to us next year? Will we make the finals or that kind of stuff?

[00:12:21] As the coach has said, it's not a rebuild. It's just, I can't remember the quote he said, but there's just some tinkering going on. You know, there's definitely guys leaving. Guys will be giving a shot. Michael Gabriel will probably get a shot in the centers. You'd think plenty to be excited about. I would say if you're one of those people who likes change, who likes youngsters getting a go, I think this is probably the first year under Craig Fitzgibbon where you might kind of revel in that a little bit. Jay said, am I right in saying that only Kennedy and Burns played every game this season?

[00:12:54] Unfortunately, I don't have some of the usual webpages open that I have from various sites. But we'll look into that. I mean, on Thursday, it's the Gallon Porter, the Porter Gallon Awards. I can't remember. I should know. It's the awards night and the Iron Men Award will go out. So we'll let you know about that. But I'm sure we can work that out in between. PK, my man, says, congrats on the Shark Cast season and a pretty good year from the Sharks.

[00:13:24] Hindsight is a one-off thing. But did Fitzy pull the wrong string with the Haradi Jones decision? It's a great question, PK. After you watch this or when you get some time during the week, go listen to the episode with Kieran. You remember Kieran who was hanging out in Vegas with us. We do a show every Monday or Tuesday. And we're going to keep doing it through summer for everyone. And we talk about it in depth. And my opinion is that I don't know if he made the wrong decision, but it's a decision that I wouldn't have gone with.

[00:13:53] So I would have stuck with Jones. And this is really in hindsight, PK, but I would have probably chosen Pollard over Nephi. Although Nephi was there as a backup to Trindley. He wasn't there as a backup to Heinz. So it gets a bit complicated. I understand why the coach made his decisions. And I love the fact that Marwini went out, not injured, but trying to set up a try. So not much we can do about it now, but I personally would have stuck.

[00:14:23] Yes, I would have stuck. I'm going to bring in another guest. And if you want to join like this guest, please do hit the StreamYard link and we'll get you on as soon as we can. Here he comes. He's an internet sensation at CBH Shucks fan. Hello, sir. How are you? I'm good, mate. How are you? I'm all right. Thanks. Still recovering from that tough loss the other night.

[00:14:49] But, yeah, look, it is what it is at the end of the day. It was tough, man. It was tough from that first moment seeing Nico go off, not only because he looked so injured and it made us all kind of sad. It had all those ramifications for the team and all the changes and guys changing the sides of the field. And it was a bit of a mess. So, it was a tough one. The score blew out in the end. I thought the score line didn't really reflect the effort from the team.

[00:15:18] I thought that perhaps like if I had to pick a score, like maybe like a 30 to 10 or something reflected the effort they put in. It just wasn't their night. There's a lot of reasons why we all know that. But I'll tell you what, it was fun. It was hanging out with you guys at the Captain Cook Hotel. That was pretty cool beforehand. Yeah, mate. Shout out to everyone that actually showed up to the Captain Cook before the game. It was really good vibe there.

[00:15:45] We got a good atmosphere going as well when the cameras were around. And the march as well was pretty awesome to see a lot of people around. And, you know, our bait was pretty much sold out. Like, just shows Sharks fans do travel outside the shine, mate. Yeah, they do. Absolutely. And I was so happy to see that. And I thought that we were loud. We were proud. We were a bit cheeky. I didn't see too much trouble or anything.

[00:16:13] I just thought everyone was just, you know, pretty up and then a little bit sad for a bit as well. But it's really great to see the colors. Because I read something crazy today where someone online said something like, it looked like there was 25% Sharks fans. I'm like, that's not true. It was very close. No, it was very close to 50-50, I thought. And, you know, to be fair, the Roosters came out too. So it was a great atmosphere. Rocking atmosphere.

[00:16:40] When they threw up the 39,000 sign, I got a bit of a shock. Because I was thinking it would be like 30, 32. It was almost 40,000 people. Yeah, I was quite surprised when crowd numbers went up to 39,000. Like, you know, shout out to everyone that showed up. Sharks fans and Roosters fans. You know, everyone, you know, showed up. Like, the dual dice we fall. And, yeah, look, everyone played their part on Saturday night.

[00:17:08] That's not the result we wanted, unfortunately. No. Let me ask you, what did you make of the season overall? What are your thoughts on the season? If you'd look back now and go, how did we go? What's your thoughts? Look, I think this season was a genuine rollercoaster. Like, from rounds one to ten, we looked like we were either going to scrape in or just miss the eight.

[00:17:32] From then to, like, I'd say round 23, the Dragons game, we looked like a team that could potentially go all the way. But then after the Dragons game, it all just fell apart. And, yeah, look, it's been a rollercoaster of a year, I think, definitely. Like, a lot of chances to win games that we should have won. But there were a couple of games as well that on paper we would have lost, but we actually won.

[00:18:00] So, I mean, it's been a rollercoaster. That's all I'll say. Yeah, well said, well said. And who would be, if you could get it down to one person, it's okay if you can't, who would be your player of the year for you? Player of the year, it's a tough one because I thought there were a couple that gave it their all for the jersey this year. All right, who are you thinking? I'm thinking Tricky. I thought Tricky, like, he put in 110% pretty much every time he got on the field.

[00:18:29] And, look, that injury towards the back end, it really showed, like, our attack without him really showed, you know, what sort of player he was and what we were missing in that team. So, yeah, I think Tricky's my player of the year. Okay. Awesome. Well, we're going to let you know the Shark Cast Player of the Year a little bit later on, so stay tuned. Thank you. And, you know, congrats on all your online presence, man.

[00:18:57] You're having fun on there and getting followers and you're on multiple platforms. And it's great to see so many sharks, people just having fun but also spreading the word of the club. So keep doing what you're doing. And no doubt we'll see you early next year for the trials. But make sure you keep watching. Subscribe if you don't because we're going to be popping up a lot throughout the weeks. Not as much as what we have but definitely regularly throughout the year so you don't want to miss an episode.

[00:19:27] And, yeah, thanks for contributing like you do, man. I really appreciate it. No worries, mate. Just want to say as well, congrats to you on 900 episodes. Thank you. Like, you're definitely the OG within our community. And, yeah, I'm just – it's been great to know you this year, mate. Oh, it's very nice. Thank you. All right. Thanks, brother. I'll talk to you soon. Take care. We'll speak soon. Thanks again. Appreciate all your kind words. Yeah, mate. Up, up. Up, up. Thanks so much. Very kind of you to dial in.

[00:19:56] Jay says, The odds aren't in our favor. We'll improve from the semifinal result this year. The last five years, the two teams who've made the semis following only two have improved on the result of – yeah, I get all that. I'm a stats guy too. I get it. But, I mean, let's see how we go. I appreciate that, though, from a historical point of view. Absolutely. Let's jump over to our friends over the other platform. Hello to everyone who's on there. You're all legends.

[00:20:25] Queensland Sharkboy, now you get a mention on the Kieran show today, so make sure you go back and have a listen or watch to that. It's kind of adjacent mention, but it's you we're talking about. Hope you're doing good, and thank you for the congratulations on the 900 not out exceptional job. Thanks so much. Hopefully, won't be out for a long time. Hello to everyone else. And you also say Trindle is your player of the year, so thanks for that, and we'll

[00:20:51] let you know a bit later on who our player of the year is in the Shark cast. Nitrous Agency says tricky as well. Greasy Smitty said, I love this team. So disappointed how people write us off every year. It's getting old. The boys played their butt off. Still proud of them. Thank you to all the players moving on. Best wishes. That's very well said. It is getting a bit silly, but kind of ridicule about you guys make the finals, but nothing happens and all that sort of stuff.

