Sam Shinazzi and Kieran Fraser: Coffee/Flagship Show!

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[00:02:20] Hey there, welcome to SharkCast podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sauvignon Sharks.

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[00:02:36] My name is Sam Shinazian, OG from 2015,

[00:02:40] one year removed from the glorious 2016 and

[00:02:44] we're now in a very good season of 2024.

[00:02:47] Hey everyone, thanks for bearing with us. We've done less shows than we wanted to lately, but I feel like we're gonna get one out today.

[00:02:53] So thoughts and prayers to both myself and to Kieran Fraser who's on the other end of the line.

[00:02:59] We're going to do a hybrid show. He doesn't know anything that we're gonna do right now, but we're gonna do a hybrid show of

[00:03:05] catching up with Kieran over coffee about Cronulla into the flagship show.

[00:03:10] So we're gonna put it all together and this will be your content for today in the coming days.

[00:03:16] Kieran, hi, how are you?

[00:03:18] Hey, I am buzzing.

[00:03:19] I feel like we should just be playing that biggie song non-stop at the moment because life is so good in the Shire.

[00:03:26] It is just

[00:03:28] absolutely buzzing. The Sharkies, a team that has filled me with such trauma, has just given me no issues at the moment.

[00:03:35] They've given me just love and joy and it's just such a special time to be a Sharks fan.

[00:03:39] It's kind of surreal at the moment, but I cannot wait for Saturday.

[00:03:43] I am so excited. We were just talking before about some of the plans for Saturday for things we could get up to.

[00:03:49] It's gonna be one of the great days at Shark Park hopefully.

[00:03:51] Yeah, well we'll get to that. You're peeking early.

[00:03:55] A lot to get through before Saturday and we will cover that hopefully today.

[00:04:00] Yeah, you're right. The only thing we can complain about this year is one loss.

[00:04:03] It was a bad one, but it was a long time ago and

[00:04:07] there is not going to be a lot of criticism in this episode of the

[00:04:11] team or the game that we played. There's a few things we're gonna talk about which are negatives, but my god they pale because

[00:04:20] it's a bumper year. Hopefully it just keeps on rolling on. A long way to go.

[00:04:24] That's the kind of, not unfortunate thing, but the interesting thing. Could get better, could get worse, could stay the same.

[00:04:31] Two of those three options are pretty good. Now

[00:04:34] we didn't talk about the Melbourne game, you and I. Just give me some brief thoughts on

[00:04:39] how much you were bursting after that Dan Atkinson performance.

[00:04:44] It was one of those situations where

[00:04:47] before the game

[00:04:48] I think I messaged you and

[00:04:50] the news was breaking that Nico wasn't playing and things like that and I kind of said

[00:04:53] I think you know

[00:04:54] it's not really, I'm not really fazed by it just because of the style that the Sharks are kind of playing at

[00:04:59] and it proved to be correct.

[00:05:01] They played super direct, he defended so well.

[00:05:04] He was, his kicking game was really surprising to me as well.

[00:05:08] His kicking game was really good and he just led the team around and it's one of those things that we've touched on

[00:05:12] a few times this year is these players that are coming into the team.

[00:05:15] They really look like first graders even though they don't have a whole lot of experience.

[00:05:19] That was probably what his fourth or fifth game and his first game starting in the halves, right?

[00:05:24] So it was a really unique situation where he got called in at the last minute.

[00:05:28] And they didn't skip a beat but it's just that forward pack that we've got right now.

[00:05:33] It's unbelievable versus the Storm.

[00:05:35] That's a game where historically we joke about all the time that

[00:05:38] I never want to go down to and you messaged me after the game and said that you blamed me for not going.

[00:05:43] So apologies for that.

[00:05:45] Yeah, I still blame you for that.

[00:05:46] I mean I've forgiven you but I can't let it go.

[00:05:49] Like that's one of the great wins you and I could have been celebrating but

[00:05:53] it's okay, they got the win, that's the main thing.

[00:05:56] We rolled into Magic Round Suncorp.

[00:05:59] Storylines are abound of how we still need to prove ourselves and

[00:06:04] this will be the big test and

[00:06:06] we know now in hindsight, we knew anyway that that storyline is not going to go away.

[00:06:10] It's here this week which is just ridiculous which we'll get to but

[00:06:14] Magic Round Suncorp, two things we don't really enjoy as a club

[00:06:18] and the Roosters, not a great record against them anyway.

[00:06:21] They were in red hot form going into the game.

[00:06:23] Couldn't stop scoring points

[00:06:25] and it was just a tremendous win.

[00:06:28] It was, I think in a lot of ways better than the Melbourne win.

[00:06:33] Take the Nico storyline out of that.

[00:06:35] Up early and then toe to toe and then they go ahead.

[00:06:42] We come back, we grind it out.

[00:06:45] We're scoring great tries.

[00:06:47] In front of a big crowd, it was the game of the round, everyone was talking about it.

[00:06:51] The game itself was exceptional.

[00:06:53] Again, all 17 guys just playing their hearts out.

[00:06:57] You touched on it just then.

[00:06:59] There's a couple of hoodoos that we got out of the system.

[00:07:02] This year we've beaten Canberra in Canberra.

[00:07:03] Historically, we don't do that.

[00:07:05] We've been in Melbourne now.

[00:07:06] In Melbourne, the Magic Round game,

[00:07:08] I don't think we won at Magic Round since 2019.

[00:07:12] The Roosters, I think had won eight of the last nine games

[00:07:15] versus the Sharks or something like that.

[00:07:17] There was a couple of things that were really going against us

[00:07:20] that when you looked on paper, you thought,

[00:07:21] oh, this might be a really tough one.

[00:07:24] When we looked at this block, the game that worried me the most

[00:07:27] was the Roosters game just because of how well that they can attack

[00:07:30] and they can just pull points out of anywhere.

[00:07:33] But I think one thing that I noticed was when the Roosters got their points,

[00:07:36] a lot of it was off set restarts or it was off penalties, six agains,

[00:07:42] that sort of stuff.

[00:07:43] So if the Sharks can cut some of that stuff out,

[00:07:46] you're really limiting the potential to let those points in.

[00:07:50] But even to let in 30 points versus a super, super attacking team

[00:07:54] in the Roosters, for us to stick in the fight and go punch for punch

[00:07:58] and to get 38 points against the Roosters,

[00:08:01] that was one of those moments where you start to believe in the season.

[00:08:06] I think James Graham has mentioned it a few times on Fox Sports

[00:08:09] where he says the narrative has now shifted for Craig Fitzgibbon

[00:08:12] when he talks to the players because they've now got that validation.

[00:08:16] So it's no longer, I think you guys can beat this team.

[00:08:18] The conversation is, I know you guys can beat this team

[00:08:21] because of what you've actually done.

[00:08:22] So I think Cooper Crunk also touched on it as well when he sort of said

[00:08:26] the result this week against the Panthers doesn't really mean a lot

[00:08:29] for our credentials this year because he said that,

[00:08:31] based on the last few weeks, we've already shown those credentials as well.

[00:08:35] So obviously, you want to see a great performance and things like that.

[00:08:38] But I think we're trending in the right direction.

[00:08:40] And just for a little bit of knowledge for yourself, mate,

[00:08:44] I often talk to you about 2016 and when I bought grand final tickets

[00:08:48] because I bought them early in the year, right?

[00:08:50] And I'm a really superstitious person.

[00:08:52] If anyone's listening to any of our episodes,

[00:08:54] they probably would know these sort of things that I have about Chucks.

[00:08:57] And so I've never done that in my life before.

[00:09:00] And I bought it after round 13,

[00:09:02] when they beat the Bulldogs on the siren when Maloney kicked that goal.

[00:09:05] Yeah, me too. Same time.

[00:09:06] I had that feeling. Me too.

[00:09:07] Yeah, and I had that feeling that year that we're going to do something special.

[00:09:11] And so I went back and looked at it and we had a buy-in round 12.

[00:09:15] So this game this week was kind of like the same sort of mark

[00:09:19] of where we were that point in that season

[00:09:21] when I really leant in and started to believe.

[00:09:23] Now, obviously, there's so much that can happen this year.

[00:09:26] But you know, it's definitely trending in the right direction.

[00:09:29] When are they on sale this year? Do we know?

[00:09:31] I haven't seen anything,

[00:09:33] but that's probably because of my superstitions

[00:09:35] where I haven't looked for it.

[00:09:36] It's not advertised.

[00:09:37] But also, well, they had that weird thing for a few years there

[00:09:41] where we didn't confirm the grand final because the Landys was negotiating

[00:09:44] with the Premier a couple of things.

[00:09:45] But I think it's locked in now, right?

[00:09:47] The Sydney for the next couple of years.

[00:09:49] I know that they've gone on sale.

[00:09:50] Maybe it was just last year, but they went on sale a lot later than usual.

