Rd 15 Warriors Away 2026 - Fitzgibbon Presser, Your Mail

[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

[00:00:26] They've got a Facebook page, or you could go old school and call them on 029523 9300 Back in the Shire, turn your port slides off because we're coming home with a trophy.

[00:01:05] Hey there, 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 and OG from 2015. The show is brought to you by Dyson Logistics Pty Ltd, the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Port Hacking and Jason Hawes Crips & Crips Real Estate. We are in Warriors Week. We are over in New Zealand. Saturday, 5.30pm Sydney time. Work out the rest for yourselves.

[00:01:32] It's a bit of a shorter turnaround for everyone involved because we have had the Derby last Sunday at 4pm over at 6pm. We did a post-game show, the Sharks did their recovery on Monday, etc, etc. So it's a bit of a whirlwind week in the NRL. Lots of news flying around. And this episode you're going to hear from Craig Fitzgibbon in a short press conference he did in New Zealand. And we've also got some mail to get through.

[00:02:01] So without further ado, we might just go straight to the coach and then we'll do some mail after that. Fitzy, the team's won three straight in a row. What have you been pleased with during this period? Yeah, Ben, obviously our defence needed to improve a little bit. Going back, probably had a warble there a few weeks ago and conceded too many points,

[00:02:28] which was uncomfortable for our liking and simplified things a little bit. And sometimes the changes to your team can help that simplification of how you want to play. And we've had a number of players in and out. So I had to focus on the basics, which has served us well. And sort of getting back to more spirited performances and sort of performing like the team want to be. Yeah. From your perspective, it's been pleasing to see the depth of the squad step up this season.

[00:02:57] What can we expect for this game? Oh, look, it's the worst part of the job as a coach. You want to give everyone a game and an opportunity at some time. And it's been fantastic to see the guys that have got an opportunity walk in and understand the role. And we've prepared for that for a number of years now. We've been pretty stable with our squad. And we give a lot of training reps and a lot of time to our players to make sure that if they do get an opportunity, they're ready.

[00:03:25] And it's been really enjoyable to watch them take it and use it to the team's advantage. And yeah, we love giving guys an opportunity and thankfully they've done well. K.L. Ito, up to his 50th NRL and Sharks game this weekend. What stood out to you most about his development? Oh, the thing I love about K.L. more than anything is probably felt like I held him back for a long time, K.L.

[00:03:53] And there's just a couple of parts of his game that I thought he needed to work on. And the thing I respect and love most about him is every week without fail he'd be in my office and he'd go through it. And we had a bit of a criteria that we wanted to work through to make sure that his improvement would get to where it was. And as soon as he did that, he took his shot. And once he took his shot, he's never looked back. So his perseverance and grit just to keep turning up and working hard on his game has been impressive to watch.

[00:04:20] And he's only, he hasn't played 50, he's only played 50 games or 49 so far. So he's got a lot more upside as well. With your origin players unavailable, Nicko and Blake sideline, what opportunities does that create for the squad? Yeah, again, more opportunities for some players, but the biggest opportunities for our team, our club. And we'd like to think that we're all in, we're all in together.

[00:04:48] So it's a perfect opportunity to show how much that means to us and to be sharks and to stick together. And it's not man down, it's man up. So we'll see what that looks like. And it'll be a difficult challenge obviously playing over here. Lastly, Warriors in New Zealand, one of the toughest road trips in the NRL. How's the team looking going into this game? Yeah, look, it is, it's a, yeah, they're coming second for a reason. They're not, they're, yeah, they don't beat themselves.

[00:05:18] They're very competitive in all areas and they do the simple things really well. Play the percentages and they've got some, some strike that can hurt you at any time. So the challenge for us is to make sure we put us out on the field, the best version of us. And we're in our illusions as to the challenge that is, but we're excited by it. Like we want to play against the top teams and measure ourselves to see where we're at. So we're looking forward to that challenge, but we know it'll be a hard one. And Rayleigh for Hines. Hazelden, slips a pass away.

