Rd 10, 2026 South Sydney vs Cronulla Preview with Matt Bungard (ESPN/Boom Rookies)

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[00:00:54] Welcome to SharkCast, part of podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world. The mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. Here we go another episode and another match game fixture against the mighty South Sydney Rabbitohs, the pride of the league as they call them.

[00:01:22] And the pride of the league is represented on this show by the great Matthew Bungard, long time friend of mine, former colleague, currently at ESPN and of course one half of the boom duo. Like what I did there? The NRL boom rookies with Campo. Matthew, how are you? Good mate, I think we're technically a trio now with Josh Reynolds on board every Tuesday. So yeah, going great. Let's keep the growing there. Going fantastic.

[00:01:52] Do you write for ESPN as well or am I making that up? I just sometimes feel like you don't know me at all. Yes, Sam, yes, I write stuff for them every week. I know you, I know you. Thank you for reading, I appreciate it. I know your favorite indie songwriter is probably, and I say songwriter not band, is probably Elliot Smith. That would be correct. Well done. All right. You've redeemed yourself. And I know your favorite football team is Leeds.

[00:02:18] And if you lower the camera, you were, probably still are wearing a Baltimore Ravens sweatshirt. Yeah, I am. There's also, you can see the banner of my shoulder there as well. So this is Matthew Bungard in one foul sentence, but he's here to talk about the mighty rabbit-oes against our mighty sharks. But as you made reference on your episode on Monday, and yes, I do listen to you. This is the who are you going for Bungard game. It's really not, is it? It never gets old. It never gets old. Why would it?

[00:02:48] Yeah. You weren't at that final week. No, but you are the face of the 2026 sharks membership campaign. Yeah. It's like 80% of the reason why I shaved my mustache off. So go back and watch the Canberra week two final. Is that right? Week two? Yep. Like many of us do from last year, you'll see Matthew in every third shot. It's pretty funny. It was, it was a funny. It's the best. It's all right. It's fine. I mean, yeah, sitting there in my Leeds United jacket, clapping politely like a dictator.

[00:03:18] Yes. Let's leave that there. Now, you going well? You good? Yeah, sure. Fine. Okay. Um, I'm glad, well, I'm glad we didn't do this yesterday, Sam, because it would have been a lot more positive before about what? Three o'clock yesterday afternoon when that news about Latrell Mitchell came through. Now, I don't even know what the point of this is or what the point of the game is, but um, yeah. So you're saying that you were resting your possible victory on one player?

[00:03:45] No, I was saying that having the best player in the sport right now, not playing, swings the pendulum from one team to the other, which shouldn't be a controversial statement. Uh, Latrell Mitchell is playing out of his mind at the minute. He, even though they lost last week, he was the best player in the field. He has been doing things on the football field at left center that no other human being alive can do. And to now have him get injured almost out of nowhere a little bit is devastating.

[00:04:11] It's also coming at a really brutal time because there's now a chance that if he doesn't play for Souths next week, he'll be fit the week after that. Straight into the origin camp to A, possibly re-aggrant that injury playing for a team that isn't paying him a million dollars a year. And B, missing several more games for Souths during those origin weeks. Yep, well said.

[00:04:30] So what was, you know, shaping up a South's best season in half a decade as in the space of a few hours just brought me right back down to earth with 2023, 2024 and 2025, which were all bitter disappointments laced with all the best players, including Latrell Mitchell, getting injured all the time. But what's beautiful about this story, and we will get to team one up soon, but at the moment, at the moment, Latrell Siegwaltz is coming in. Latrell for Latrell, like for like.

[00:04:59] Well, I went through the five stages of grief when all this happened because I saw that and was like, oh, at first I was like, well, you know, it's just. His name's Latrell. They've made a mistake. They put the wrong Latrell in the team. And then I got, then I, then I tried to bargain. Then I got angry. I was grief stricken and I finally accepted it. It all, it all happened very fast. I accelerated through the five stages at rapid speed, Sam. But yes, Latrell Siegwaltz might play. I'm not sure. Do you want to start talking about the game? Is that all right? I'm not sure whether he will play.