[00:21:20] It's a bit silly. We're a pretty successful club. We just need to get over a hurdle that we haven't got over since 2016. You know, it's kind of hard to do. And I also agree with you about the players moving on. We might touch on those guys a bit later, but thanks for your kind words. Miss Millgate is watching. Big Nico Hines fan. She was upset when he went off. Hopefully he's doing okay. I'm sure he'll be doing all the concussion protocols and he'll be right to celebrate what was a pretty successful year.

[00:21:52] 4JRG3 says, we'll see you all at Combank on Saturday. That's referring to the Jets game. Katie says, congrats on 900 episodes. Do you reckon Sharks will make a play for Latrell Mitchell since he's rumored to be going November 1? Consider he can play center and we're losing Sifer, Ma and Jesse. Katie's just blown up the internet, everyone. I don't think we'll be able to pay what Latrell might want, Katie. That's the bottom line.

[00:22:16] You can have other arguments about pros and cons, fitness, health, attitude, but I don't think we can afford him would be my answer to you, Katie. Great to see you again on the weekend with your family. 4JRG says, do you think Gabe would have played? Finals week one instead of Jones had he not been suspended? That's Michael Gabriel. That's a great question.

[00:22:40] I think he would have been close.

[00:23:10] Yeah. Yeah. I do say that, Ash. I do say that a lot. It's hard to get to the big one. It's hard to win the big one. We've done it once in almost 60 years. So it's not an excuse. It's kind of a reason.

[00:23:38] And I know Craig Fitzgibbon was ripped apart for a comment like that in the press conference after the game. But I sort of stand on his side rather than the other side. I think that he's – I don't know if it came out the right way he wanted to say it, but it is hard to sort of be in the top two best teams. Like we're close. We're close every year. We all acknowledge we've got to get to that next stage. But I think people sort of underestimate how hard it is.

[00:24:05] It doesn't mean you shouldn't aim to get there or you can't get there ever. But, for example, elimination final, playing the Roosters, their home ground, they've got such a star-studded team. I thought we were underdogs. I thought we were in with a real chance. I went, sat in my seat knowing that one team's going to win, one team's going to lose. Kapowie 16. Hey, bro, back to Saturday.

[00:24:30] The game went downhill the moment Fitz dropped Jones for Marwini. What does it say when you drop the young fella you've just resigned for a fringe player who is leaving? It's a great question. It's a heavy question. I appreciate it. I don't know what the coach would say or what he's thinking. Or I think he would have said something like it's experience and potentially more run meters from out the back.

[00:25:00] I would have picked Riley Jones. I've said that a few times this week already. I think he was more agile and quicker. But it is a big ask. Go play the Roosters in your, what, fourth NRL game, third in recent memory. It's a big ask. They're a step up from the Cowboys. So I can see both sides, Kapowie, but I personally would have gone with Riley. I'm keen as for next season. You say, Sifra is our big loss. Our new right edge will be bigger, faster, and younger.

[00:25:29] Exactly what we need, some speed. Yeah. I mean, there's some exciting things about next year. Like there's some negative aspects to it. Guys, we like are leaving, the whole thing. They've been together for so long, last dance. But there's some excitement there for sure. And they're going to be younger. They're going to be leaner. They're going to be quicker. And we saw on the weekend we kind of did like that. Katie says, good to see you too. And that's fair enough about Latrell Mitchell. Great question. I had never thought about that.

[00:25:58] So there you go. Someone has called in. Who have I got over there? Hello. How are you? Who have we got here? Queensland Sharkboy. Queensland Sharkboy, you look so different on TV. How are you? Great, thanks, man. I love your cave. Yeah, thanks. Yeah, appreciate it. Can you step a little bit closer to the phone just so I can hear you a bit better? Or bring it towards you? That'd be awesome. Yeah, that'd be fine.

[00:26:26] For people who aren't watching, you're in what looks like to be a shark's man cave, or a shark's cave, if you will. That's correct. Yeah. How are you? What's going on? How are you feeling after the loss? Yeah, still struggling a little bit. It takes... It was pretty tough to watch, but really proud of the boys, really. The effort was there. Yeah, we had things go wrong. Losing Nico straight up was... Yeah, that was tough.

[00:26:54] I mean, when you lose your main man and then the other main man's busted shoulder, even, you know, all reports were saying that he was still fine. But, yeah, you could tell he wasn't 100%. But just a really great effort. I mean, you know, 12-10. We come back to 12-10, and I thought, here we go. Yeah. And that's what we're saying is the staff study inside. I mean, and they've done their homework. They're well coached. Yeah, they deserve their win at the end, which is hard to say.

[00:27:25] Yeah. I just... Yeah, it's just a great effort. And, you know, I just support Pitsy continue. I know there's a lot of baggers out there, but, yeah, five years he's been coached, and then we've been in the finals every year. So, I know we're a couple short from the big dance, and I hope it comes soon. But as a supporter, you can't ask much more to be actually watching your team's play finals every year. I mean, I look at Newcastle.

[00:27:51] You know, last year they won't even have the Spooners, and they've come back. So, good on them. But on the Sharks, I think the consistency's great. And I think we've got a couple of signings coming up that Alan Trout from England, I think it's going to probably bring a little bit of mongrel to the team, which is from what I've read about him. And I think that we're the nice guys.

[00:28:17] I mean, you go for a team, sometimes you just feel you just want to crank them up a little bit. There's a KL or Oro. I mean, Blake Rayley, these guys are just absolute gentlemen. Which is great to watch them too, because you feel proud of them. But, you know, we've got no grubs or anything like that. I'm not using the grubs loosely. Now, I'm not saying we want to grab anything like that. But, I mean, Ronnie does a fantastic job. And, you know, you can tell he toned down a bit too.

[00:28:47] But sometimes we need him just on that. But we probably need someone like that in the forwards. And I'm hoping that Trout might bring that. I'm not sure. I just think our team in the forwards is unbelievable. You know, Oregon Confucian doesn't get a run. And I know because of the way the game went. Yeah. He's a fantastic player. He's still so young. Yeah. Yeah. I just think, you know, Toby Rudolph. I think Toby does bring a bit of energy. I was probably disappointed that he was injured.

[00:29:18] He could have been the energy to bring. Yeah. But, geez, we've got some depth there. We've really got some depth. And it looks good. There's a couple of young fellas that made the debut. And the Jets, I mean, I think people forget too. We've got our second grade side playing in the final. Yeah. So that's just fantastic for the future. That's how I look at it. Yeah, there's a lot of young guys there who are going to make the step in the next year or two. If it's not next year, it'll be the year after.

[00:29:48] And I like what you said about the fact that, you know, we couldn't get Confuci out there. And I think that game is a lot different if Nico doesn't have to leave. Not only do we keep one of our best players in the field, it means Trindle's not doing everything. But also, you're not tinkering with the positions of everyone. You've got your four forwards on the bench. And I think it's a lot closer than, like, perhaps we win. I've got no idea.