[00:05:46] Kifushi, he keeps it alive and scooped up by McKinnis who dives over next to the upright. All right. That was the coach of the mighty Cronulla Southland Sharks, Craig Fitzgibbon. As usual, discussing a few very important things leading into the game. And it's KL Ito's 50th NRL game. In a lot of ways, it seems like more. He debuted a couple of years before his second game. So there was a big gap in there. Debut on the wing actually. But congrats to KL.

[00:06:15] A really great center getting better with every game and also a terrific club rep off the field. And he's got a long future in the game. He'll have some family in the house as well. A lot of the boys have New Zealand connections. So it'd be a bit of a personal battle over there. But the number one priority, of course, is to get the two points. I've said it on a few episodes this week. The closer we get, the more confident I get.

[00:06:42] I think the teams kind of level out a bit more. I think we'll see some changes to both teams in the 24 hour period before kickoff. So check your team lineups. Particularly an hour before. We have done some eps this week. I just haven't had time to promote them like I normally would. But we have had a flagship style episode with a fellow called Rich Ossington, who's a long time Sharks fan.

[00:07:09] I've known Rich socially for a while now. And he is the person behind Rocky's jerseys. And a lot of Cronulla jerseys that he has picked up and also passed on for a small fee, so to speak. He buys and sells jerseys as a lot of people do these days. So give Rich a listen on the flagship episode. And also a follow on the Instagram, Rocky's underscore jerseys.

[00:07:35] We also did a Kieran episode and we did a team list episode. So there's a bunch out there. If you're not subscribed already, please do via your audio podcast platform. Also via YouTube, via the social medias, which is X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, believe it or not. Alright, let's get to some mail. I appreciate everyone writing in. And these are in no particular order. David was in touch. And David is very much a part of the Joey Manu tinfoil hat brigade.

[00:08:05] And this is a little bit late, this reading out of this email. But David thinks Joey Manu is coming to Cronulla. And we've said it on the show before that there's a chance. So we'll see what happens there. But thank you, David. I had a smile at the very least at your correspondence. Paul was in touch after the derby game. He said Sunday's derby was one of those where the rivalry is of secondary importance. Because we really, really had to win. Thankfully, Sharks did the business.

[00:08:33] Clicking into gear after a clunky 45 minutes in possession. Fitzgibbon gets a lot of stick from our own over a perceived reluctance to change the team. To start, Nickerow was a brave call given his poor form. A show me something move which was well and truly vindicated by the player. 12 games in is always a good time to take stock. We're not quite where we wanted to be. But several of last year's contenders are in worse positions. And the surprise packets in the top six aren't guaranteed to stay there, of course.

[00:08:58] These three home wins have earned us some breathing room ahead of a tough and potentially rough month on the road. Gets the other side of that with our overall winning record intact. And the possibilities are plentiful. Cheers. That's from Paul. Thanks, Paul. That's awesome. I don't know if I agree about the rivalry being of secondary importance, but you knew I was going to say that anyway. Very insightful words. Thank you so much. I like the point about Britton Nickerow. Everyone had sort of written him off. But the coach obviously hadn't.

[00:09:27] And, I mean, Queensland haven't either. So, I think he's starting next week. So, there's obviously something still there in Britt. We just were missing it for a little bit. He was a little bit not involved with the ball. But as we saw against the Dragons, over 150 meters and plenty of hit-ups. So, good stuff. Thanks, Paul. Appreciate you. Sharky Pete says, Congrats on the 800 episodes. I'm a bit late to the party. I've been a keen listener for the last three or four years. Really appreciate and enjoy what you do.

[00:09:56] The ep with Nathan Brooks was a great one. Always interesting to hear a different view of the Sharks from someone outside of the Sharks universe. Thank you very much, Pete. I appreciate that and I appreciate your support. It doesn't matter whether you're listening for three years, one episode or 12 years. It's all important to me. Whilst, obviously, I'm very, very appreciative of people who've been listening for 12 years. It's circumstance. I understand people probably might just turn on to us this week and discover SharkCast and go, Wow, there's 800 episodes. So, that's why we're always telling people to spread it around.