[00:05:29] They've signed Mawala Graham Taufer from the Warriors last year, played a little bit of first grade for them. He was a big part of that New South Wales Cup team that dominated last year. For the Warriors, he is an out and out centre. He's played a couple of times for South in fill-in roles as a winger. But yeah, he is a centre and he has some NRL experience. I think he scored a really good try, really good solo try for the Warriors in a game last year.

[00:05:55] But I would suspect he's more likely to play than Siegwaltz. And they're just doing a little bit silly buggers. There's also an outside chance that Talis Duncan plays there. I would hate that. I think that's less likely because they did do that. Second row on second row. Well, yeah, exactly. But they did do that a lot last year. But I think that was more because they didn't have anybody else to play centre due to all the injuries. And Duncan made a good fist of that. But he's been one of the best back rowers in the competition this year. And I think when you're going up against the Sharks, you have elite back rowers.

[00:06:25] You need to have your best players playing in their best positions. And I think the two times this year that Duncan did play in the centres, it was once against Canberra when Jai Gray got hit in the head and Latrell had to go to full back. That went disastrously. And then last week against the Knights when Jack Whiten went off, Duncan played in the centres until half time. And then to Wayne's credit and to the South's coaching staff's credit, they identified that that was a mistake and brought Graham Taufer onto the field. He weirdly played on the wing and Campbell Graham played centre. I would have preferred them to stay the other way around, but whatever.

[00:06:53] And Duncan went back into the back row. So I think it's unlikely that Duncan plays centre and that would be, I think, be the worst of the three options. But I'd like to see either Siegwoldt or Graham Taufer play there on Saturday. I do think as it stands, it's a pretty good back row clash. You and Aitken, Talus Duncan, Cam Murray, Britt Nickera, Teague Wilton, Cam McInnes. Like that's pretty solid. Yeah, it's, you know, some really good players. I'm a little bit mad at you and Aitken.

[00:07:21] And he dropped the ball off, you know, one tackle after the kickoff last week when Soutts had just completed like this ridiculous comeback. And Luttrell scores that try and they got 38-36. And I go, well, we just get through this set up to points. We'll win the game. And second tackle just drops it. I was like, yep, great, cool. But overall, he's been a pretty solid player for Soutts when he's been on the field in the last two seasons. I do agree. Nice to see Cam McInnes back. Of course, a former Rapido himself. Always a guy I've had a lot of time for. But yes, you're right. Like Teague, Wilton, Dallas Duncan, Cameron Murray especially.

[00:07:49] That's three, I think, elite players right there. So now we'll come back to lots of things. But let's go to the interchange bench because since Tuesday 4 o'clock, I've been losing sleep over this. But then I saw some respected figures who, shall we say, work in our world, Matthew, this morning. And they said, I don't know if you need to worry about that. And that is Matt Dufty at 14. Is he a guarantee interchange player for you as in he's going to be one of the four? Or it's a bit up in the air?

[00:08:19] No, I think that he probably doesn't come onto the field unless there's a backline injury. Which, given the way Souts have been going in the last few weeks, could happen. What do you mean? What's the issue with that? Was he in 14? Does that matter? Maybe it's the only jersey that fits him, Sim. He's not a big guy. I just figured they'd bring him on after 50 and run him through the middle and he'd score eight tries or whatever. I mean, I'm okay with that as well if you are throwing that out there. I'm all right with Matt Dufty scoring eight tries in this game. I would be pretty surprised.

[00:08:49] Like, I think it's a certainty that Mamazellos, Totala and Hubner come onto the field. Elliott didn't play last week. That was kind of sad for him because, of course, they had to bring on an outside back instead. And he was the guy that was kind of left out of the shuffle. But you raise a good point. Like, with no Bud Sullivan this week and no Jamie Humphries either off the bench, perhaps they will look to Dufty to sort of play that roaming, just run around when everyone's tired role. Which is a pretty, you know, a role that he could probably do pretty well because he's very fast.