[00:09:54] So anyway, we'll see on that.

[00:09:57] But we do need to look into that and have a think about it

[00:09:59] because the way we're going, we're going to be top four.

[00:10:02] So that's a good chance of finishing up in the last week.

[00:10:04] But we'll get to that.

[00:10:06] Boy, oh, boy. Just seven game win streak, longest since 2016.

[00:10:11] We've scored the most points in club history after 10 games.

[00:10:15] So at this point in every year, this is our most points ever scored.

[00:10:19] The previous record, as you can imagine, was 2016.

[00:10:22] They're flying. This is only second time in our history

[00:10:25] we've been nine from 10.

[00:10:26] We've been close in other ones, but this is the second time.

[00:10:29] The other year was 99. We won the minor premiership.

[00:10:31] So good things are waiting for us,

[00:10:33] but we do need to go one step at a time.

[00:10:36] Let's stick on the roosters game.

[00:10:38] 34 of 38 completions. Unbelievable.

[00:10:41] Seven line breaks to five against the high flying roosters.

[00:10:45] I noticed doing some work this week that we are in the top,

[00:10:49] I think top three to five for completions and for fewest errors.

[00:10:55] And we haven't been like that under any coach for a long time, man.

[00:10:59] And that is, I think, the reason for me,

[00:11:03] if I was to generalise and just pick one thing out,

[00:11:06] it wouldn't be great defence. It would be those two things,

[00:11:10] completing your sets and lack of errors.

[00:11:13] That's a crazy stat that I wasn't aware of.

[00:11:15] I've been looking at the ladder of where we sit

[00:11:17] on the attacking side of things.

[00:11:19] I think we're in the top two or three there.

[00:11:21] And in the defensive side of things,

[00:11:22] I think Penrith are only better than us by like two points.

[00:11:25] So I think we've got the second best defence

[00:11:27] in the league after the weekend.

[00:11:29] But historically, it's been that kind of frustration, right?

[00:11:31] I think that's where there's so many errors

[00:11:33] and so many uncompleted sets,

[00:11:35] and they just haven't been able to build momentum.

[00:11:37] But now they're putting together these 80 minute performances.

[00:11:40] And we talked about it earlier in the year when we said

[00:11:43] there was a couple of ruthless games in there,

[00:11:44] like against the Cowboys,

[00:11:46] where they kind of just kicked on when usually

[00:11:47] they might have let them back in

[00:11:49] like that Manly game a few years ago.

[00:11:50] It's a different mentality.

[00:11:52] It's a completely different Sharks team at the moment.

[00:11:54] I know they did some work in the off season

[00:11:57] with mindset and that kind of thing.

[00:11:59] Whoever is involved in that mindset,

[00:12:02] the Sharks now have, including the coach,

[00:12:03] we need to up their wage because it's unbelievable.

[00:12:07] It's never say die.

[00:12:09] Scoring points late, which is fantastic.

[00:12:11] We again sort of had the game sewn up

[00:12:15] and then we scored that late try again.

[00:12:17] And they're really just not taking their foot off,

[00:12:20] which is what we need this team to do.

[00:12:22] It's just impressive from one to 17.

[00:12:23] When you were talking about conceding tries,

[00:12:25] don't forget that if Will Kennedy holds that pass

[00:12:28] before half time, it's a bigger win.

[00:12:31] It's less of a score.

[00:12:32] Like it all looks a little bit better.

[00:12:34] So I think even though it was a really competitive game,

[00:12:37] the better team did win.

[00:12:38] And I think we were better by a bit

[00:12:41] like the Roosters brought it.

[00:12:42] But man, we didn't take a step back.

[00:12:44] Just again, some amazing performances.

[00:12:47] I mean, Nicko Hines, forget about the way he's playing.

[00:12:50] His goal kicking, he's missed,

[00:12:52] I want to say three to four goals all year.

[00:12:55] All year.

[00:12:56] That's insane.

[00:12:57] That is just unbelievable.

[00:12:58] To go up in sixes in this current environment

[00:13:01] is so important.

[00:13:02] And it's ridiculous, mate.

[00:13:04] And he's in game kicking too.

[00:13:06] Like he kicked that ball out on the floor

[00:13:08] and everyone's kind of going,

[00:13:09] oh no, is he gonna go into his shell?

[00:13:12] But then like straight away,

[00:13:13] he goes off and he kicks that 40-20

[00:13:15] and he bamboozled Teddy.

[00:13:17] Like Teddy didn't know,

[00:13:18] Teddy thought he was gonna go out himself, right?

[00:13:20] And Nicko had that game earlier in the year

[00:13:22] where he put two kicks out and we said,

[00:13:23] oh, you'll never see that again.

[00:13:24] But when that ball was in the air,

[00:13:25] I was thinking, oh no,

[00:13:26] this is going out on the floor.

[00:13:28] Was that some sort of trick kick

[00:13:30] or was it just awkward looking?

[00:13:31] Cause it wasn't, like did he mean to do that?

[00:13:34] I wouldn't put it past him at the moment

[00:13:36] because of the form that he's in.

[00:13:37] But when it came off the boot,

[00:13:39] it looked like it just skewed

[00:13:40] and it looked terrible.

[00:13:42] And then the look on Teddy's face was unbelievable

[00:13:45] when he realized what he had done

[00:13:47] and even the look on Nicko's face

[00:13:48] when he realized he got a 40-20 too.

[00:13:51] It was unreal.

[00:13:51] Yeah, and from there he sets up

[00:13:52] to see Wilton for a great try.

[00:13:54] So he's in fantastic form, Nicko Hines.

[00:13:58] We don't talk about Origen much on this show,

[00:13:59] but he's got that jumper,

[00:14:01] which is great for his confidence.

[00:14:03] Yeah, and so I think that is the biggest concern

[00:14:06] I've got at the moment

[00:14:07] is the effect that Origen might have on the Sharkies

[00:14:10] because McKinnis is definitely in the mix.

[00:14:13] I've seen some stuff with Ramian in the mix

[00:14:14] now that Bradman Best is out as well.

[00:14:17] There's even some talk of Siffa off the bench

[00:14:19] in the form that he's currently in too.

[00:14:21] So we've got a chance to be

[00:14:22] a little bit disrupted this year

[00:14:24] and I'm a little bit concerned about that,

[00:14:27] but the guys that are in the mix for it

[00:14:29] are in great form and they're super professional.

[00:14:32] And a guy like Nicko,

[00:14:33] after what he went through last year,

[00:14:35] I think has learned a lot about how to,

[00:14:39] well, I don't know what the word I'm looking for here

[00:14:40] is, but how to kind of wall that off

[00:14:42] and that's his Origen experience.

[00:14:44] And then he comes back to the Sharks.

[00:14:45] That's his Sharks experience.

[00:14:46] I think he's put a lot of work in that.

[00:14:47] So if he does make Origen

[00:14:50] and the Blues do pull off a series win,

[00:14:52] could you imagine how confident he would be?

[00:14:54] Yeah, that's a double-edged sword

[00:14:57] because if they lose 3-0,

[00:14:58] well then again, we've got to see how he bounces back.

[00:15:00] But I'm led to believe Jesse Raymond is super close.

[00:15:04] He has to dominate on Saturday,

[00:15:06] but there's no reason why he won't.

[00:15:08] He's in incredible form.

[00:15:09] Every game is just a winner.

[00:15:11] Either in this episode, Kieran, or another one,

[00:15:14] we've got a short interview with him,

[00:15:17] which our friend Gary did for us.

[00:15:18] So we'll be hearing from Jesse this week,

[00:15:19] which is awesome.

[00:15:21] Oregon Cofusi, 100th game.

[00:15:22] Another strong performance from the front row,

[00:15:25] who everyone put a line through.

[00:15:27] I mean, talk to me about the props.

[00:15:29] Obviously, Tall Tom's dominating as well.

[00:15:31] Are they starting props from here on in,

[00:15:34] moving out this year?

[00:15:35] Well, that is the craziest part to me, right?

[00:15:37] So to go up against Melbourne, in Melbourne,

[00:15:41] and to go up against like the Roosters,

[00:15:43] these are monster packs, right?

[00:15:45] And if I was to say the Sharks

[00:15:47] have the best bench in the league,

[00:15:49] and I think we're definitely up there,

[00:15:50] I would say the Roosters probably have the second best

[00:15:53] if we're comparing benches.

[00:15:55] And they built their team on similar sort of

[00:15:58] mindset and philosophies, right?

[00:15:59] With these big forwards on the bench

[00:16:00] that can kind of go set for set.

[00:16:02] So when I look at our starting team, right,

[00:16:04] there's no Toby, and there's no Hannah Newell.

[00:16:06] It's a real case of how are we gonna find

[00:16:08] that balance with the team?

[00:16:10] Because I think as a tandem, as a one-two punch,

[00:16:14] Hazelton and Cofusi work really well.