[00:10:26] There's only so much one person can do in promoting a podcast. I'm really happy with what we're doing and how we're going, but the more the merrier. So, I appreciate you, Pete. You say you've been pretty happy with the team performing up until now. A few ups and downs, but overall, trending in the right direction. You're going to the Sharks vs. Warriors game. My wife bought us flights and tickets for the game for Christmas. I'll try and take notes and do a bit of a game day experience for you. However, I should warn you, I'm no journo. All the best and up up, Sharky Pete.

[00:10:54] Well, that's amazing that you're going over there. What a terrific occasion. Hope you have a great time. Don't worry about not being a journo. I mean, there's only a few journos we like. One of them being Dave Riccio. Have a great time. Get the win for us if you can. Ash has been in touch a day one OG. He's not a fan of captains challenges. It needs to be addressed within the room with Fitzy and the playing squad that we need to work on captains challenges properly. Look how other teams do them and watch them.

[00:11:23] Whatever Ronnie challenged last night wasn't necessary. He's also quoting another podcast. He's not happy about the challenges. Ash, it's spur of the moment stuff. The coach probably has a way to tell the players not to do it unless they're 100% necessary, but in the heat of the moment you kind of lose it. I personally wouldn't be challenging until, you know, after 60 minutes or maybe if you needed to protect the line before half-time. That's how strategic I'd get, but I don't see it as a huge problem, my friend,

[00:11:52] because I think that the actual system is kind of weird. But I hear what you're saying. We don't have a lot of success there. Thanks for being in touch. Thanks for being an OG. Sean says, Hi, it's been a while since I've sent a message via email. The Manly result could be our most underrated win this year with our Mark here, play out injured, state of origin level hooker, getting injured halfway through, and KL ruled out before kickoff and then talks about that performance against Manly.

[00:12:21] You say you still think we lack the ruthlessness and you want to see us put teams away, not like a Panthers 68-0, but to stamp down a result. Hoheba is a must-resign as soon as possible. I think he's the perfect player with the new rules, mobile forward, big enough body to break tackles and make tackles. I see him as our long-term lock moving forward after Cam moves on next year and then I'd move Colquhoun to prop with AFB. So as far as the ruthlessness goes, Sean,

[00:12:51] we've seen a couple of big wins this year, but the interesting thing is most of the games have decided by 20 points or more. It's maybe us coming back like we did against the Dragons, but that second half was pretty ruthless, I thought. But I understand what you're saying. I do. And I agree with everything you said about Hoheba. You said many episodes ago, someone wrote in to say that the 2016 grand final, Luke Lewis, should have been a try. After careful examination,

[00:13:20] and my opinion only, the bunker would rule that momentum carries the attacker short of the line with the ball carrying the arm making contact with the ground. You're saying it would have been a double movement. In that instance, Ben Barber would never have scored that try. Melbourne get momentum and go on to win the match. Oh no. So a lot of praise there for Luke Lewis. He also talks about a question we got. I can't remember who it was from, but we've got a question that we've been talking about quite a bit about the game we would change the result of. And for him, it comes down to two games.

[00:13:50] Option one is 2022 final against the Cowboys, because then we go on to play the Eels in a prelim. And then make a grand final. Option two is round five against the Raiders, where they scored a last minute Hail Mary try and got the win, which I think was, was that last year? The win gives us more points in Brisbane, and finish fourth and play Canberra in Canberra. We beat them, then we go on to play Penrith, coming off a tough win against the Bulldogs. The Sharks having the week off. We go on to the grand final. Keep up the awesome pod,

[00:14:19] and hopefully I make the cut time-wise. If not, I can wait till the next one. No, you made the cut of some sort. But thank you so much, Sean. I really appreciate all those thoughtful insights. And very fascinating, especially about the games you change. I think that Cowboys won in 22 is pretty, pretty heartbreaking. And you're right. Like we go on to play Power, and we can beat Power in a prelim. That year at least. Thank you, Sean. Hope you're good. Appreciate you and your kind words and your insight.