[00:30:17] We'll never know because from the first moment, he was knocked out. So it's just a strange old game. And there wasn't much we could do about that. That was a lot of circumstance in that game, I thought. Yeah, that happens. You know, I love the way that Fitz is backed. Nick Anfield has really put his body on the line. You know, he got it wrong. Yeah. With his head. And look, the other thing is, too, I think we're forgetting about Nico. I hope Nico's fine. I mean, because he would have missed out on this as well.

[00:30:44] So, you know, his best wishes go out to Nico because, again, another gentleman in the game. And I hope everything's right for him. So he hasn't had too many head knocks. So, yeah, it's not good to see that. But hopefully he's fine. Thanks so much. It was great to talk to you. Feel free to call in any time. We're going to go out all summer long. Not sure how many live streams we'll do, but we're doing like a bunch of things. We'll do the Kieran episode. We'll do Look Back with Ben Harlem. We'll do one of those breaking news. We're going to do some reviews of the year and player reviews.

[00:31:15] So we'll be around for a while. So make sure you stay tuned and we'll talk to you soon. All right. And look after that man cave for me. Thanks, Sam. Up up. Thank you. Up up, my friend. Thanks so much. Just to Jay before you were correct, my friend. Billy Burns, Will Kennedy, Iron Men of the Year. 26 games each. Kennedy starting all 26. Burns starting 12 of the 26. But played all 26.

[00:31:42] Future Dude says the downfall of our night pictured in three acts. Act one, Roddy in for Jones. Act two, Nico fell HIA. Act three, Marky Mark's first try in the second half with Teddy in DC's tries as salt in the wounds. Yep. Well said. Well said. Jay said making the semis. The Roosters made a prelim and Eels. A GF. Everyone else went backwards. That's from before. Thank you so much. Jason is an OG.

[00:32:10] Jason said, how do you make a disappointment go away? Business first. When is the Christmas party to celebrate you and your sponsors at the Royal Motor Yacht Club? Party to celebrate us. Do you mean like our private party or you mean a public party? Because we could look at both if you want to do both. One's bigger than the other. Let me know. Everyone let me know. In terms of the season, severe lack of forward momentum in attack and defense.

[00:32:38] If there was a competition for pass the parcel, the Sharks would win it hands down. Low light losing to the Dragons. What was yours? Oh, great question, Jason. Highlight. It's hard to get past that Dolphins game. Hey, it really is like record breaking. Just perfect games of football against good opposition. You know, away stadium in another state. Quite like that. I'll say this though. I like the run of nine from, I think it was nine from 11 we won. I thought that was pretty special. Low light.

[00:33:07] Even if you take away who it's against, I think losing to the drags at Coggera started this downward spiral. And it's not a spiral I want to experience again too soon. The other low light, I think is probably the Braden Trindle injury because if he plays, I think we finished top four and I think we are still alive. So that's mine. Justin says, watching closely, Raleigh Pollard. He looks ready for the top grade.

[00:33:36] Wants your opinion on how to find a way to get him into the side next year. Love your work. That's from Fergo. Oh, Fergo's from a league. League 365 pod. Great podcast. If you haven't seen what they do, I'm sure it's audio too, but do a lot of YouTube stuff. League 365 pod. I think they're secretly Sharks fans, but they talk about NRL a lot. I think I've seen, who have I seen on there? I've seen Adam Ritson, the Chad man. Yeah. So they love the Sharkies.

[00:34:06] Great question, Justin. Thanks for your kind words. I too am with you on the Pollard train. And I think the way for him to get in is he'll be on that bench, a six-man bench. Maybe you bring him on like you brought Trindle on in, was it 22, 23 when he was coming on to play in the middle? I know it's not ideal. Or you could replace someone as well. You give Trindle a spell if we're winning, et cetera. I think you get him on for small moments. And then when it's his time, he's already proven he can go.

[00:34:36] Like he went toe-to-toe with Melbourne with that spine. So I'm a huge fan of what he does. And he's easily going to be our next man up. I think you'll see his little buddy Taj Ford sign on. And I think that the future is incredibly bright. But I take your point. Nico's here for a while. Trindle's here for a while. They're both in really good form. You're not breaking that up. But I do think that Rolly Pollard just becomes part of that system. Next man up.

[00:35:03] Whenever he gets the chance, chuck him in. He can tackle. I'm not suggesting I want him to be a tackling machine or a hooker. But I'm just thinking about when Trindle played in the middle for 10 minutes every game. It wasn't ideal. But it sort of answers what you're asking. Appreciate you, Justin. Thanks so much. Adam says, I believe Fitzy needs to have a look at his game. 2.30. He used the last interchange. Let me start this again, Adam. Sorry. I believe Fitzy needs to have a look at his game.

[00:35:34] Two and a half to go. He used his last interchange in Tom. We needed it 10 minutes before that. Trindle is the player of the year, followed by Kennedy and Braley. I felt there might have been a rift between Hines and Braley. It might have explained that one to me. There's no rift there. Yeah, the interchange is a bit funky. I'll say this in defense of the guy. It was all over the place, that interchange with what was going on. But I take your point. And Trindle player of the year. Noted, my friend. Stick around. We'll get to player of the year. I promise. I'm just going to jump over here.

[00:36:04] Jacqueline says, I really need round 23 onwards investigated. Yeah. I think that we're waiting for the ESPN 30 for 30 on that one. If you have any friends who can help us investigate in the meantime, please get it rolling. It wrecked the season, didn't it? It really did. You can sort of, a couple of them saying this, you can stomach a loss to the drags at Cogra. They were really up for it. Their young team are going to be better next year. I can cop a loss, whatever.

[00:36:31] But then to keep losing with that, in inverted commas, easy stretch, it was just nowhere near good enough. And you can see the frustration with the coach, with the players, the more it built. They had a win against the Titans. They had a near win against Melbourne Storm, near enough with a bunch of kids, which was great. Beat the Cowboys. But you're right. That slide, Jacqueline, was not much fun. Adam says, thanks for the year. You've been the Sharky of the Year in my books.

[00:37:01] Do I get a trophy or something? What's going on? That's very kind. Thank you so much. Also, let me know who your real Shark of the Year is too, please. Pete says, Knights have the game to beat Penrith and congrats on 900 episodes. Thanks, Pete. That's one OG right there as well. Lots of OGs in the house, which is great. I'm with you. I think Knights can beat Penrith. I think some things have to go their way. I've had the heater on and it's like December. Kieran's going to kill me. I think that Knights can beat Penrith.

[00:37:30] Things have to go their way. But I like what I see from them. I really do. They're on a roll. They're on a real roll. Jay says, one issue this season is playing Sydney teams at their home ground. We were one from seven in home games in Sydney away. Sorry. One from seven in away matches in Sydney. Our record outside of New South Wales was six from eight. Yeah. So the pros and cons there.

[00:37:56] You also say we should let go of Britain a year early to find a club for 28. If they take him, free up some cap space to re-sign Teague, have some coin to sign someone else for the squad. Since we have Billy Burns at the end of 2028. Yeah. Love to hear everyone's thoughts on that one. Thank you. I'm not, I'm not going to fight you on that one. I think that I can be talked around if the contract wasn't huge,

[00:38:24] but I feel like he wants a pretty big deal, which he's, he's right to do so. Overall, the seasons are past. 14 season wins and other finals win. Solid, but expectations of many Sharks fans. Can understand how it would feel like we failed in some avenue. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot being said today that everyone's doing their, their gratings of the Sharks and that's like, get that. That's fine. I definitely think it's a pass mark. It depends what your expectations were.