[00:16:16] Like their tradesman life, they go about their business.

[00:16:20] They make good meters.

[00:16:20] They take the hit ups that nobody really wants to take.

[00:16:23] They do a lot of the tough stuff.

[00:16:24] And then we're able to bring on that power game.

[00:16:27] So I don't know how you integrate, you know,

[00:16:30] Hannah Newell, we saw come back for a little bit,

[00:16:32] but now he's not in the 17 at the moment.

[00:16:36] And Toby's came back for a little bit,

[00:16:37] and then he got hurt too.

[00:16:39] So I think right now it's a scary bench

[00:16:43] with Sifatalekei, Tuku, who's in unbelievable form,

[00:16:48] Royce Hunt, who's playing well,

[00:16:50] and who's the other person we've got on the bench?

[00:16:51] Jack Williams, of course.

[00:16:52] How could I forget Jack Williams, right?

[00:16:54] So if you're going to add a Hannah Newell

[00:16:57] and a fully fit Toby Rudolph to that bench as well,

[00:17:00] you're really, it's a really interesting prospect

[00:17:03] for blowing teams off the park because the edges,

[00:17:06] we don't really make changes with Wilton and Nikora.

[00:17:09] Like they're set for 80 minutes

[00:17:10] and they're going unbelievable

[00:17:12] and our backs are going unbelievable.

[00:17:13] So we've got this ability to interchange

[00:17:16] these just explosive props.

[00:17:17] We just flood the middle with this giant human.

[00:17:21] So I don't know the best combination

[00:17:23] of how I would balance it, but we spoke a few weeks ago

[00:17:27] and we said, we have no middle.

[00:17:27] What are we going to do?

[00:17:28] How are they going to put a team on the park?

[00:17:30] And now we're overflowing.

[00:17:31] I'm going to put you on the spot right now.

[00:17:34] Say that Toby and Hamlin Willie are fit

[00:17:38] and they're back in to the 17.

[00:17:41] Who are you letting go of?

[00:17:42] So I'm definitely keeping Sifatalekei on the bench.

[00:17:45] No question about that.

[00:17:46] I'm definitely starting Kofusi and Hazelton at the moment.

[00:17:49] So it's Hampton, it's Hampton Tuku.

[00:17:52] I think so, yeah.

[00:17:53] I think that's how it's going to have to fall.

[00:17:55] But I would really struggle with, especially with Tuku

[00:17:58] because he was unbelievable the other night.

[00:18:00] The size that he has and how mobile he is

[00:18:04] and he's infectious, right?

[00:18:05] Like he's got that personality where he's bubbly

[00:18:09] and just the guys as you can see,

[00:18:12] they get an energy lift from him.

[00:18:13] So I'm not sure what you do there,

[00:18:16] but I'd say look, he's probably the most likely one

[00:18:18] to miss out and I'd say probably Royce as well.

[00:18:20] But Royce Hunt walks into most other NRL 17s, right?

[00:18:24] Maybe not necessarily as a starter,

[00:18:26] but he is an NRL player.

[00:18:28] And he's been good the last few weeks

[00:18:30] since he's been back.

[00:18:31] Like he's been really good off the bench.

[00:18:33] There was a case the other day where we had,

[00:18:35] I think it was Royce Hunt and Tuku

[00:18:37] were playing reserve break for the Jets

[00:18:39] as a starting front row.

[00:18:40] Those two guys could walk in

[00:18:42] and be a starting team

[00:18:42] for some of the lower NRL club teams, right?

[00:18:45] So to have that sort of depth,

[00:18:47] it does remind me of when we had 2016

[00:18:50] and we had guys like Jesse,

[00:18:52] the guy that we got from Maine

[00:18:53] that came in for a few games for us.

[00:18:55] I think it was maybe eight games in 2016.

[00:18:57] And played a huge role for us

[00:18:59] during that middle period, right?

[00:19:00] So I think Mooney is one of the most important people

[00:19:02] at the Sharks because his ability to build a roster

[00:19:04] and depth is really impressive.

[00:19:06] And we didn't have him, we felt it.

[00:19:08] We did, we did some good recruitment getting him back.

[00:19:12] Let's hit the one negative.

[00:19:13] And that's the left side edge defense

[00:19:17] in the last few weeks.

[00:19:19] And specifically, I believe it's the four and the five.

[00:19:23] I know it filters from inside out,

[00:19:26] but from what I can see in most of these tries

[00:19:29] I'm seeing it's the four and the five,

[00:19:32] more the five than the four.

[00:19:34] Is this something to worry about?

[00:19:36] Is it just gonna happen from time to time?

[00:19:38] What are your thoughts?

[00:19:39] We have gone up against

[00:19:41] two of the better attacking teams in the competition

[00:19:43] in the storm and the roostage, right?

[00:19:44] And they're gonna get points.

[00:19:45] So it really becomes a, how do you limit the damage, right?

[00:19:49] And how do you kind of control that?

[00:19:52] And there has been points scored down that side.

[00:19:55] I think the concerning part is

[00:19:57] if there's a try score like that

[00:19:58] and you sort of see a huge space and huge gaps

[00:20:01] and the right decisions haven't been made

[00:20:03] in the lead up to that.

[00:20:05] But again, I do think we've come up

[00:20:07] against two really good attacking units

[00:20:08] in the last couple of weeks that kind of got us.

[00:20:10] But again, the Dragons did the same play

[00:20:12] and kind of got us on that edge too, right?

[00:20:14] And I wouldn't say they're one of the better attacking teams.

[00:20:16] So look, it's something that I'm sure they're working on

[00:20:19] but I do feel so much more confident in our defense

[00:20:23] compared to this time last year.

[00:20:24] When we would go up against these teams last year

[00:20:27] I had zero confidence in our ability

[00:20:29] to one, absorb the other team's middles

[00:20:32] because teams would just overpower us

[00:20:34] like against the storm and things like that.

[00:20:35] They would just go straight through the front door

[00:20:37] and then they would kill us on the edges

[00:20:39] cause we'd be at sixes and sevens.

[00:20:41] And now because we're really holding our own

[00:20:42] in that middle and we're dominating back,

[00:20:45] I feel a lot more confident in the stability of the defense.

[00:20:48] So I'm not too stressed just yet.

[00:20:50] I mean, I'm with you.

[00:20:51] I agree.

[00:20:52] I just think that particularly for Ronaldo

[00:20:55] if he's gonna do the jam in,

[00:20:56] he's gonna time it perfectly

[00:20:58] but also there's times where you just don't do it.

[00:21:00] So I'll leave that with the coaching staff obviously.

[00:21:04] It's a very small criticism for him and for the team.

[00:21:08] So I'm not staying up worrying about it.

[00:21:10] That's for sure.

[00:21:11] Other question, which I believe other co-hosts

[00:21:14] and listeners have had their say.

[00:21:16] I'd like to hear your say and that is,

[00:21:19] are you keeping Dan Atkinson

[00:21:21] or are you bringing back Braden Trindle?

[00:21:23] So that is such an interesting question

[00:21:26] because I feel like we do play

[00:21:28] a very different style with Atkinson.

[00:21:31] And I feel, and maybe it's just in my head

[00:21:34] but it feels like it's a lot more direct

[00:21:36] and a lot more in your face.

[00:21:39] And a lot of like he runs it

[00:21:41] and not so much trying to pass it out the back line

[00:21:43] and put on some plays.

[00:21:45] Sometimes with Trindle and with Nico

[00:21:48] you can go a little bit side to side

[00:21:50] because we do have those trick shots

[00:21:52] and they work so well.

[00:21:53] But sometimes if the middle is not getting it done,

[00:21:56] it doesn't work so well

[00:21:57] and you start going,

[00:21:58] why they just keep going side to side

[00:21:59] like nothing's on.

[00:22:00] So DA really strains it up

[00:22:02] and he's that constant running threat.

[00:22:04] There was one run he did from dummy half

[00:22:07] coming out of our own end

[00:22:09] where he just took a scoot

[00:22:10] and just changed the momentum.

[00:22:12] And it was just a really good heads up play.

[00:22:15] So who would I go with?

[00:22:17] Right now, I would struggle to take him out of the team

[00:22:21] just because we are playing very well.

[00:22:23] If Nico makes origin,

[00:22:24] it's gonna be interesting if Trindle is available

[00:22:26] because they're probably gonna get some games together

[00:22:28] and it might be a bit of a shootout.

[00:22:29] But the tough part is Trindle's last game for us

[00:22:32] he scored two tries and was almost man of the match.

[00:22:35] So it's gonna be an interesting situation

[00:22:38] and it's gonna be a situation where it could

[00:22:40] be another Lachlan Miller type scenario

[00:22:42] where we get to the end of the season

[00:22:43] or Conor Tracy type situation

[00:22:45] and clubs are calling us saying,

[00:22:47] we wanna get this guy early,

[00:22:48] can we get him out of his contract?