[00:09:19] And he comes on at the R mark. Like, you know, with the way the speed of the game is at the moment, both teams are just gassed. You're not wrong. So it'll be interesting to see how he's used. But like, yeah, I'm not certain he'll play. I would go, I would, I would assume they're just going to use the four guys I just said. But it wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world, especially, you know, because they've got, they've got you and Aitken who can play the whole game. Talis Duncan who plays the whole game. And Ken Murray usually plays like 65 to 70 minutes and can play the whole game.

[00:09:47] So like when you've already got Hubner and Totala coming on to spell Murray and Keon and Kepi, then maybe you don't need Adam Elliott. So, and Totala of course coming for bench too. So maybe, maybe, I don't know. But I think the only thing that's guaranteed with their bench usage is again, unless there's an injury, Bronson Garlick will play the first 20 to 25. And then Peter Memozels will come on. Other than that, I can't tell you exactly how they'll use their bench, but that is certain unless someone gets hurt. Tell me how Souths have been going.

[00:10:12] I know that last week was a pretty shocking loss in the sense that they scored 38 points and really should have won the game. Like literally, like it's just crazy. It's chaos. But I mean, defensively, I looked at where you sort of sit in the stats and that kind of thing. And you're going pretty good compared to years gone by. But then I saw a game like that and I was like, what's going on with the D? But where, as someone who keeps a close eye on them, where should I be looking at that defensively?

[00:10:39] Are they going to do a job on us on the weekend or how are they sitting? Oh, God, no. Like, what are you talking about? Did you watch that game on the weekend? I did. If your left side with Iroh and Wilton gets, and with Kennedy coming off the back of shape so well as he's done so many times, if they get an ounce of space running at our right edge, they're going to score a boatload of points. Iroh's got hat-tricks in his last two games, right? Like, yeah, I'm terrified. The way the sport is at the moment is disastrous.

[00:11:08] I can't really, I don't really enjoy watching it at the museum. It's disgusting. And like, you know, I was happy for you and your Sharks ilk last week to get that big win over a good team in the Tigers. But the fact that because of the speed of the game and the ability that a team can get, you know, a team can get on top and just stay on top due to the way the rules are at the moment. Like, you know, the Tigers have not had a bad performance in a game this year. And yet in the second half of that game, I think they got over halfway, like two tackles in the second half. Cronulla would just camp down there.

[00:11:34] And then the flip side of that is like a game like you played in Perth against the Roosters where the reverse happened in the second half of that game. You barely touched the ball. So like if we have one of those first halves like last week when you, like, Seattle had two completed sets that weren't first tackle penalties or the try they scored off Sean Keffy. They had two completed sets in the first 25 minutes of that game against Newcastle last week. And that's, that's, and that, and that period Newcastle scored 24 points.

[00:11:56] If they drop the ball repeatedly in this game again and invite the Sharks with Iro and, and, and, and Wilton and that, and that spine swinging around. Like it's going to be, it's going to be curtains before, before Pete Mamazos even comes on the field at the 25 minute mark. I'm so worried about that. If South are going to win this game without Latrell and now it's, it is infinitely more difficult again. Like I think even in those Raiders games, the Raiders game and the Knights game, right? Like where they were down 24 nil and I think 24 to four or something like that in that Canberra one.

[00:12:25] Where both of those games entirely self-inflicted. The Canberra one was a disaster. Like they threw an intercept. They considered two length of the field tries. And then I think the other try was like Campbell Graves dropping the ball on first tackle out of yardage and the Sharks and the Raiders scored off the set after that. Like completely just gifted both the Knights and Raiders 24 point and stuff. And yet in both of those games, I was like, well, you know, with the way this sport is going at the moment with all the six again shit. If we just get a roll on and Cody and Trello are on the field, anything's possible.

[00:12:52] And in both of those games, South came back and basically almost won the game and had the ball on the other team's trail line on the last tackle of the game to score a try to win the match. Didn't end up happening either time, but they did, right? I don't think that can happen this week without Latrell there. So, well, sorry, with the big Latrell, the small Latrells playing. So I don't think that can happen this week. If South have another disastrous first half, like they did in those Canberra and Newcastle losses and Cronulla are up 20 nil at halftime, they're going to score 50.