[00:38:51] Like we all sort of thought prelim or bust. I think I've even said those words. But as I said with Ash before, Ash Taylor, there's only four teams making that. Those prelims. We were just outside that and it sucks. It really sucks. If you look back at the game, Nico goes down. Trindle's got one shoulder. That's hard to win. It's hard to make a prelim from there.

[00:39:17] However, go back to what Jacqueline was saying round 23 onwards. Then there's an easier route to the prelim. So we have to acknowledge that. That's for sure. Daniel says, Hey Sam, love the Sharks. Very happy to be a Shark. Tough reffing again, but all in all, couldn't capitalize on all possession. We had sad not get the job done, but taking that away from the roosters. Very mature of you, Daniel. There were some tough ref calls.

[00:39:45] I feel like, I really feel like DCE should go to the bin. It's either a penalty try or go to the bin. Like it's a professional foul in the art of, in the act of scoring and art of scoring a try. The Ronaldo one happened in front of us where he just got taken out and that was just ridiculous. I don't know how they missed that one. So thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. Going to bring in an OG. If you're not an OG, you're still welcome. I assure you. But here comes an OG. That's for sure. Well, my friend, Nathan, how are you, Nathan?

[00:40:15] Good seeing yourself. I'm all right, man. Good to see you. What's going on? I don't know much. I thought I'd jump in and give my two cents. Please. What do you got? I thought that season in general, I thought it was a fail because I was looking at, basing that on our season last year. We made the prelim beating Cameron down there and playing, I don't know who we played. Melbourne? Melbourne. That's it, Melbourne.

[00:40:41] I thought with working off the back of that, we could probably make at least another prelimium or the grand final. I would have called that a good season. Yeah. But it just seemed there was a few games during the year where we weren't in it. I think it was either just the play. We didn't have the players to take us to that level again. I think especially that Dragons game, which we've harped on a million times, that was probably

[00:41:11] the downfall. But I found the Parramatta game the worst of the light. Absolutely. I wouldn't say we hit rock bottom, but that was pretty much the death knell for us. Yeah. I think that's fair. I really think that's fair. Because it was on the back of those bad games. They did come off the Titans win, but it wasn't a great win. But then the way they lost to Parramatta, I'm with you. I thought that was way worse than the Dragons game. Yeah.

[00:41:39] And it didn't scream to me, we're looking forward to the finals. We're going to go in, all guns blazing. And there was that mentality where people were like, oh no, they're waiting for their time. And it's like, well, you're waiting for your time, but you're drifting down the ladder. That doesn't make any sense. I personally don't believe that. I don't believe they're waiting. I think that it's got beaten. I think that's a cop out for people who say that. But I mean, with what was it? Four games to go.

[00:42:08] We were probably what? Third or something. And looking at like minor premiers even. And just really stuffed it up. If we knocked out St. George and Canberra, we would have been like the top four to be in our grasp. Easily. Easily. And probably with going in with full confidence, we'll probably roll a pair and, you know, stamp it in for a top four finish. Yeah.

[00:42:35] And I really think, to be fair to everyone involved, if you're a premiership threat, you do it easily. And I know that I'm sure the coach and the players would say to me, oh, it's not that easy. Like we're going to play this team who are up for it. They're young forwards. And there's all those things which are true. But you're coming off. I'm looking at it here. One, two, a five-game winning streak. And it's nine, ten. Ten out of twelve game winning record going into the Dragons game.

[00:43:05] Yeah. And it's round 23. And around the corner, you've got Canberra at home, Titans away, Parra away, Melbourne at home, 10-year anniversary, the whole thing. It's looking pretty good. I don't look at that and go, oh, this is going to be easy. Let's take it easy. I look at that and go, let's go blow some cobwebs out. Let's get some foreign against happening. Let's go win. Let's finish top two. And roll into the finals. But it was just the absolute opposite, man. It was weird. Very weird.

[00:43:35] Yeah, it was just a thing of we'll just think, is this going to happen? Like death and taxes. But no, those teams who come against just denied us of that. And we were probably a shark sort of looking at, is this a mentality thing? Or, you know, it was, you know, it showed, you know, 50 punching the computer screen. And that sort of thing.

[00:44:04] And that's all of us, how we felt. You know? Yeah. And we were screaming, you know, especially with Strindle thinking, oh, we put Pollard in. Simple straight up spot. And he puts in Parra and it's like, no, we want Pollard. Yeah. But we're not 50. We're just playing armchair coach. Yeah. I think on those things, Nathan, I can live with all that. Like I've already said, I wouldn't have, I would have gone with Pollard. I would have gone with Jones.

[00:44:32] But I can live with his decisions. Because I know that he can back them up with data and with opinion. And obviously he's just an immense rugby league brain and done it all literally. So I'm not, I wouldn't sit there and go, you were wrong. But I would sit there and go, I would have done it differently because of this reason. But I can live with him and his selections. I honestly, that's not a bugbear of mine. I know it's a bugbear of a lot of people's and that's fine.

[00:44:58] And for me, it's the team attitude of, I'm just looking at these losses in front of me. I've got Dragons at Cobra, Canberra at home. They scrape past the Titans and that's fine. All you got to do is scrape by. I don't care. That's fine. Lost really badly. 20 point loss to Parramatta. And that 20 points is sort of being kind. A tight one to be fair against Melbourne. Like to be fair, that I'm kind of discounting that because it was a bunch of kids. They were the better team. Last minute. I get it. That can happen.

[00:45:28] I thought we're good against the Cowboys. And obviously, I thought the Roosters was just kind of mostly, to be honest, circumstantial. I kind of just put a line to that game and go, I'm sure in years to come, people will say we got thrashed. But if we look at the fine details, there are reasons why it kind of blew out. There are reasons why we didn't win. We matched it with them in parts of the game. So I don't have a problem with the final series, but it's just a lead up to it. Anyway, we're getting a bit negative, which is fine.

[00:45:53] But we're here to celebrate 900 episodes, Nathan, of which you are part of about 834 of them. Who's your player of the year? For me, it's Trindle. I think actually everyone's jumping on that. I think it's Trindle. Okay. We've heard about your lowlights of the year. What was your highlight of the year, do you think? Like whether it was a team or like a result or a moment or a player doing something? Have you got something you can pull out of your hat for me?

[00:46:20] I thought our best game was against the Dolphins. Yeah, 66 to nothing. Yeah. That's what I thought. Like your previous call has mentioned, I thought this is it. We've clicked. Yeah. We can hit our streak. But yeah, I thought that was our best game of the year. Awesome. And what are you thinking for next year? What are your... I won't say expectations. So I think it's a bit too soon for that.

[00:46:51] But what are your thoughts on next year? So I think we've got nine guys leaving. Is it nine? Sounds about right. I'm not sure. Sounds about right. I think three of Steyn Linesat leaves six, five, six spots available. Right edge seems to be open for anyone. Like it could be Gabriel. It could be Leo Jacques. And I think Steyn Treats pretty much are given on the wing, barring injury and that sort of thing.