[00:22:50] Because there was a lot of eyebrows raised

[00:22:52] when we re-signed him last year for two years.

[00:22:54] A lot of people said, why are we doing this?

[00:22:55] But the club had a lot of confidence in him

[00:22:57] and he's filled that Conor Tracy gap

[00:23:00] and he's able to cover the halves a little bit better too.

[00:23:03] So I think I'm sticking with him at the moment.

[00:23:05] What about you?

[00:23:06] Oh, I'm not changing a winning team

[00:23:08] and that's not disrespecting him.

[00:23:10] It's more just everything he's doing is great

[00:23:12] and as a team they're just on fire.

[00:23:14] His defense is great.

[00:23:15] Yeah, they're just two very different players.

[00:23:18] That's where I struggle because as you say,

[00:23:20] Trindle's more of a side-to-side guy,

[00:23:23] more of your classic half

[00:23:25] and he's been great in every game he started.

[00:23:27] He's been great.

[00:23:28] And Dan Atkinson is more running half

[00:23:32] and he still has great skills in kicking.

[00:23:35] He's a great defender,

[00:23:36] probably just needs to work on some of the passing stuff

[00:23:38] which will get better over time.

[00:23:39] So it's super tough.

[00:23:41] And I mean, yeah, Nico's gonna be an origin.

[00:23:43] Let's lock that in.

[00:23:44] So we're gonna need them both to play.

[00:23:47] I just wonder if it does become a shootout or not.

[00:23:49] I don't know because I do think,

[00:23:52] and this is just me speculating and being opinionated

[00:23:55] but I do think what Trindle did

[00:23:58] has let down a lot of people within the organization.

[00:24:03] And I think that there might be something there

[00:24:05] in that, well, we love him,

[00:24:07] but let's make him work for it.

[00:24:08] It might be a case of just until Dan has a shocking game,

[00:24:13] not saying he will, but if he did,

[00:24:16] then we might bring him back.

[00:24:18] I think even if they play together

[00:24:19] during the origin period,

[00:24:21] there's something in me that still gets a feeling

[00:24:23] that Dan Atkinson has the 5% ahead of Trindle right now.

[00:24:27] The only thing I can think of is it might be the curse

[00:24:30] of the utility that costs DA in the end, right?

[00:24:33] Where we have that bench

[00:24:35] that is all those forwards and those middles.

[00:24:37] And let's say Trindle comes back during origin

[00:24:39] and plays well, Nico comes back.

[00:24:43] We might then look to go for the balance of the squad

[00:24:45] and put him as 18th man in the case of HIA

[00:24:48] because he gives you so much coverage in that position.

[00:24:51] And you need that 18th man to kind of be able

[00:24:52] to juggle a few different hats

[00:24:54] depending on how your bench is set out.

[00:24:55] So that's the only thing I think might cost him,

[00:24:59] but I don't think he would ever sacrifice

[00:25:01] your number six for a number 18, right?

[00:25:03] So if he can keep playing as well as he's playing,

[00:25:05] then he's locked down that spot for mine at the moment.

[00:25:09] But you could make the same argument with Trindle

[00:25:11] and just put him at 18th man

[00:25:13] and then Atkinson can go do what he needs to do

[00:25:16] and Trindle just goes to the half.

[00:25:17] So interesting times for our coach, that's for sure.

[00:25:21] So you're saying that the coach is flying.

[00:25:23] How good was he against Melbourne?

[00:25:24] That was ridiculous.

[00:25:27] Well, the one thing I thought,

[00:25:29] especially against the Roosters,

[00:25:31] was he out coached Robinson.

[00:25:33] So they left one of the butcher brothers on the bench

[00:25:37] and I, again, I'm just speculating here.

[00:25:41] I'm assuming that's because we have such a big pack

[00:25:43] and we were just throwing everything at the middle

[00:25:45] when we were trying to blow them through

[00:25:47] that part of the game, right?

[00:25:50] On the thought that they could push it to extra time

[00:25:52] and then they would have a fresh set of legs

[00:25:54] against our tired big guys, right?

[00:25:56] So just seeing some of the things that Fitzie has done

[00:26:00] with the team, with the bench, with his selections.

[00:26:02] It feels like a different Fitzie this year

[00:26:04] because last year there were times

[00:26:06] when we were sort of asking for changes

[00:26:08] and he was like, those changes aren't ready yet.

[00:26:11] He's pulled the trigger on them now

[00:26:12] and those changes he's proven to be correct

[00:26:14] because those players are ready right now.

[00:26:17] The Wilton situation, right?

[00:26:19] Wilton looks like a completely different footballer

[00:26:21] from last year.

[00:26:22] His defense, his line running,

[00:26:24] compared to this time last year,

[00:26:26] like when we, it was probably I think

[00:26:27] around this time last year

[00:26:28] they played the Storm down in Melbourne, right?

[00:26:30] And that was just not a fun experience for anyone

[00:26:33] but he didn't have the best of days then

[00:26:36] but he's just been unreal at the moment

[00:26:38] and Iro as well just looks

[00:26:40] like an absolute season first grader.

[00:26:41] So I feel like Fitzie is really coming into his groove

[00:26:45] and one thing I wanted to call out right now is

[00:26:48] there's so much talk about Fitzie's record in the finals

[00:26:51] and I just think it's absolutely ludicrous

[00:26:52] because if you look at the teams that we had then,

[00:26:54] we were limping into the finals in both those years.

[00:26:57] 2022, I will concede they should have beat the Cowboys.

[00:27:00] That was a terrible loss.

[00:27:02] Absolutely gut, heart wrenching

[00:27:04] but then the next week versus ours

[00:27:05] they could barely put a team on the park.

[00:27:06] They didn't look very good.

[00:27:08] Now the coach that beat him

[00:27:09] in that first game was Todd Payton.

[00:27:11] He wins coach of the year

[00:27:12] and everyone's talking about what a great job

[00:27:13] Todd Payton has done at the Cowboys.

[00:27:15] Look at where the Cowboys are now

[00:27:16] and look at where the Sharks are now

[00:27:18] and I would much rather take those two lessons

[00:27:20] that we've had in the finals last year

[00:27:22] for the philosophy that Fitzie is building

[00:27:24] and then the trajectory of the club

[00:27:25] that he's moving is on

[00:27:27] because we're in a much better spot than the Cowboys.

[00:27:29] So, you know, I get a little bit fired up

[00:27:31] when people start talking about those records

[00:27:33] and things like that

[00:27:34] because you know that noise is coming

[00:27:35] at the back end of this year

[00:27:36] and it's ridiculous

[00:27:37] because it's a completely different team.

[00:27:39] It's a different mindset.

[00:27:40] They're much deeper in key positions.

[00:27:43] You know, we should be in a much better position this year

[00:27:45] and we should make finals

[00:27:46] and we should win finals.

[00:27:47] I think people raising the question

[00:27:49] isn't ridiculous given the history

[00:27:52] but I'm with you 100% on your answer.

[00:27:54] The answer is not hard to come by.

[00:27:57] As a 100% devoted fan

[00:27:59] but as a neutral kind of league person looking at it

[00:28:02] I get the question.

[00:28:03] Hey, you guys gonna win a game

[00:28:04] this year in the finals?

[00:28:05] Well, yeah, but this is what happened in the past

[00:28:09] and this is why it's different.

[00:28:10] And that record in the finals actually pretty bad

[00:28:12] because it goes back to like 2017

[00:28:14] where I think we've won like one or two games since.

[00:28:17] One game against the Panthers, that's it.

[00:28:18] Yeah, and that was a great night at the football

[00:28:20] but I would like a few more better nights

[00:28:22] at the football than that one

[00:28:23] because it's interesting if you go back

[00:28:25] and look at that Panthers team.

[00:28:26] How many of the Panthers

[00:28:28] part of this dominant run

[00:28:29] were actually in that team right then?

[00:28:30] And again, they learned that lesson

[00:28:32] and they learned the lesson in 2020

[00:28:34] when they went to the grand final too, right?

[00:28:35] So this is the thing that Dave Riccio

[00:28:38] spoke about on Sharkcast a couple of months ago

[00:28:41] where Fitz was saying, these guys need time.

[00:28:43] These guys need reps.

[00:28:44] These guys need experience

[00:28:45] and we can get more out of these players.

[00:28:47] And a lot of fans were sort of saying,

[00:28:49] well, where's the signings?

[00:28:51] What's going on?

[00:28:51] Like we need to add more people

[00:28:53] but Fitz would back these guys

[00:28:55] and you've said it a couple of times

[00:28:56] that Fitz will be judged on this squad

[00:28:58] that he's built and his player retention, right?

[00:29:00] And he's getting the most out of them at the moment.

[00:29:02] Yeah, I just think you need to look at where we're at.