[00:13:21] Like that's just how it's going to go. South have no chance of winning this game. South need to be the team that gets the early, like South need to be the team that gets the early errors from the other team and gets a few sets down the goal line. Like they did against the Finns in round one, like they did against the Storm for like that middle period of the second half. South need to be the team that gets up 18 nil in this game because like the Sharks can, the Sharks will kill them if they get a stiff. Let me ask you this then. So it was always going to be great left hand defense.

[00:13:49] Sorry, great left hand attack against great left hand attack. We're taking Latrell Mitchell out of that equation. I understand it's not going to be as lethal. Yes. And I'm assuming they're still going to go to that side though. Because you still have Cody. You still have Johnson. That's it. Yeah. Two guys. Yeah. But I'm just saying like, you know, maybe Jai Gray gets in there. Jai Gray usually pops up on the right hand side, but I get your point. Yeah. Look, Grayback's massive.

[00:14:18] Like Dufty's made a good fist of things. He's fast. He plays that role really well. But I think in a game, especially like this one without Mitchell, having Grayback is pretty important. Yeah. But no, mate. I think they will have to diversify the point of attack a little bit more. I think that's a good point you make. They have scored a fair few points on the other side of the field. But this year, like Talis Duncan, of course, has a whole bunch of tries playing right back row. And Campbell Graham's chipped in with a few as well. Like they can score points on that side of the field.

[00:14:45] And that's why it's been so heartening for me this year is that they not just like that. Obviously, that left hand side is still absolutely elite. The best edge in any team in the comp. But like I was heartened by the fact that they can go the other way and get to points there too. But Jack Wharton's not playing either. And he's been a big part of that right hand side. So, like, yeah, just what a disaster. What an absolute disaster. They went from like having one of, I think, the best centre duos in the competition in Mitchell and Wharton to having Campbell Graham, who should be on the wing, and Latrell Seagwald, who's never played first grade in the space of a couple of days.

[00:15:15] So, great. It's just so, it's just great that this happens to this team every year. That they get the most injuries of any team every year. And I have to sit here talking myself into playing a game against the Sharks in front of nine people at Homebush Stadium on a cold Saturday evening thinking, yeah, this guy's never played first grade. And Ashton Ward, who's played three first grade games and all these other guys, they're going to beat the Sharks, who scored 50 points last week. Give me a break. God, I hate this sport. I can tell you that our left side, defensively, is not very good.

[00:15:46] Like, at all. Now, KL, historically, you know, two years or whatever, has been amazing. But this year, not so much. So, you might have a chance out there if you go that way. And especially Stone Street. The whole, it's not just those two guys. That whole combo hasn't been great this year. Yeah. No, like the Sharks. No, I, yeah, I take that point. Like the Sharks, I was very high on the Sharks in the pre-year. I picked you to be the minor premiers. The Sharks have been, like, quite disappointing at times.

[00:16:16] They've had really, they've had good performances. Like, that game against the Warriors was pretty good. The game against the Sharks was pretty good. But, you know, they were awful against Penrith. They were horrendous against the Dolphins. And the first half hour against the Roosters was great. But then the next 50 minutes was very, very poor as well. And that Cowboys game, just throw that out. That's in that Knight-Souths basket of there's too many tries. This shouldn't even, this shouldn't even count. This is nonsense. But, like, again, they just leaked so, so many points. So, yeah. Yeah, it's interesting with the way the sport is at the moment.

[00:16:46] I feel like Souths, the Sharks, the Cowboys, a few of these teams are kind of all in the same basket where they can't. Well, no one can really defend at the moment, right? But, like, they especially are teams that thrive on just being that team that has the ball. Like, we started with the Dolphins last night, right? This is why Canterbury sucked this year because they don't have a good attack. And they didn't have a good attack last year and they won games on their defense. You can't really do that this year. You can't win games on your defense. They had the ball on the Dolphins' line for 25, 30 minutes last night in the first half. Only scored the two tries.