[00:47:20] So I think we'll make the top eight again because we've got enough players to get there. Yeah. It's not a rebuild. I think it's more of a, like you said, on the Coffee with Kieran podcast, it's more of a retooling. So you have to tweak here, tweak there with a screwdriver, if you will. Well, yeah. Yeah. Let's see what happens. You know, the off-seasons, we'll find out. Thanks for calling in. Really appreciate it.

[00:47:48] Appreciate your commitment to the show, your support. So you're a great fella. And let's look forward to 900 more episodes with you involved, my man. Nice, mate. We'll see you after the ET stand again. Yes, you will. I'll see you before that. Probably though, here or there, I've got a feeling. So take care and we'll talk to you soon. All right, mate. Have a good night. Thanks, Nathan. That is a legendary Nathan. And if you want to dial in, there's a link there to do so.

[00:48:17] No pressure to do so. That's for sure. Peter says, it's nice to have a platform. It doesn't get the rude arrogance of individual bitchiness. Whoa. Thanks, Sam, for making this show so enjoyable. It's my pleasure, Peter. I don't know what you're referring to. I don't need to know what you're referring to. But I take that as a compliment. And you're always welcome here. And ain't no one messing with no one on my show. That's for sure. Appreciate you. Jay says, I do hate the noise in the media about Trindle and Hines.

[00:48:46] They deserve one more final series to see if they can get it together. It's an easy target, Jay. And I'm with you. I agree. It's an easy target. Danny says, I know you're a Kennedy fan, but I think we get a shootout between him and Eisen during the trials. Thanks again for the hard work and dedication for SharkCast keeps people like me sane. You're very welcome, Danny. And I really appreciate your support all the time. I know we don't always see eye to eye, but that's how it is, man. It's fun.

[00:49:13] You know, certainly never anything personal between you and me or you and – or myself and anyone. I am a Kennedy fan, and I want you to go listen to the Kieran episode today when you have time because it might shock you with what I think about the fullback situation. And that's – that's not a spoiler. That's a – what am I trying to say? I haven't slept for a while. Yeah, let's see how young Liam goes in the offseason. I'm hoping you'll play in the grand final this week for the Jets.

[00:49:43] Serge says, I love Billy Burns kissing the badge after scoring against the Dragons. That was amazing. The 66-0 win versus the Dolphins and the Teddies a wanker chant. Great fans. Yeah, three great moments, Serge. Thanks so much. Now, the Billy Burns thing is bittersweet because obviously we didn't win that game. But I remember interviewing him that week, and I don't want to take 1% credit in him kissing the badge, but I remember revving him up pretty bad and asking him, you know, how he felt about those guys

[00:50:11] and they let him go and all this sort of stuff, and they didn't make him feel like he could stay and find his place. So that's me paraphrasing those words. The big win against the Dolphins was amazing, and the Teddy chant was really fun, especially if you were there, and it was very loud and reverberating around the stadium. Jay says, I thought Kieran was on fire with the latest episode. That's out today. I can be a little bit critical when he's a bit off, but I thought he summed up quite a few issues really well. Some praise from Jay for Kieran. How good's that?

[00:50:41] Let's go. So Kieran's the best, man. He and I, we just spitballed on that episode, Jay, and I think you know that. I'm just sort of reinforcing it that we just talk. There's no script. We barely have info in front of us, unlike on other episodes, and we just kind of go for it. Hey, everyone, stick around for Player of the Year coming up before we get out of here, all right? So you don't want to miss that. Lewis says, well done on the great season of potting from you and the regulars.

[00:51:11] We appreciate your work big time. Well, thank you very much, Lewis. I appreciate you and your support. You're from a great family. You're a great man. And I appreciate the things that we chat about. And I've already mentioned what they are in the past. I don't need to say it again on this episode, I don't think. But let's just say Lewis is my advisor of some sorts. Jay said, I'm glad you recognize Wilton on the weekend in the podcast. I think he's the sort of player we still need to keep at the club to hold up standards and push them.

[00:51:40] The fact he kept giving it his all. All I can remember, Jay, not I can remember. But all I can see is him jogging back so tired but still jogging back to be the first guy to do a hit up after receiving the ball from a kick in general play. And it's not putting slight on others. It's saying you should be like this guy. So I'm a teague guy. I don't know how high I want to go with the contract. Obviously, I want to be fair and reasonable.

[00:52:08] But I don't know if I'm breaking bank for my second rowers these days unless, like on the Kieran episode, which is earlier in the day we released, we can get someone who is a giant, literally a giant, and plays that role, very different role to our back rowers. This is a great message. This, again, I keep referencing the Kieran episode. So first of all, if you don't know the Kieran episodes, we do them Monday, Tuesday. They're very heavy on sharks and then a little bit lighthearted.

[00:52:38] And it's just like him and I hanging out talking. It's literally us in a conversation recorded, boom, upload. And Avocado Shark said, thanks for the podcast and streams this year, Shanaz. Hope you get down to the beach with the shoes off over summer. And that's a reference to a bit of a fun gag we had at the end of the episode previously. So go have a listen, watch that. Blake Braley for life said, all I will say is Jesse Colquhoun's a beast and will be the future NSW prop or lock.

[00:53:08] Braley and Trindle are also superstars. Very well said. Thank you very much. Awesome. Jay said player of the year for him was Trindle Kennedy second. Big shout to Jesse C. One big positive was seeing him get a full season in and more finals games. This guy, as we all know, has got big things ahead of him. Yeah. Great to see Colquhoun remain fit throughout the year. And I just had this page up. If you bear with me, Jay, you probably already know the answer.

[00:53:37] But this season, Jesse Colquhoun played 23 games of which he started 19. 23 games. That is awesome. So he was terrific in all of them. Our friend Tony has been in touch. He's an OG. He's an OG. He doesn't even need to say it. Thanks for another stellar season of the Shark Cast. As Luke Lewis calls it, congrats on 900. Thank you, sir. Love to you and the wife.

[00:54:05] And we should, you know, we don't want to get all like two sentimental Oscar awards here. But we should give a shout out to the other OG. And half our audience doesn't know who that is. The other half do. And the other half are probably 50-50 on him. I'm joking. I love the guy. I started this podcast with my buddy Adam Neiman. Neiman. And we're still good buddies. He's no longer on the Shark Cast through Choice. Hasn't been for whatever it's been, four or five years now.

[00:54:30] But, yeah, obviously it took a lot of people to get to this point. And he being one very important piece of the puzzle. Thank you, Tony. Jay says, Katoa tops the Sharks' triscoring list for the season for the first time since 2020. He ran hot with his triscoring when he came back on the team in the second half. Yeah, I think he came back. Pretty disappointing way to go out. But I thought overall when he came back, he was pretty good. Definitely going to miss him.

[00:54:58] I also concede that, you know, it's probably time to throw in a bit of fresh young blood. Future Dude said, Tricky is no doubt player of the year. Well, we'll wait and see. But you're saying player of the year. Stick around for the Shark Cast player of the year. Kennedy, one of the most improved. Colquhoun Rising Star of the year. Honorable mentions to Braley and Talakai. That's all pretty good. I should have stolen all that. Thank you. Lewis says, Plenty will point to the shortcomings and I'm here for it.