[00:29:04] We're first, clear first.

[00:29:07] It's with the team that he inherited a lot of it

[00:29:09] but he signed, he's kept them.

[00:29:11] I mean, you're more the contract guy than I am

[00:29:12] but he's kept the majority of them.

[00:29:15] If they're not resigned, they will be resigned.

[00:29:18] So it's his team.

[00:29:19] He's added top three best props in the game

[00:29:23] for next year.

[00:29:24] The whole who did he sign and that sort of thing

[00:29:26] is just out of garbage

[00:29:27] because when you're finishing top four, top six every year

[00:29:32] there's not a great deal of things to fix up.

[00:29:35] It's more of a performance thing than a staff team list.

[00:29:39] So I've been talking to him this year for the first time

[00:29:43] and dealing with him this year for the first time

[00:29:45] and I've dealt with him since then in other matters,

[00:29:48] a guy that's just super driven.

[00:29:50] And when he talks, I believe

[00:29:53] the majority of things he's suggested have come true.

[00:29:56] I just see a guy that's working his butt off

[00:29:58] to get us where we need to be.

[00:30:00] And there is something different this year.

[00:30:02] I think that maybe he's learnt to,

[00:30:04] I guess get his message across better

[00:30:07] in different ways at different times.

[00:30:09] I can tell you right now,

[00:30:11] we had a close friend in the sheds at half time

[00:30:14] against the Roosters on the weekend.

[00:30:17] Fitzi delivered a great speech.

[00:30:19] And I will say without naming names,

[00:30:23] a Bench Forward who used to be a center

[00:30:27] was the key figure in talking to the rest of the team.

[00:30:30] And he made a passionate talk, speech to the players

[00:30:34] before they ran out.

[00:30:35] And then I believe he was the first one to score the try.

[00:30:37] And then in the huddle after the game,

[00:30:39] he was also leading the crew.

[00:30:41] So there are new leaders stepping up all the time

[00:30:44] and it's awesome to see.

[00:30:46] And the week before that,

[00:30:48] Ronnie was one of the guys that was a key figure

[00:30:50] in the circle after the storm game.

[00:30:52] And he was really laying down that message.

[00:30:54] And I think Ken McKinnis got interviewed

[00:30:56] after the Roosters game.

[00:30:58] And he was talking about what a connected group that this is

[00:31:01] and how it's a little bit different

[00:31:02] and how blessed he felt to be included

[00:31:05] in this squad of players that have been together

[00:31:08] since a lot of them were 16 years old.

[00:31:10] And they've grown and they've won competitions

[00:31:13] in different levels of the game.

[00:31:15] And they've now just sprinkling in these players

[00:31:17] from different systems, right?

[00:31:19] So we get a few guys like Ken McKinnis

[00:31:21] and a Fenil Blake for next year

[00:31:24] and a Nick Owens over there, right?

[00:31:26] And everyone's just buying into this group

[00:31:28] and you see it when it comes to the contract,

[00:31:30] you see it when it comes to the re-signings,

[00:31:32] you see it when it comes to Hamelin Ewelly saying

[00:31:34] he was almost in tears an hour before the deadline

[00:31:37] when he had to make a decision

[00:31:38] because he couldn't face the prospect

[00:31:40] of talking to the team.

[00:31:41] This is a front rower that is like 28 or so.

[00:31:46] These are his prime money-making years

[00:31:48] who took substantially less money to stay with the Sharks.

[00:31:52] And congratulations to him.

[00:31:53] I saw he did a post yesterday saying

[00:31:56] he's having a little one,

[00:31:57] so another little Sharky in the family, which is unreal.

[00:32:00] But you can just tell,

[00:32:01] this is a club of people

[00:32:03] that are all moving in the right direction

[00:32:06] and they're buying in.

[00:32:07] And to your point a little bit earlier about Trindle

[00:32:10] where he may have let some people down,

[00:32:12] I think that could cost him

[00:32:14] in the kind of mentality that they're building

[00:32:17] with the whole won't back down,

[00:32:18] no taking it backwards steps

[00:32:21] and everyone moving in the right direction.

[00:32:23] So it's super positive at the moment.

[00:32:25] I know people might be listening to this game.

[00:32:27] These guys are being too fluffy.

[00:32:28] These guys are being too positive,

[00:32:30] but look at the ladder,

[00:32:31] look at the stats,

[00:32:31] look at how they're playing.

[00:32:33] Sometimes you actually need to go,

[00:32:34] you know what?

[00:32:35] We're doing the right things

[00:32:36] and we're heading in the right direction.

[00:32:38] Yeah. And on the Trindle matter,

[00:32:40] again, agree with what you're saying.

[00:32:41] And I was saying before,

[00:32:43] I don't have any doubt that he can win the trust back.

[00:32:46] They're not that sort of a club or team

[00:32:47] that just sort of writes you off,

[00:32:49] but it's gonna take some time.

[00:32:50] There's still people with their arms around him.

[00:32:50] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:32:52] They're still, I mean,

[00:32:53] I saw some photos of him this morning

[00:32:55] with some of the other players getting copies

[00:32:56] and things like that too, right?

[00:32:58] So they're still putting their arms around him

[00:33:00] and telling him, you know, you can be back.

[00:33:01] And it will be great to see him back.

[00:33:04] And then we've just got a decision to make

[00:33:06] on how we go.

[00:33:07] Yeah, it's just bizarre, unfortunate timing.

[00:33:09] I mean, some people will say it's karma.

[00:33:11] I'm not saying that at all

[00:33:13] because I'm not holding it against the guy.

[00:33:15] I want him to come back and be amazing

[00:33:18] both on and off the field,

[00:33:19] but it is bizarre timing

[00:33:20] that this other kid comes in and just dominates.

[00:33:24] And all the football that I've sort of seen from him

[00:33:27] has been at fullback.

[00:33:28] And, you know, I know he played, I think,

[00:33:30] a trial for us in the halves

[00:33:32] and it wasn't the greatest game.

[00:33:35] Again, you can't really judge things on trials,

[00:33:36] but he's by far exceeded our expectations

[00:33:40] because I kind of saw him as that running sort of threat

[00:33:42] that could play a couple of different positions

[00:33:45] and fill a hole,

[00:33:46] but he's done way more than fill a hole for us.

[00:33:49] He's absolutely stepped up and been key figure

[00:33:51] to beat Melbourne in Melbourne and have that composure.

[00:33:54] It was ridiculous.

[00:33:55] We're going to move on to different segment of the show,

[00:33:59] basically right now.

[00:34:00] So bear with us everyone.

[00:34:02] We're going to skip the news because there's no news.

[00:34:04] The Jets won, they scored, I think 50 points,

[00:34:07] which is awesome, but I'm sure there's plenty of news,

[00:34:09] but we're just going to skip through to the mail

[00:34:11] because we've got some mail to get through.

[00:34:13] First one is from Wade.

[00:34:15] Wade says, I'm really starting to believe

[00:34:16] we can actually do something special this year.

[00:34:19] First question, do you think it's possible by career end

[00:34:24] Nico could overtake Gal and ET is the greatest shark ever?

[00:34:28] If he won multiple Dally-Am's wins as a title,

[00:34:31] I'm not so sure he could, but love to know your thoughts.

[00:34:35] You can take this one, Kieran.

[00:34:36] First of all, I hope so.

[00:34:37] That would be a great experience,

[00:34:39] a great ride to go on.

[00:34:40] He's already won one Dally-Am, came second,

[00:34:42] I think it was last year and he's on track

[00:34:43] to put a really good showing in this year.

[00:34:47] If he wins multiple titles, possibly,

[00:34:49] but that's just so far and hard to comprehend right now,

[00:34:52] especially given there's so many good teams at the moment.

[00:34:56] For me, and I guess my fandom and my era,

[00:34:59] ET was always the greatest shark to me.

[00:35:02] And then I think Gal overtook him just because

[00:35:05] Gal was the guy that actually got us over the line.

[00:35:08] And I know ET went through some really lean years

[00:35:11] with a club with an absolute turmoil

[00:35:13] and could have easily left them more money

[00:35:14] and things like that.

[00:35:15] But Gal went through some really tough times with us too.

[00:35:18] I know we financially compensated him

[00:35:20] and he was at the top of our payroll,

[00:35:22] but the sharks almost went under a few times, right?

[00:35:27] And some great leadership at the club

[00:35:29] that got us through those dark times.

[00:35:30] But I think if Gal ever walked away

[00:35:32] during those periods,

[00:35:33] it would have affected our recruitment,

[00:35:35] it would have affected everything.

[00:35:37] And I don't know if we would have been able

[00:35:38] to come out the other side of that.

[00:35:39] So for me, I can't see a path where Nico does overtake him.

[00:35:44] But hey, if Nico wants to go in three competitions

[00:35:47] in a row for us, then he can be the greatest shark.