[00:17:13] And as soon as that swung the other way in the second half and the Dolphins had the glut of possession, the Dolphins almost scored 50. And teams like Souths, Cronulla, Newcastle, the Cowboys, the Dolphins, the Roosters, they can do that. And then the other teams can't. And that's why those teams are going to struggle this year. I think only the Warriors and the Panthers can really win games on their defense. And even then, like, the Warriors, maybe, like, yeah, I think they're the only two. But, you know, we're getting away from this game. I think you're going to win is what I'm saying. Well, that's good news. The Sharks haven't won a penalty count since last August, I believe. Who cares? I'm just letting you know. You want the ball? It's a way to get the ball.

[00:17:43] Great. If you want a six again count. Tell me about Ashton Ward. I like Ashton Ward. I'm a big fan. I would have played him over Humphreys even if Humphreys wasn't bit. I believe they were going to do that anyway because Humphreys was originally named on the bench and then has dropped out of the 22 with an injury. I just think he compliments Cody Walker the best out of any of their Harbs options. I've not really seen much of Jonah Glover. I think he might have actually got first crack at it, but he broke his jaw in the charity shield. But, yeah, I saw a little bit of Ward last year in first grade. He was okay in a team that was getting pumped every week because, you know,

[00:18:13] two-thirds of the salary cap was sitting on the sidelines being injured. But his kicking game is pretty nice. He's composed. And he's got the sort of gumption to overcall Cody Walker when he needs to as well, which I think is a valuable trade for any halfback in this system to have. I think his kicking game in round one against the Finns was very, very important. Yeah. And they really haven't had that since he went out of the team. I like Jamie Humphreys. He's very handsome. He's definitely a first-grade footballer. Not sure he's a halfback. And, yeah, so getting an actual halfback in the team, again, is exciting. That is a big swing towards South.

[00:18:41] That makes me feel a little bit better that they got Ward back. But then, you know, the stench of Luttrell not being there is far more upsetting. Now, speaking of halfbacks who may not be halfbacks, but really great players and very good looking, playing his 100th game for the Cronulla Sharks, Nico Hines, the 80th player to do so. He's in pretty good form. I'm loving the way he's playing. Last week was obviously a highlight for the year. But I think that, thankfully, he's going under the radar. We don't need him in the media. We don't need anything to do with that. He's going about his own business pretty nicely. What do you make of Nico this year?

[00:19:11] He's been all right. I think Trindle's been the biggest success story, right? I think he's been, like, he's really made... When he appears, yes, when he appears. But sometimes he doesn't appear. Sure. But by and large, it's been the games where Trindle's had the majority of touches that I think Cronulla would look better in. And I think that's a good balance because I think Hines is just an out-and-out second receiver. I know they wear the opposite jerseys. I know Hines wears the seven and Trindle wears the six. But it's kind of like those old Dragon seeds with Seattle and Hornby, right?

[00:19:40] Like, we all know who the seven is. And it's the guy wearing the six who organises the team. But yeah, they're going good, mate. They're fine. I like... I like... The Sharks have a good team. I like the spine. Braley is in the origin conversation and deserves to be. And Kennedy, I think, has really had some nice attacking patches in a lot of games this year. I've never really understood why your fans are so divided on him. I think he's a really good player. Yeah, we talk about it on every episode. Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, the forward battle.

[00:20:08] I think, like, Sean Kempick is actually playing really well for South at the minute, which is not something I expected. We've got the battle of the mascot Jets in Keon Kalamitangi against Adam Finnell Blake. That's exciting. They're two of the best, you know, ten props in the game. So that's cool. And then I guess kind of a lot of it does hinge on what the other forwards do off the back of that. I'm hoping we get bludges from Kofusi, Hazleton and Rudolph. That would be great. Because if that happens, then maybe if South win that middle battle, they can build some pressure. Have the game camp down, Cronulla's end, and pull off a victory.