[00:14:49] Next up, we have Jono. Thanks, Jono, for being in touch. I need to reply to you personally. So we had a bunch of people being in touch about, I guess, just saying thanks for sticking up for the club last week with all the shenanigans surrounding the lies on our other podcast about the Sharks moving house. And I'll try and reply to everyone personally if I haven't already. But please know I've got your mail, and I really appreciate it. A bunch of people who didn't really want to be spoken of on the podcast.

[00:15:19] But I do appreciate those people. I can say names, I guess. There's Jono, there's Peter, a whole bunch of other people. So I'll try and get back in touch with you when I can. Kyle was also in touch about the Sharks rumors last week. A Juz has been in touch. Said, super glad the Sharks re-signed Kennedy, but just watched Isen set up three tries for the Jets. We are super spoilt for choice at the moment. Yeah, absolutely. And it's great that you saw that. And it's great that he's doing that because we're going to need it at some point. Whether it's through injury to Kennedy or when Kennedy leaves us,

[00:15:47] possibly at the end of next year, Isen will be ready to go, I assure you. So it just wasn't the right timing to let Will Kennedy go. He's in supreme form. But also, Isen is not where he should be given the injuries. That's all. So appreciate that Juz. And I agree, he's a big talent. Jack says, up, up. Drew has been in touch about a few things. Another club's podcasting scenarios. And I've been following that a little bit since he's let me know. So thanks for that, Drew.

[00:16:18] That's the Parramatta Eels scenario, I should point out. Oh, there's mail from Josh up in Queensland. That's always fun. He said, hope all is well with you. Happy to be off the win-loss rollercoaster. We're on for the majority of the start of the season. Three good wins in a row. In all three wins, we've only played one half of good footy. But it's been enough to get us the win. The fact that Cronulla and Will Kennedy finally came to terms and then Will proceeds to put in close to the worst half of the season from him is interesting.

[00:16:45] A huge silver lining was it didn't affect him or how he attacked the game and came out after halftime and produced his best half of footy for the season. So unwrap, we've signed him for another year. Yeah, that's interesting. I heard a little bit about that. I mean, I saw him make some errors in the first half. I didn't think it was hugely diabolical, but I did see the errors to be fair. But yeah, second half, he was great. Challenging game in New Zealand. And you're talking about how Trindle's been shouldering the load of the playmaking with Puru growing in confidence each game.

[00:17:15] Happy to see Oregon Kofusi name this week. Keen to see him get some meaningful game time. I think he provides plenty off the bench with his offload, ruck speed, and lateral movement in defense. Fully healthy, I still think there's a spot for him every week. As much as I love Tom, it's probably at the expense of his minutes. Keen to see how this group goes on Saturday evening and can't wait for the game. Up up. Grinola, that's from Josh, who's a good mate of ours. Yeah, on Oregon Kofusi, I think he's a very underrated player and he has a lot of great attributes.

[00:17:43] He needs to produce them week in, week out, but I'm happy he's getting some game time, assuming he's going to get that game time on Saturday. And you're right about everything you say. Like, you're a student of the game, my friend, and I appreciate your input. And absolutely, Will Kennedy, first half, probably not up a scratch. Just bad timing with that signing, I would suggest, if the contract had nothing to do with that. Mentally, I wouldn't have thought, but second half, he was fine to go, which is awesome. A lot of chat on the Insta. Appreciate everyone over there.

[00:18:14] Steven has been in touch with praising T. Wooten. He said that Fitz commented, it's been the first time in ages he's been injury free and it's showing his performances. What I love about him is his consistency and intent through the whole game. Other players may have more highlights, but he's always there with a good shot, poking his nose through with a step and great energy. He's always the guy barking at the troops in the huddle or half-time. He seems to have a lot more confidence in his body and leadership role this year. Watch T explode the rest of the season.