[00:35:49] I'll be campaigning for a statue for him.

[00:35:52] Yeah, I mean it is Gal won ET too.

[00:35:55] I think a few weeks ago,

[00:35:56] I addressed the fact that Valentine Holmes was number three.

[00:36:00] Love Val.

[00:36:01] Val could have been number one.

[00:36:02] I was kidding.

[00:36:03] So I know there's a bit of flak out there.

[00:36:05] A few bits of email have found me back.

[00:36:08] I was kidding.

[00:36:10] He's one of my favorites of all time.

[00:36:11] So he probably in my top five.

[00:36:13] I clearly don't think Valentine Holmes

[00:36:15] is number three greatest shark of all time.

[00:36:16] Nico Hines can get there,

[00:36:19] but he'll need to win two titles.

[00:36:22] And then we can start having conversation.

[00:36:24] Yeah, and I think when you talk about

[00:36:26] the greatest ever at a club,

[00:36:28] I think it kind of transcends

[00:36:30] what they actually do on the field, right?

[00:36:31] It goes through everything around it.

[00:36:32] And so Nico has that ability

[00:36:34] to take us to a different level

[00:36:36] because he is so marketable.

[00:36:37] He's the face of the Shire,

[00:36:38] the face of the game potentially.

[00:36:40] If we can get some of these things

[00:36:42] like Vegas and stuff like that,

[00:36:43] he's pro-pop would really elevate to a different level.

[00:36:47] But for me, it's always gonna be Gal.

[00:36:49] I love Gal.

[00:36:50] I've got a photo of Gal sitting right behind me

[00:36:51] in my office.

[00:36:52] It is Gal.

[00:36:53] It is Gal and it's ET.

[00:36:54] And you can argue all you want about other stuff,

[00:36:57] but that's one and two.

[00:36:58] We've locked it in from 967 and now

[00:37:00] and happy to hear the arguments.

[00:37:03] Now Kieran, we need you on this second part from Wade.

[00:37:05] Wade said, living in Queensland,

[00:37:08] I'm not sure of the ins and outs of the club's assets.

[00:37:11] What does the club still own

[00:37:13] with the buildings around the ground?

[00:37:15] For example, are they getting money

[00:37:17] from the shopping center, et cetera, et cetera?

[00:37:19] Can you help out Wade there please?

[00:37:21] My understanding is they sold up all of those assets

[00:37:25] around the ground as part of it.

[00:37:27] I think they still own the Leagues Club itself

[00:37:29] which they'll be able to hopefully finish off

[00:37:31] in the not too distant future.

[00:37:33] But in terms of the retail,

[00:37:36] I think that was part of the deal

[00:37:37] to get them out of the debt that they had at the time

[00:37:39] and pay back the bank on some of those loans.

[00:37:41] So I don't think they've got a stake in the retail.

[00:37:44] They might have some sort of agreement

[00:37:46] around that potential new merchandise shop

[00:37:49] that they're talking about putting it at that place.

[00:37:53] But in terms of other assets they got in the Shire,

[00:37:55] they obviously have the golf club down at Corilla

[00:37:57] and the golf course down there

[00:37:59] which has apparently been a tremendous acquisition for them.

[00:38:02] They have the old Westpac building

[00:38:04] in the middle of Cronulla

[00:38:05] that's been rented out to a gym at the moment.

[00:38:07] I think that's just started to fit out for that too

[00:38:09] so that's gonna be coming in there.

[00:38:11] But in terms of assets around the ground,

[00:38:13] I think it's just the Leagues Club

[00:38:14] and the ground itself at the moment.

[00:38:15] RCB says,

[00:38:18] Teleki coming off the bench has been a master stroke.

[00:38:22] To think we're doing all this

[00:38:23] without our top line props is really great.

[00:38:26] Everyone's putting in,

[00:38:27] everyone's going in the same direction.

[00:38:29] It's a really enjoyable team to watch.

[00:38:32] And that's some great positivity from RCB.

[00:38:34] Well, when you said RCB was writing into us,

[00:38:36] I thought the first thing he was gonna say

[00:38:37] was can we move the Sharks to the SFS

[00:38:39] and I was gonna get agitated and angry

[00:38:41] by that comment from him.

[00:38:42] But I thank you for not saying that.

[00:38:44] There's something coming up about that

[00:38:45] but just continue with RCB.

[00:38:50] But he does have the jersey

[00:38:51] that I really want the black away strip from like 2005

[00:38:54] so if anyone has that inverted black jersey,

[00:38:56] please get in touch with Sharkclass and Sam

[00:38:58] so I can get my hands on that.

[00:38:59] But to his point,

[00:39:01] I think Cipher has been such a tremendous storyline

[00:39:03] for us this season

[00:39:04] because a lot of players in his position

[00:39:08] might not have taken the so-called demotion

[00:39:10] to the bench very well

[00:39:12] because Cipher was probably our best player

[00:39:14] in that first sort of three games.

[00:39:16] That game against the Warriors, he was unreal

[00:39:18] and he was really carrying us in those first games.

[00:39:20] Injuries happened,

[00:39:21] he apparently went to Fitzey and said,

[00:39:23] if you need to put me in the back row,

[00:39:24] I can go in the back row,

[00:39:25] I can help out for the team.

[00:39:27] He had that game in the back row,

[00:39:28] didn't kind of hit the standards

[00:39:29] that we all know and love from Ciff.

[00:39:31] And they made a change,

[00:39:33] they put him back on the bench

[00:39:34] because Niccora came back.

[00:39:35] And he is now in the conversation

[00:39:38] for one of the better number 14s in the league.

[00:39:40] When you look at his size,

[00:39:41] you look at his power, his strength,

[00:39:44] you can just see teams and they seem come on,

[00:39:46] they're just going,

[00:39:47] oh, this guy's gonna be coming at me nonstop.

[00:39:49] And because now he's having that limited impact

[00:39:51] and that limited role,

[00:39:52] he can just get so much more out of his minutes.

[00:39:54] So the fact that he was leading the team talk

[00:39:56] at the end of the game,

[00:39:57] I think is unbelievable

[00:39:59] because he doesn't really strike me

[00:40:00] as that kind of low vocal guy.

[00:40:02] But I think if a guy like Ciffa Talakai

[00:40:04] is laying down the law to you,

[00:40:06] you're gonna listen because he's a scary dude.

[00:40:09] I've seen him in person,

[00:40:10] he's a scary dude.

[00:40:11] Now Brett has been listening to the podcast

[00:40:13] since the start and he says,

[00:40:16] you guys have got to check out a song

[00:40:17] called Fast As A Shark by the band Xcept.

[00:40:21] They're an older, older metal band.

[00:40:24] So Brett, we're gonna check that out.

[00:40:26] Brett's listening from Cannes, so thanks Brett.

[00:40:29] On the same topic,

[00:40:30] Daniel wrote to us last week

[00:40:32] asking us to find a shark who likes heavy metal.

[00:40:34] So we're on the case.

[00:40:36] And he did clear up that he meant metal

[00:40:39] and not emo, not screamo.

[00:40:42] He's talking metal in the classic terms.

[00:40:44] If you could guess,

[00:40:45] who would you say would be the most likely?

[00:40:48] I thought of one.

[00:40:49] It's Jaden Barrell for sure.

[00:40:52] Jaden Barrell does strike me.

[00:40:53] Now he's down the pecking order,

[00:40:57] but he's part of the squad.

[00:40:58] I'm gonna ask.

[00:40:59] There's no way he's an R&B man.

[00:41:01] Well, you know,

[00:41:02] the one that strikes me as the funniest is

[00:41:05] Cione Katoa and his love for country music

[00:41:07] because that is just not one that I would pick.

[00:41:08] He put up a meme the other day

[00:41:10] of who keeps putting the country music on the jukebox.

[00:41:12] It was, they go with their finger in the air

[00:41:14] saying it was me.

[00:41:15] But yeah, I don't know.

[00:41:16] I could also see Jesse Ramian liking a little bit

[00:41:19] of metal.

[00:41:20] I reckon Jesse likes it.

[00:41:20] We've asked him numerous times

[00:41:23] He's a country guy, right?

[00:41:24] Country and a bit of R&B.

[00:41:26] It might be somewhat surprising.

[00:41:27] It could be like someone like Mr. Hazelton

[00:41:29] who just loves getting in the mosh pits

[00:41:30] and bashing around with it.

[00:41:31] Maybe Hamlin Newellie could as well.

[00:41:33] He's an old school rap guy surely.

[00:41:36] Yeah.

[00:41:37] This is an interesting one that's probably gonna take

[00:41:39] up way too much of my head space.

[00:41:40] So thank you for this question

[00:41:41] because I'm gonna be thinking about it.

[00:41:43] We're gonna find out,

[00:41:43] but my prediction is Jaden Barrell.

[00:41:45] Just top of my head, Jaden Barrell.