[00:55:27] But I'm pretty optimistic about next season. Plenty of talent coming through. Jones, Stoney, Gabrielle, Pollard to name a few. The NRL is a bloody tough competition. We don't control all things. Tricky shoulder, Nico HIA. And the Sharks don't exist in a vacuum. 100% behind Fitz to get the job done as a shark. So there's Lewis laying down the law from his point of view. Thank you very much. Danny says, Kennedy is his player of the year.

[00:55:56] This is amazing. All right. I'm going to note that one down, Danny. Thank you. Great stuff. Appreciate your contributions. Have got a bunch of mail I've got to point out. I'm skipping around here a lot. A lot of mail. That'll be another episode. So I want to pay good attention to that. People that took the time to write to us, to me, to us. So that'll be another episode later on. So lots of mail. If you want to keep it coming, you know how to do it.

[00:56:23] And just as a loose plan, we're thinking of Kieran episode every week. Every week, you know, if he can't one week, it's okay. We've got to catch up on the Ben Harlem recaps. That'll be starting as soon as really soon. We need to review the year with the players, the coaches. We need to recap what's going to happen on Thursday night at the Porter Gallon Awards. We're not going anywhere is my point. So make sure you're subscribed. It's free to do so. And you will never miss an episode. Jay mentions the draw.

[00:56:54] And it seemed a bit easier than last season with the nightmare run and with all the travel. And he's 100% right. Scott says, hypothetical scenario, Sam. Sam, let's say three years ago, we hadn't signed Kennedy, Nikara, or BHU. So we haven't signed Kennedy, Nikara, or BHU. But instead, we had a Kalen Ponga or a Hamizo from the Dolphins along with the rest of the current squad.

[00:57:24] Do you reckon we'd gone all the way by now? Sorry, but scenarios are fun to think about. I think with Kalen Ponga, we do, but I still love Kennedy. First of all, there's no sorries. There's no apologies. We love this stuff. You want to do a season of off-season series of what ifs? We'll do it, man. Send it in. It's a great question. I want to hear other people's opinion on it.

[00:57:49] But if we hadn't signed Will, Kennedy, Britton, Nikara, and BHU, and instead use the money to get a Ponga or a Hammer, would we have gone all the way? I think if Ponga is injury-free, I'm loving what he's doing this year under a real coach. The reason they are so good this year is their coach. And yes, I'm putting shade on the last coach, but I'm also praising the current coach.

[00:58:18] And under him, Ponga has become the man. I would argue before that, I wouldn't be paying Ponga the big bucks. I know on 360, I get shouted down. I wouldn't be paying Ponga the big bucks. Now I see him this year. I'm paying the big bucks. Do I think we go all the way with Ponga and the rest of our team? It wouldn't hurt. It can't hurt. We wouldn't go worse. Maybe you do. I'm certainly not saying we don't.

[00:58:47] Put it that way. Not sure if we do, but I'm not saying we don't. That's for sure. Adam said, I was dumbfounded. Adam Reynolds was going to sign with us before going to Brisbane. Do you mean from our point of view or his point of view? I guess you mean our point of view. I can see the metrics of it. Premiership winner. Great kicker. Like he's a great player, but he was certainly getting to an age, a lot of injuries.

[00:59:13] He won them a comp to be fair, but I don't think that was what we were destined to be doing. Jay says some advice for our friend Clinton. Is he going to do a season review? Jay said he has to make some time. Well, you know he's listening and watching. Whether it's live or not live, he'll get to it. Clinton loves the Shark cast, so he'll be hearing that, Jay. Loosh from Melbourne said, I think Nico is missed in the game, which tells me as good

[00:59:43] as tricky is, he's not a standout player on his own. Hear me out. He's freaking phenomenal. But I think the partnership with Hines is so underrated and it shows when either of them are injured. I know Puru playing with Hines when Hines was out and did well, but wasn't quite as connected when they're both in the field together. Does that make sense? It does make sense. It does make sense. I don't want people to think you're underselling Trindle because you're not. You just said you're not.

[01:00:12] But I think they are underrated as a duo, absolutely. And neither of them are probably as good without the other. And you made the point. You said it really succinctly. Thank you so much, Loosh. You said that when Trindle was the one on his own, well, he went a bit better than Nico when he was on his own. But when they're together, they are dynamite. And it was a massive change to that game. We'd lose our best combo. The whole thing just goes pear-shaped.

[01:00:41] So, yeah, I respect what you're saying there, my friend. Jay says, I'm going to miss Seamless Tuesday and talking about your beard, Sam. Oh, boy. The night's getting a bit long, Jay. The moon's coming out. Something's going on. Well, you'll still have us around, as I've said a few times. So make sure you subscribe and you'll be seeing the beard and you'll be hearing from us and you can razz us whenever you need to. Loosh says, when he says last night about the game, it still feels that raw.

[01:01:09] Or Jay says, we're missing that player who has electric speed off the mark. I think you'll be seeing a bunch of that next year. Now, we have someone calling in and I'll get to that person in a second, sir. One second. Wesley said, everything could have gone wrong, did go wrong. And sadly, that started about six weeks ago and not the last game. Big opportunity this year with the comping. So open massively disappointing. And Jay says, will I get Fitz on in the preseason in the coming months?

[01:01:38] It's always the aim and he's always pretty good, but I can't guarantee it. But we'll see how we go. I'm going to bring in a special guest right now. Potentially an OG. He can remind me. He comes. Paul. Hi, Paul. How are you? Hey, Sam. How are you going? Yeah, good. Thanks. I last saw you hobnobbing with the celebrities at Allianz Stadium. Was that last week I saw you? Was that or was it the Roosters game? Yeah, for the first time in my life. Was that on the weekend or was that last week?

[01:02:08] The weekend before against the Cowboys. Yes. Yes. That was fun to see. I was like, look at all these people with their money. Oh, there's Paul. How are you? What's going on? Yeah, not bad. Thanks. Yeah. I'm still a bit sore after Saturday. It was a tough one to take. Yeah, it's a tough one to take. I was thinking it's probably the most, for me at least, probably the most bruising Cronulla loss since the last time the Roosters knocked us out three years ago. It's a real tough one to stomach.

[01:02:37] Plenty of mitigating circumstances. The worst thing that could have happened was the first thing that happened with Nico's concussion in the second minute. Everything in the rest of the first half was pretty much just a case of firefighting. Firefighting. And that only got harder when Hirati went off as well. I thought we did it. I thought we'd done pretty well to get in at 1810. So the shed's at 1810. But, and even for the first hour, I thought we fought pretty admirably. But, yeah, it all fell in a heap after that.

[01:03:06] Which, yeah, understandable. I guess it's more, my disappointment is more, I don't know, certain things about Saturday night, but more about how we ended up in that situation in the first place through, as others have discussed, including yourself, the poor results and, more tellingly, some pretty slack performances in the last six weeks of the season. Yeah, I think that's... We probably would have had to beat the Roosters at some point anyway still, but it would have been nice if it was later than week two, I guess.

[01:03:36] Yeah, I think that's a really fair statement, Paul. Just on that breakdown of the game, so we scored those two tries in the space of, I think it was literally two minutes, and got it back to, I think it was, what have we got? 1210. 1310. Yeah. And then DCE scored a few minutes later, as you said, went to the half, 1810.