[00:20:37] But you get Colquhoun coming off the bench as well. And he's been, to me, the most improved player on the Sharks team this year. He's great. I really think he's awesome. So, yeah. It's an intriguing game. I'd tip South with confidence if Mitchell was playing, but he's not. So I think Cronulla will win. Did you happen to see what they did with Kofusi last week? In what sense? So he came on pretty late in the game. The game was kind of over. But he came on probably 55, 60th minute and ripped and teared for 20. And actually had a high impact in those 15, 20 minutes.

[00:21:07] Like, you know, 80 meters, offloads, that kind of stuff. 15 minutes? And he had a season high in meters? That's pretty good. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, it was a really interesting way to play him. Because they went a bit more mobile. The closer prop. We don't see that. Interesting. Yeah. But he's, I mean, aside from Hazo, Hazo actually had a good return to form. But, yeah, there's Billy Burns, there's Colquhoun, the more mobile forwards. McInnes is out there as well. But then they left this big bop, Kofusi, till right, till the end. And he just did a number on him. It was great. I don't know if that's going to be a regular thing or not.

[00:21:36] But I really liked the way he did the bench last week, which... I guess. But, I mean, can you ask for a better situation to come into as a forward? I agree. In the 65th minute of a game where you're kicking the shit out of the other team and they haven't touched the ball in 20 minutes? I know. But he could have just lazied around and done a few hits. Like, he was really doing a great job. I guess. I don't know, man. Like, that game last week was an abomination. Like, Cronulla were just... Like, they had so much ball. And, like, I don't know if we can really take anything from the game.

[00:22:14] That's the vibe I got. Well, maybe. Did someone ask Craig Fitzgibbon about it afterwards? Why didn't you? You could have done some journalism. You could have asked it. Maybe I was asking him other stuff. Were you? Yeah. But not that. Oh, maybe you should have. It's an interesting point. Because you're right. They don't usually just keep a forward on the bench for 65 minutes. If it becomes a pattern, I'll ask him. I guess. Yeah, true. Yeah, yeah. Now, what else can you tell me? What else is going on with this Rabideos team? I know you're down on the fact Latrell's not there.

[00:22:44] But let's keep in mind that there are going to be 17, maybe 18 guys playing. So... It's a really good team. The three games they lost was an arm wrestle against the Roosters, which was a really good game of football between, I think, two really good teams. And two games where they just threw the game away against Canberra Newgals. And they've won every other game. So, like, they're going pretty good, I think. I think they're a good team this year. Like, I've said repeatedly that as long as Cody Walker, Cameron Murray, and Latrell Mitchell are on the field, this Souths team can beat anyone. And that is true. So, I do lose a substantial chunk of confidence without him.

[00:23:15] I really, really hope he comes back next week up there against the Dolphins at Magic Round. Because, like, again, like, the Dolphins are a team we saw last night. You give them a half an hour with these six-again rules, they can score a boatload of points. But, like, they're also very bad defensively. I think there's, like, 13 teams in the league that if they'd had the ball that Canterbury had last night would have been up 30-0 in the first 25 minutes of that game. So, Souths being one of them. Sharks being another. So, if he plays next week, that's great. But then the annoying thing is you get into the Origin season.

[00:23:44] It's like, wow, he's going to miss these two games for Souths. He comes back. Then he's in the Origin team. He misses another two or three games for Souths. Yeah, thank you. All the press, all the tweets from journalists, not myself excluded, is like, oh, what a disaster for the Blues.

[00:24:12] Or, now he's going to be okay in two weeks. Oh, this is great for the Blues. Phew, what a relief. And it's like, well, he's going to miss two games for the team that pays him his wages, who are having their best season in half a decade. And as a result of Origin, he's going to, A, maybe re-risk that injury and, B, also miss several more games for this team. And it's like, we just don't seem to care about the derailment that it can have on club football seasons. That's always been something that's annoyed me, Sam. But I know that's... You are speaking my language. I say it every year, three times a year. Absolutely.