[00:41:47] I could see Jack Williams as well.

[00:41:49] You're just picking big bad dudes though.

[00:41:50] Yeah, I'm picking guys that just look

[00:41:52] like they could get into it, right?

[00:41:54] That could enjoy it.

[00:41:56] I think the screamo emo one would be a little bit

[00:41:58] of a fun topic to delve into too.

[00:41:59] I could definitely see Ronnie listening to the used.

[00:42:02] Really?

[00:42:03] Oh, I could see that.

[00:42:05] A bit of blue and yellow.

[00:42:06] I can see him having a little bit of reflection

[00:42:09] out the window on a rainy day.

[00:42:10] I could definitely see that.

[00:42:12] Paul's written to us.

[00:42:13] He says, Tom Hazelton has five tries this year.

[00:42:15] That's more than the incumbent New South Wales winger

[00:42:18] Brian Dottle.

[00:42:19] It's the same as the incumbent

[00:42:20] New South Wales fullback James Sinesco.

[00:42:22] It's the same as Val, the future Holmes

[00:42:25] and the same as Adant Fennuah Blake.

[00:42:27] He wanted to let us know.

[00:42:28] That's insane.

[00:42:29] And there was a few years there

[00:42:31] that were really grim as Sharks fans.

[00:42:33] And like Forfito was our number one try scorer

[00:42:35] and he had like nine for the year, right?

[00:42:37] So to have a prop who's already got that number

[00:42:39] of tries at this point of the season is unique.

[00:42:41] But I think it kind of talks to again,

[00:42:44] that mindset shift and mentality of this team

[00:42:47] because they still have those trick shot players

[00:42:49] with the wingers and the great finishes.

[00:42:51] They have those back rowers

[00:42:53] who were just gonna run through a brick wall

[00:42:54] and those crazy lines.

[00:42:55] Like that one that Wilton scored off Nico

[00:42:57] was unbelievable when Nico looked long and played short.

[00:43:01] And then you have this middle

[00:43:02] that is just consistently a rotation of front rowers

[00:43:05] who are just size and power,

[00:43:06] just going straight at people.

[00:43:08] So it's becoming one of those things

[00:43:11] where if you're gonna do a multi and gamble responsibly

[00:43:13] you kind of have to throw a Sharks front row

[00:43:15] into one of those mixes

[00:43:16] because they're the most likely candidates

[00:43:18] because they have so many big guys.

[00:43:20] And a lot of people have said in the past,

[00:43:22] this crash play doesn't work.

[00:43:23] Why does Brailly keep doing it all the time?

[00:43:27] But he keeps pulling it off

[00:43:29] and these crash plays are working

[00:43:30] and some of these tries Hazleton is scoring

[00:43:32] from like 10, 15 out, like they're not real.

[00:43:35] There's slightly less crash plays though

[00:43:37] that Hazleton wants.

[00:43:38] Some of them he's like a pinball

[00:43:39] where he's just lumbering up from 10 out

[00:43:42] and they're just throwing everything at him

[00:43:44] and he's still getting there.

[00:43:45] He's like almost sideways running at points.

[00:43:48] He's becoming one of my favorite players at the moment.

[00:43:51] So congratulations to him.

[00:43:53] What a story, like from where he was this time a year ago

[00:43:56] to where he is now,

[00:43:58] not many people have that sort of a journey.

[00:43:59] So full credit to him for all the work he's put in.

[00:44:02] The first time I interviewed him,

[00:44:03] I think I've done it three times.

[00:44:04] The first time I think I said it on the show

[00:44:06] I said that if he can stay healthy

[00:44:08] and stay out of trouble,

[00:44:09] which I think easily can stay out of trouble,

[00:44:11] he's gonna have a very long NRL career.

[00:44:14] And I don't know if whatever,

[00:44:16] I wasn't sure if he would reach the heights

[00:44:17] of playing for Australia or whatever,

[00:44:19] but he just was one of the more mature,

[00:44:21] younger guys I've ever met,

[00:44:23] especially in that position.

[00:44:25] He's living up to that a lot quicker than what I thought.

[00:44:27] But yeah, he's got a huge future ahead of him.

[00:44:29] Like he'll be getting contract offers,

[00:44:32] a front and center.

[00:44:33] And he seems to love the club

[00:44:35] because I saw Fletch making a joke of saying,

[00:44:37] oh you're off contract soon,

[00:44:38] there's still a lot of money.

[00:44:40] And like he didn't even kind of acknowledge the joke.

[00:44:42] He just sort of said,

[00:44:43] no I'm very happy here at the Sharks, thanks mate.

[00:44:45] And it's that sort of mentality

[00:44:47] that he's building throughout the club

[00:44:48] where people don't wanna leave.

[00:44:50] And there'll be guys that miss out on the 17,

[00:44:52] but they still won't wanna change clubs.

[00:44:54] Whereas in the past,

[00:44:55] if you moved a guy like Sifir to the bench,

[00:44:58] that guy might have caused unrest

[00:45:00] and it just takes one bad apple

[00:45:01] to kind of ruin it for everybody, right?

[00:45:03] So yeah, having guys like Hazelton

[00:45:05] who really buy into the culture and to the club

[00:45:07] and genuinely love it,

[00:45:09] it's infectious.

[00:45:10] Look at when he scores a try,

[00:45:11] look at all the players in the background.

[00:45:12] They're going insanely happy.

[00:45:14] And that was one thing I saw

[00:45:16] when Sifir scored against the Storm.

[00:45:19] So Sifir kind of put his finger in the air

[00:45:20] and was celebrating.

[00:45:21] If you look at the background of that photo,

[00:45:23] you can see Jesse and Katoa with their hands in the air

[00:45:26] like screaming, going mental

[00:45:27] because they're a really connected group.

[00:45:29] So full credit to them.

[00:45:31] I don't know what they're doing.

[00:45:32] Very funny slow-mo of Tommy's try from the weekend.

[00:45:36] And you can see Britain's asking for the ball.

[00:45:39] Pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it.

[00:45:41] And to his right, our left is the Tongan fishermen.

[00:45:46] And he's sitting got his hands like this

[00:45:48] for people who can see him.

[00:45:49] I don't know if you can see.

[00:45:51] And then he slowly just realized he's gonna score

[00:45:53] on his huge smile on his face and hands go up.

[00:45:56] It's absolutely beautiful.

[00:45:58] On that note, Alan wrote to us and said,

[00:45:59] great work, Fitze showing the team.

[00:46:02] You have confidence in them.

[00:46:04] He says, what do you guys reckon?

[00:46:06] So from that, I'm taking that Fitz Gibbon

[00:46:09] is showing the confidence in the players.

[00:46:11] The players are returning it.

[00:46:13] It's a great match right now of coach and player

[00:46:17] seeing eye to eye and understanding what they need,

[00:46:20] what's needed and the results are there as proof.

[00:46:23] Yeah, and it's been one of those things

[00:46:24] where this squad has been together now for a long time.

[00:46:27] Fitz, he's kind of probably worked out

[00:46:29] his style as a coach.

[00:46:31] It's only his third, he's had two full seasons, right?

[00:46:34] So I think right now it's just this group

[00:46:36] that's been connected for a really long time.

[00:46:39] Maybe the signing of a Fennel Blake

[00:46:40] was kind of that spark that some of those guys needed

[00:46:43] to kind of say, well, look, I need to really fight

[00:46:45] for my spot because maybe I was a little bit too

[00:46:47] comfortable because the players haven't changed

[00:46:50] in that middle.

[00:46:51] Sure we brought in Tuku and we brought in Hazelton,

[00:46:54] but for the most part, the rest are all the same,

[00:46:55] but they just were getting more out of those players.

[00:46:57] So I don't know if that's a mindset shift

[00:47:00] or if it's a, you take out a Dale and Wade

[00:47:03] and you replace them with two power forwards

[00:47:06] if that's the missing ingredient, I'm not sure,

[00:47:08] but yeah, we're getting more out of the same people

[00:47:11] which is unreal because we're not bringing

[00:47:13] a lot of people into the club, which is great.

[00:47:15] Jamie from the UK has written into us.

[00:47:17] Says couple of great wins lately.

[00:47:19] He says, thanks for the podcasts

[00:47:21] and making the connection to the Sharks stronger.

[00:47:24] And he also said, where has he written this?

[00:47:29] I finally got my first ever international membership

[00:47:32] age 49.

[00:47:34] I can't use the discounts, but it's well worth it.

[00:47:37] Random Small World, Damien Irvine is CEO

[00:47:40] of EBS Fleet United.

[00:47:42] My hometown is Chesterfield.

[00:47:44] Last season I went to watch Chesterfield at EBS Fleet

[00:47:48] and they did play some great songs at half time.

[00:47:50] Not sure if I heard yours,

[00:47:52] but he obviously cares about the fan experience.