[01:04:02] And then for the next 12 minutes, we held them out, we had a lot of ball, couldn't convert it, and then the Watson try kind of broke it open for them, and it was kind of done. But they did well to hang in there, given the circumstances. I'll tell you, on a lighthearted note, what really annoyed me was being at the ground for the Roosters game, I had no idea that it was their home game in inverted commas. I understood they got to play there because they finished higher, et cetera. Yeah.

[01:04:31] But at 740, and they start reading out the Sharks team, and the guy's super low-key, he's like, Will Kennedy, fullback, Sione Katoa. And I'm like, oh, okay, this is what we're doing, fair enough. And then he goes, and now for your Roosters! And the colors come out, and the cheer girls come out. I was like, this is bogus. I thought it was neutral. Is it only neutral when you're in week three, or what's the deal there? Yeah, I'm not sure. I actually wasn't there on Saturday night because it was my partner's – we're having like a family dinner for my partner's birthday.

[01:05:00] But I'm not sure at what point does it become – because the NRL controls the gate-takings, right? But do they also – is it also an NRL official on the mic, or is it like – I think so. On the ground announcing, or is it like – I think so. I think so. But he was obviously very pro-Roosters. Anyway, I got over it pretty quick. But I found it a bit annoying. I was like, this is – there's like 50-50 crowd here. And anyway.

[01:05:30] Hey, how's your music going? Yeah, good, good. Yeah, I'm working on an album at the moment with the moderate themes, if you don't mind me plugging them. I'd love you to, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, just been recording lately, and I'm hoping to release an album next year. Cool. All right. Everyone check out your music. That'd be great. Before I let you go, because time's escaping us, who is your player of the year?

[01:05:59] It has to be Trinnell, doesn't it? I can't look anywhere else, really. I just wanted to make one point as well. Please. I just want to say one other thing about the difference between – what seems to be the difference between the Sharks and the very best sides is just little attention to detail stuff under high pressure. Just one example that stuck out to me was that the Roosters scored two tries from dropping a bomb on a sixpence, basically. And there were at least two of ours that ended up in seven tackle sets.

[01:06:27] And a third, by the way, which – just to be clear, I'm not blaming Trinnell for this at all. It's just one of those unfortunate things. But the reason why Hiroshi has to stretch every senior for that fault is because the kick is a bit uncooked, you know? Yeah, right. Just little things like that. Again, not his faults. It's one of those things. No, you're right. Definitely when I saw the second seven tackle set begin away, I was like, I don't care what's wrong with your shoulder. We can't be doing that.

[01:06:56] You know, if you can't do it, someone else needs to do it. But no, take your point. Thanks for dialing in. Thanks for being a long-time listener. And I'll hopefully see you out at a gig sometime soon. We'll do it for sure. Take it easy. All right. Thanks, Paul. Bye. That's Paul. He's an awesome dude. Do need to start wrapping just as a warning. And we're going to get to Player of the Year. But if you do want to call in for a quick call, I might be able to squeeze you and see how we go.

[01:07:20] So, Lu says, as baffling as the Haradi Jones decision was, it wasn't the reason why we lost. Daniel says, Bali ain't too bad. Up up. Jay says, can I get an update from Barnsley about when and what to expect the 27 merch range? And if we're sticking with Herman away, yeah, I can ask all that about that stuff. No problem. Maybe just remind me if I don't, but I can try to do that.

[01:07:46] Blake says, is the new signing Leo Jacques an instant starter or a work in progress? I think he's in between. I think he's in between Blake Bradley for life. I think that if he has a great off-season and good trial matches and a bit of luck goes his way, I think he might be able to kind of jag a spot. But I think we'll see him at some point. He's a very handy footballer.

[01:08:11] Something we're really craving, tall, broad, strong, experienced playing for the Waratahs, playing for junior Wallabies, played rep footy, lower level for league as well. So, Serge said, nobody's talking about DCE's trip on Teague. The score was 24-10. I mean, we have talked about it tonight, Serge, to be fair. I think that more people need to talk about it. I saw a bit in the press, but yeah, I'm with you.

[01:08:37] Future Dude said, Fitzy needs to end the no-youth policy, especially since Gabrielle Sounstreet almost guaranteed starting a right-edge pair. Need to see Jones, Polard Hassett get minutes, especially during the origin period. He won't have a choice. Won't have a choice. I think he wants to as well. I think he's excited by it, to be honest. Alex, who I was hanging out with the other week, said, I think Fitz needs to go next level as a coach in 27, pick performing players. Can't be loyal if players are not performing.

[01:09:05] Players need to feel like they perform weekly or maybe in reserve grade. I think we saw more of that as the years have gone on. Alex, but I take your point. Thank you very much. Wes says, I think we'll need to buy at least one more experience forward and back. And you're mentioning AJ Brimson. I mean, he's not going to come cheap, my friend, so I don't know if that's going to happen. But I take your point, and I think especially in the forwards, we'll need to buy someone. Matt says, how am I feeling after the loss, the results? Thank you for asking, Matt. Appreciate that.

[01:09:33] I'm feeling, yeah, not happy, pretty disappointed, a bit low, totally fine. But it's just kind of numbing, right? Like what a way to go out, losing 46 to 10. Your halfback goes down in the first minute. Your center goes out 10 minutes in. And I thought they really battled hard. They did some silly things along the way. But to get within two, then within eight, et cetera, they hung in there. They gave him a bit of a scare.

[01:10:02] But it was never really going to work out with two guys on the bench, essentially, for three quarters of the game. The Roosters are just stacked. So I was realistic throughout the game going, well, this isn't going to end well. But yeah, I'm okay. Thank you. Wes says, David Hatch was tough. He sure was. Brendan says, congrats on the 900th episode. I have to give special mission to Jesse Colquhoun. He was huge this year, and hopefully will be the cornerstone of our pack for many years to come. Thank you for the praise, Brendan.

[01:10:31] And I completely agree with Jesse Colquhoun. Daniel says, I'm proud to be a Shark. Couldn't capitalize possession of points. Not happy with the refs, but happy with our effort. Couldn't take anything away from the Roosters. Very mature. Thank you. Fugidoo said there needs to be some ruthlessness, ruthless aggression, in regards to some regular players in the squad. If they can't perform, they need to be granted early release or not have their contract renewed.

[01:10:58] Anthony says, I hope every Sharks fan watches the New South Wales Cup grand final this year. Some great young talent coming through. The Sharks juniors are second only to the Panthers. And I love that. I love that. Oh, our friend Paddleport Puckeridge is here. And he said two words, which you can see on the stream. I'm not going to put it up because he's a moron. He or she's a moron. And one of our greater agitators, Paddlepop Puckeridge. So you know how I feel, man. I know how you feel.

[01:11:27] So let's go. Let's go. He was right. We lost. Have a good night, Paddlepop Puckeridge. And I don't mean that. Daniel says, Shark of the Year. Braden Trindle for all the money. Blake Braley was close. Alex says two things we need to work on. One is defense structure and attack structure. That's pretty essential. I'm with you. And you're saying just get a bit more tricky with the second rowers.

[01:11:57] I love that. Scott says, did Nico get the blame for a poor performance again? I think there's some buffoons out there who have said that. Probably the Paddlepop dude starters. But he allegedly, not allegedly, someone said, it might have been Kieran said that he apologized to the team. And it was like, you don't need to apologize, bro. Jay sending any chance Brad Fernley get the top 30 contract next year? I don't know. But he's pretty good at what he does. Big bopper. So maybe. Maybe that's the way we're going.