[00:24:41] I completely wholeheartedly agree with every single thing you just said. Yeah, it frustrates me because, like, again, Souths are going good and they're relatively healthy for the first time in three or four years. Brandon Smith should be back soon. Jack White will be out for a few weeks of that broken arm. That's all right. He'll be okay. Even Jai Arrow has been training again, apparently. So they're getting fit. Jai Gray's back this week. They're getting dudes back. Everything's going great. And then their best player's got this back injury that was plaguing him last year as well, apparently. And now he's going to go into origin. It's just... I don't know, man. It just kind of sucks.

[00:25:10] We're just lucky that the comp's a bit flat this year. With the exception of Penrith and the Warriors, like, it's all good. Like, you can maybe afford to drop a couple of games in the middle of the year if you can get everyone healthy and finish strong, which, you know, maybe they can do that. But at the moment, I think, like, if you're asking me to rank the four best teams in the league, they're up there for me. They have the third best points differential of any team right now. I think they're really, really good. But they are more dependent on the health and fitness of their star players than any other team. And they're also the team that's most vulnerable to the health and fitness of their star players.

[00:25:40] Like, you don't spend week to week as a Sharks fan going, jeez, like, jeez, I really hope Nico and Braley and Faneel Blake don't get injured because they don't get injured. But all of our guys get injured all the time. And it's just a horrible way to live, Sam. I can't stand it. But, yeah, we'll see. Overall, I think they're going pretty well. I always like South's Sharks games. You and I talk more. It's great. It's a great way to be. Yeah. Yeah. We don't win them very often. Well, we used to win them pretty regularly. We don't have to breathe in recent years.

[00:26:09] Although last year was crazy because, like, Souths were really, really bad. Like, that Gosford team, Lewis Dodd started in that game. Remember him? I remember. I remember the game and I remember Lewis Dodd. That game had Isaiah Tass, Talis Duncan in the centers, Jack Whiteman, Lewis Dodd in the hards. Ryan Gray started at hooker. Like, a bunch of dudes. Like, whatever. And the Sharks were basically very, very close to full strength with the exception of Kay Oliador. And it was two tries each.

[00:26:37] And so, like, yeah, sure. Give me another game like that where Cronulla blow a million chances. Like, maybe we have a chance. But, like, yes. My endearing memory from this rivalry is the first week of the 2023 season, Souths ended up winning by nine points at Shark Park. Not the point of the... Lachlan and Lesbow, like, he's only ever good game for Souths. That's not the point of the story. The point is, we get into the ground and the ground announcer... I'm sure you know who he is, the MC. I don't know his name. It's not important.

[00:27:06] But they do, like, their... I don't know if they still do this year. I'm in a Shark Park this year. But, like, do they still do, like, the member of the week gets to come on and be, like, the game day... Game day steward or the game day MC or something? There's something to do with, like, giving the ball to the ref or something. They have some job on the field on game day, right? Anyway, it's, like, half an hour before kickoff and the MC's doing the classic, like, fake MC voice, fake happy, Hey, Sharks fans! Like, and here's our member of the week, John from Woolaware. And it's like... And it's like... This guy gets on the mic and he's like,

[00:27:40] the MC guy breaks character and goes, Mate, seriously? I think that might be my mate, Dane Wheeler. It sounds like him. And you know what? It killed me. John from Woolaware is awesome. What a legend. What a legend. It absolutely killed me. Like, the MC, like, stopped the big happy fake voice. It was like, Mate, lifelong dream? Come on. Hello, tough. Not everyone gets to go on there, Matthew. Not everyone has the shiny green pass. It's a great pass to have. I think... It's a great pass, yeah. I'm very thankful every day. Mate, I tell you,

[00:28:09] like, just on a semi-related note, because of that, like, I'm well aware of how much things cost. I'm a man of the people. 40 ticket prices are something that I've, like, not really kept to track because I haven't had to buy one in, you know, a decade because I've media passed. But, like, 40, 50 bucks to stand on a hill at Leichhardt. Like, how much is it to be on those hills at Shark Park behind the goals? I think it's a bit less. I'm not 100% sure because I'm in the same ballpark, but I think it's, like, maybe 30. It's still something crazy. 30's not horrendous, but, like, what are we doing? Like, especially when, like, the NRL wants to keep talking about how much money they make

[00:28:39] from TV and how the game's thriving about record profits. TV reviews have never been higher. Look how great we are. Blah, blah, blah. It's like, well, subsidize the people going to the games then. Like, what are we doing? Like, it's like governments bragging about surpluses, right? It's like, who the hell cares about a surplus? I don't care if a corporation or a government has a surplus. If you have money, spend it on the people. And the people, in this case, are paying 40, 50 bucks for general admission tickets for general admission tickets to a football game.