[00:18:43] Love the pod, Steve. I'm a huge T guy, Steve. Thanks for that so much. Really appreciate it. And you're right. I think we need him to really go a long way. He's starting to come really good this year, which is great. Right up next, we had Lewis. And Lewis helped me out with a bit of a situation. He's my political advisor, shall we say. So thanks Lewis for that. And he also sent me a photo of him outside Ocean Protect Stadium at 4pm.

[00:19:12] They went to the hairy man for an extra beer. Sorry, I missed you there. And then when they got to the ground, there were 14,988 people there. Who knew we could fit that many in? So he left it a little late getting there, but he got in and had a good time, which is the main thing. Thank you for the photo, Lewis. Claudia was in touch and said so happy for Will Kennedy. So deserved for him. And we both agree on that, my friend.

[00:19:39] Wade has been in touch and sent me a clip of Will Kennedy scoring a length of field try. Another boring try by a boring football team, which is a shot at our mate Retro Rugby League, I think. Which is fun. It's all fun. I think that's all the mail. If I've missed anyone, because there's been a lot coming in, then just forgive me and I'll get to it. Please know I appreciate every single bit of correspondence. So thank you so much. I'm looking forward to the Warriors game, Saturday, 5.30pm Sydney time.

[00:20:06] I hope it's going to be two competition points for us. I'm confident. I'm growing in confidence. We'll see what the final team lineup is. We're about two hours away from naming it as I record this, the 24 hour one. That still won't be the final team, I don't think so. Wait and see on that. If you're ever in New Zealand, whether you're from there or you're traveling, I know a few people are traveling. Have a great time. Have a great safe, fun time and bring back those two points for us. All being well.

[00:20:34] Post game show after the Warriors game. The best way to stay in touch with that kind of thing is be on our social media. I appreciate if you don't have social media or you don't like using social media or if you're too young or maybe you feel like you're too old, whatever the story is. I don't like social media. I just use it to promote things basically, to be honest. That's a whole other story though. We can talk about pros and cons of social media some other time.

[00:20:57] Point is, if you're on the socials, if you're on X, if you're on particularly Facebook and Instagram for us, also TikTok, it's a good way to stay in touch with us. And particularly on, I would say Facebook and Instagram at SharkCastPod. And I'll usually message about a post game show if I have time. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I just go live, which is why it's best to subscribe to us via YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.

[00:21:22] But if you are on those accounts, stay tuned there and I'll try and have communication about the post game show, but I'm hoping it'll be straight after. So it's always fun. Get in touch. You can call in. You can dial in. You can have your screen on, screen off and just talk with camera on, camera off. In other words, you can leave us comments and they always end up in a audio podcast later on.

[00:21:45] So I don't feel like if you're not watching live, you're going to miss out, but you will miss out on having your say during the show. I guess it's the point of the live show. Anywho, appreciate everyone. Say it a lot. I've met it every single time. For those of you World Cup-ing, enjoy your World Cup. If you're in Melbourne, late advertisement. If you're in Melbourne, I'm playing a show on Sunday afternoon at the Coburg RSL. It's an all-day band artist show.

[00:22:13] And I think there's a small door admission, but it'd be worth your time. Six or seven great acts. And I'm playing in duo mode with a friend of mine from Melbourne. So we're going to play a bunch of songs. About a 45 minute set, maybe 50 minutes set. And love to see you there if you want to come down. And we can even talk some sharks if you come down. But no stress there if you can't. But if you can, Coburg RSL. The event's called Fuzzy Events. That's what they call the actual show. Fuzzy Events.

[00:22:43] And there's six or seven bands and I'm playing as a duo. Talk to you all soon. Let's get that win on Saturday evening Sydney time. Up up, let's go! SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire. Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate. He's an expert in the 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,

[00:23:10] the person you need to be talking to is Jason Hawes from Crips & Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450. Jason Hawes, Crips & Crips Real Estate.

[00:23:27] Back in the Shire. Turn your points lights off because we're coming home with a trophy.