[01:12:25] Daniel says, my low was the negative media on Nico and much more rubbish. Really? Future dude is correcting me on my Paul Heymans. Thank you very much. I am skipping through some of these. I'm recognizing them all. But I just need to get out of here is the only problem. Danny said, missed a bit of the show. Do you think Fitzy changes up a bit next year? I do. I do think he does. I think youth come in.

[01:12:51] And I think you'll see Taj Ford a shark next year in some capacity. He'll be on the contracts. That's my opinion. Peter says, I've been a shark supporter since 67. My boys grew up following the sharks. The worst thing about this is my wife is a better supporter. Steve says, thanks for everything this year. When do you get time off? When I choose to, my friend. Not for a little bit. That's for sure. Hope you're well.

[01:13:19] Dion says, thanks for the shows. They've been great this year. Looking forward to next year. Don't go anywhere, Dion. We're not done yet. But thank you so much. Jay says, thanks for the hard work. I think your podcast and the other podcast editor of the sharks are the best by far out there in podcast land. It's very kind for all of us, I'm sure. David says, thanks for your commitment. I'm on public transport without plugs. Oh, no. I mean, oh, yes. Hello, everyone listening on public transport.

[01:13:48] Marky Marks says, Trindle is player of the year. Thank you very much. Congrats on 900 EPS. Thank you, sir, so much. Thanks for being involved. Brendan says, highlight of the year was Kennedy pick up and Trindle's 45-meter field goal against the Warriors. And I think I'm with you. Oh, my God. Denny wants the switching of the halves to six and seven, seven to six. As does Diggs, 96. H-Man, our old friend, says 900 episodes, amazing achievement.

[01:14:18] If you had to name your top three podcast moments from your head, what would pop up? That's a great question, dude. I might need to get back to that one. Let me take a screenshot on that one, H-Man. That's how my life is now, taking screenshots. Three top moments. Oh, dude, there's so many. As far as like, I always talk about the grand final night, and that was a special occasion because of the podcast, but I'd say maybe Shane Flanagan bring the trophy on the next day or two after that.

[01:14:48] That was pretty special. I loved the other week when Paul Gallon jumped on with Dave Riccio. That was amazing. But honestly, anytime I get to talk to a shark, whether it's a staff member, a player, a former player, interviewing Nick Graham, dude. Luce said, I'd love to see a Q&A on here with you in Fitzy. I reckon he's brazen enough. We're a spoil bunch. He'd do it with me, not with you, lunatics. Grunge Meister Fuzz said, just got here late despite the Sharks Exit was a fun ride.

[01:15:16] I'm still seething from the finals Exit 2015 vibes. Cheers to 26. Don't go anywhere, my friend. We've got more episodes this year. Danny said, we should do a live Christmas podcast. Love to attend. All right. Let me look into that. We are going to hopefully do some more live stuff. So let me look into that. Another screenshot. Thank you so much. I love these ideas. Don't ever hold back people. One quick look over here. Nick says, hopefully next year the refs turn around the penalty count against us.

[01:15:46] Yeah, great point. MJ Gonzalez says, love Shark Cast as much as I love the Sharks. Most importantly, you are a genuine person. We go again next year. Thank you, brother. Appreciate it. Hello to Phil Bailey. Thanks for making one of my dreams come true. Even Phil Bailey talking about Bruce Springsteen. Go back. I think it was last year, end of last year. We're going to have more Old Boys Days episodes this summer. So stay tuned. Drew says, I noticed we've got a C rating by Fox Sports today. I think it's slightly harsh. I agree.

[01:16:15] And I now would like to announce our player of the year. Sorry, it's all a bit rushed. I just got to get going. We're back. Don't go anywhere. We're back. But I would like to announce our player of the year. Here were the final nominees for player of the year. Here come the final nominees. If I can just get my act together. You ready? If you're listening, I'm going to run you through it. Nominees of the year. As I get rid of Danny's comment.

[01:16:46] Braden Trindle in no order. Braden Trindle. Will Kennedy. Blake Braley. Sifat Talakai. And Jesse Colquhoun. So this is from all the co-hosts on our show. I'm not going to list them. There's six or seven, eight of us. And we've collated our thoughts. The final tally for 2026 Shark Cast Player of the Year. We have in no order. Trindle. Kennedy.

[01:17:16] Braley. Sifat. And Jesse Colquhoun. That's who we've listed as the top five sharks this year. Nico Hines missing out. That's a bit harsh. However, with a drum roll. A bongo drum roll. I would like to display and talk through our Player of the Year. And its dramatic effect. Our Player of the Year.

[01:17:46] Player of the Year is not me. This guy. Braden Trindle is the Player of the Year. The Shark Cast Player of the Year. A phenomenal season. Absolutely phenomenal. Played on with such strength and such maturity. Led the try assists for us and almost in the NRL. 35 try assists. He had 24 line break assists. He ran the ball a bunch. He scored nine tries. He kicked 11 goals.

[01:18:16] He kicked a great 40-20. And I think just showing that prior to the end of the season with his just playing on. I've rarely seen that from a shark. We've had Gavin Miller. We've had Paul Gale and lots of great guys play through adversity. But really stood out to me that Braden Trindle was a phenomenal shark. He's really proved himself. I think he's cemented himself as a legacy player. And there's a lot more to come.

[01:18:44] So on top of all that, he just was phenomenal with the ball and a real maturity this year. And Braden Trindle is our 2026 Shark Cast Player of the Year. And I'm super excited to let him know that. And we'll do that this week. There you go. Braden Trindle. So Susan says, congrats, Sam. Love the podcast. As long as I get my Kieran fix up up. Kieran was not going anywhere during the week. You will see it. Kim says, well-deserved. Tricky. Lucia's commenting on the spelling. I hope I got it right.

[01:19:14] If I didn't, there you go. Wes says, congrats on 900 episodes. Thank you so much, Wes. Braden Trindle is our Player of the Year. We've been here for an hour and a half. Sorry to love you and leave you. But we are getting out of here. And thank you so much to everyone. 900 episodes. There's more coming. Don't go anywhere. Subscribe. Subscribe. Subscribe. It's all free. We'll have more episodes for you really soon. So not the way we wanted to end the season.

[01:19:41] At least in this Shark Cast community, this universe, we get to have some fun. We'll talk to you soon. Stay subscribed. We're not going anywhere. Don't think we're going somewhere. We're not going anywhere. Get in touch with us. You know how to do it. Subscribe, like, share the whole thing. But from the bottom of my heart, 900 episodes. There's going to be another 900. Stick with us. It'll be bigger and better next year. That's my guarantee. Lots of things in the works. I cannot wait to get into it.

[01:20:11] Craig says, go the Jets. I completely agree with that. And Lucia's congrats on nine bazillion episodes. Thank you so much. Up up, Cronulla. Let's just get out of here with our regular intro song. That's our goodbye song. See you later. Up up. Let's go. Shark is! Shark is!

[01:20:40] Back in the Shire. Turn your porch lights off because we're coming out with a trophy. Shark Cast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire, Jason Hawes from Crips and Crips 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

[01:21:09] the region, the person you need to be talking to is Jason Hawes from Crips and Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Crips and Crips Real Estate. Closed Captioning by Crips Real Estate.