[00:29:08] Like, what are we doing? It's ridiculous. I think our friends at the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, they do their couple times a year where it's like 5, 10 bucks and you sit sort of a bit far away, but it's still going to get in. And it's incredible. And every club should do it because it's the lifeblood. And the amount of money football clubs make from ticket sales, especially the Sharks who can only let, like, 50 people in. Like, they don't, it's a drop in the ocean compared to other revenue streams. It always drives me crazy that that's,

[00:29:38] that clubs will continually raise ticket prices when it's such a tiny sliver of the pie. I don't know. Anyway, just need to get that off my chest. As a seasoned ticket holder, I agree as well. But I think that given these are such hard times and people genuinely can't afford to go to the game in some instances who've loved the game all their life, et cetera, I think you're right, man. I think you're 100% right. That's, you know, for all of your heel attributes, the baby face comes out and I love it. Great stuff, man. Oh, man, you don't know

[00:30:08] what hard times are, daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work. They got four or five kids, can't buy their wages, can't buy our food. I'm not going to do the whole thing. Shout out to Dusty Rhodes, though. But, um... The American dream. Make sure you say hello to your mate Grayson for us as well. You can, I'll give you his number. You can text him whenever you want. It's fine. He loves you. I appreciate that. Should get him on for the Roosters, pretty good. Great night in Vegas. Yeah. Yeah. Have I seen you in person since then? Yeah. Have I? Yeah.

[00:30:38] Are you sure? Yeah. You're saying that, like, with confidence, but you're not telling me where... South Sharks game somewhere. No, because it was in... Remember, it was in Gosford and I didn't go. Or was that two years ago? No, it was two years ago. There was a game at Shark Park last year, but it was like a... It was a Saturday Arvo game in, like, round three or four and we got absolutely... We scored first and then got pumped. I don't think I saw you. I don't think I did, Sam. Well, I hear that you're doing impersonations of me in... I have done impersonations of you

[00:31:07] for a decade plus. It's for anyone that will listen and it's a smash hit every time. If you know Sam and his mannerisms, like I do, like, they're great. Yeah, the other game was in Gosford last year. Neither of us went to that and I certainly didn't watch it with you. So, yeah, I don't think I've seen you since Vegas. So, yeah. Well, a great night. You, I attended and you did not. So, on you. Shout out BDC. You know who your real friends are. All right. Can I leave now? You can. It's a great exit too. All right, bye Sam.

[00:31:37] Love you. Thank you, everyone. Just, just hang on and we'll do the professional outro. Thanks everyone for watching. This has been the Matthew J. Bunghard from ESPN slash Boom Rookies. Go subscribe to the Boom Rookies on your favorite podcast. Why are you laughing? What's going on? What's the J stand for? Nothing. I always thought you were Matthew J. Was that just a Simpsons? I am. No, I am. What's the J stand for? I'm asking you what the J stands for. John. It is John. Look at you. Matthew John.

[00:32:06] If you want to follow a gentleman who loves his sports and popular culture, shall we say, he's your guy. Matthew J. Bunghard. Thanks everyone. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Best of luck to the Sharks for the rest of their season apart from this weekend. Really appreciate it, Matthew. Everyone else will talk to you soon. Up up Cruella. Let's go. SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire, Jason Hawes from Crips and Crips Real Estate.

[00:32:35] 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 and Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Crips and Crips Real Estate. Sharkies! Sharkies!

[00:33:04] In the Shire! Turn your porch lights off because we're coming home with a trophy.