[00:47:56] So that's from Jamie.

[00:47:58] Thanks Jamie.

[00:47:59] Lee says, Lee says, Jesse step off the left

[00:48:04] and he just got him an Origin Jersey.

[00:48:07] He does ask though, what's the team without Kam,

[00:48:10] Nico and Jesse?

[00:48:12] What are your thoughts on that?

[00:48:13] That's an interesting question actually.

[00:48:15] So let's assume that McInnes goes into Origin,

[00:48:19] Nico and Jesse.

[00:48:20] So Trinder would obviously be the next cab

[00:48:22] off the rank to replace Nico.

[00:48:24] If there was another injury there,

[00:48:26] I think we'd have to have a bit of a rethink

[00:48:29] and maybe try what we kind of did the other week

[00:48:31] with Braylee and McInnes.

[00:48:33] But McInnes wouldn't be there.

[00:48:35] You're 13.

[00:48:37] We saw Jack Williams start a game at 13

[00:48:40] earlier this year or no, he started in the back row.

[00:48:42] So it's a bit hard to judge him on that.

[00:48:44] I mean, he's a great player.

[00:48:46] You could really slot him into that spot

[00:48:49] that could free up a Hamla-Niuele or a Toby to return

[00:48:53] if potentially that happens.

[00:48:54] You could play Toby in that 13 role

[00:48:56] and just keep rotating it

[00:48:57] with kind of three front rowers

[00:48:58] like we used to do with Gal,

[00:49:00] who was basically another prop.

[00:49:02] In terms of replacing Jesse,

[00:49:04] now that we have Iroh in the centers,

[00:49:07] you're not really going to bring Cypher in

[00:49:09] and put him back out there

[00:49:10] because you're putting in a lot of work

[00:49:11] to change Cypher's body shape to be a middle again.

[00:49:14] So I don't think that's kind of fair on Cypher

[00:49:16] than to shove him back out wide.

[00:49:18] I am not really across from other options.

[00:49:20] I guess you've got Stone Street there

[00:49:22] where you could probably push Ronaldo in one.

[00:49:25] We've seen that in the past.

[00:49:26] I think it was round one in Fitzie's first game

[00:49:28] where we put Ron in the centers

[00:49:29] and it wasn't kind of what we expected.

[00:49:32] So that's going to be an interesting conundrum

[00:49:34] if those guys do get picked.

[00:49:35] And it's something that we probably have to have

[00:49:37] a bit of a think about

[00:49:38] because I think no Bradman best

[00:49:40] really opens the door up for Jesse.

[00:49:41] And I think Jesse would be an unreal origin player.

[00:49:44] He's super aggressive

[00:49:46] and I think it would do him

[00:49:47] and his confidence, the world good.

[00:49:48] And I think it would do the sharks a lot of good

[00:49:50] if he got in there.

[00:49:51] So that's a tough question.

[00:49:53] Harodi is probably the likely option.

[00:49:56] And we go back again to 2016

[00:49:59] when we had that game against the Panthers

[00:50:01] and we had what?

[00:50:02] Like five guys out for origin

[00:50:03] and guys like Mitch Brown and that got called up

[00:50:06] and Daniel Mortimer, I think even played a game.

[00:50:08] Was that Daniel Mortimer was the year after.

[00:50:11] But yeah, 2016 was Matthew McKillarick

[00:50:14] was the hooker that we brought in

[00:50:16] when Innis was gone, right?

[00:50:18] So we might have a situation like that

[00:50:20] coming up this year.

[00:50:21] And again, it's a strange time to be a shark's fan

[00:50:24] because we've actually got players in depth

[00:50:26] and it's interesting.

[00:50:27] Because a few weeks ago, man,

[00:50:28] I was very stressed about this squad.

[00:50:30] You do get stressed.

[00:50:31] You're a man who feels the stress.

[00:50:34] I'm gonna keep it realist.

[00:50:35] And that's why it's a bit foreign for me

[00:50:37] to actually be really bullish on the sharks at the moment

[00:50:39] but I'm just liking what I'm seeing.

[00:50:40] Scott sent a photo of him at Magic Round

[00:50:43] and he had a fin that he made.

[00:50:46] I believe he got the fin from the dolphins.

[00:50:49] He lives up that way and he got it from the dolphins.

[00:50:52] What is his awesome fin?

[00:50:53] He's refurbished it.

[00:50:54] Yeah, it looks amazing.

[00:50:55] So he wants the sharks to do that.

[00:50:57] I'm not sure how far that'll go

[00:50:59] but we appreciate the photo, Scott.

[00:51:02] Steve says this is the best I've seen us since 2016.

[00:51:05] I feel more confident every week.

[00:51:07] Looking forward to this week's game.

[00:51:09] I noticed the sharks getting a lot of bandwagoners

[00:51:11] jumping on board certain sites.

[00:51:14] I think he's over the social media sites.

[00:51:17] They were running us down all season

[00:51:18] now they're jumping on board the Sharks Express.

[00:51:21] We don't need them.

[00:51:22] We only need true supporters.

[00:51:25] We're the real deal, up up.

[00:51:26] That's from Steve.

[00:51:27] Yeah.

[00:51:29] I think we need them all, Steve, to be honest.

[00:51:31] I think anyone that's kind of interested in the club,

[00:51:34] dropping some money on us, coming to see us play.

[00:51:37] I hear what you're saying though.

[00:51:38] It's extra special for the believers

[00:51:40] but you saw in 2016, Steve,

[00:51:42] you saw anyone with any connection to the color blue

[00:51:45] came out of the closet.

[00:51:46] So it was beautiful

[00:51:48] and you just have to expect these things.

[00:51:50] But I hear what you're saying.

[00:51:53] Yeah.

[00:51:54] Yeah.

[00:51:55] To the Cowboys game that was what?

[00:51:57] 35 or something maybe.

[00:51:59] So the most fun night I've ever had at a football stand,

[00:52:02] the most fun I've ever had.

[00:52:03] Now we're literally at this point

[00:52:05] where I'm gonna ask the question.

[00:52:06] Like it's not even made up.

[00:52:08] Regular listener and former sharks statistician,

[00:52:12] Michael, Michael Gillard says,

[00:52:14] I don't care.

[00:52:15] I'm getting ahead of myself.

[00:52:17] We will be there.

[00:52:18] Now you ready?

[00:52:20] So our home semi-final for week one has to be at Allianz.

[00:52:28] Scrap Shark Park, let's get serious.

[00:52:32] The grounds for support will rival 2016.

[00:52:36] We need to open the gates,

[00:52:38] give this side the most support

[00:52:40] and best atmosphere they deserve.

[00:52:43] And I've got to say that shocked me

[00:52:44] because Michael is very much a regular at Shark Park.

[00:52:47] He's old school.

[00:52:48] He loves the club very, very, very much.

[00:52:52] And that love has got him to this moment.

[00:52:55] I'd like your thoughts.

[00:52:56] So I completely understand the thought process behind.

[00:53:02] This is a new season when we start the finals

[00:53:04] and we've got to address it as such

[00:53:06] and try to take it serious.

[00:53:07] It's not at Shark Park and all those things, right?

[00:53:11] For me, it is such an advantage at Shark Park.

[00:53:15] The players love it so much.

[00:53:17] I don't think you can take the last two years

[00:53:20] and sort of say, well, if those games were at the SFS

[00:53:22] they would have won.

[00:53:23] The Cowboys game is maybe that was just first nerves

[00:53:28] or whatever the case is, I don't know.

[00:53:31] But that was abhorrent to one of the worst days

[00:53:33] of the football I've ever had actually.

[00:53:35] The Roosters game last year was a mess.

[00:53:38] But again, I don't blame that on being at Shark Park.

[00:53:40] And again, if you played that at Allianz,

[00:53:41] you're playing that at their home ground.

[00:53:42] So that didn't make any sense.

[00:53:44] I think it would depend on-

[00:53:45] I am assuming that Michael is saying

[00:53:47] we're not playing the Roosters.

[00:53:50] You wouldn't move the game out to home bush.

[00:53:52] So Allianz is really the only option for us.

[00:53:56] There is something to be said about the atmosphere

[00:53:57] that you can create there,

[00:53:59] especially with a lot of Sharks fans.

[00:54:00] Like it can be rocking there.

[00:54:03] But I think around one of the finals,

[00:54:05] I think you've got to do it at Shark Park

[00:54:07] just because other teams hate going there.

[00:54:11] It's the noise level that we've had in some of those games

[00:54:15] there when everything's buzzing and humming can be unreal.

[00:54:19] I think the one thing that I would just say

[00:54:21] is that there are so many people

[00:54:22] that have this negative and weird energy

[00:54:24] whenever the Sharks start to do well,

[00:54:26] but they just expect us to do bad.

[00:54:28] And you can go to Shark Park sometimes

[00:54:30] and it'll be just like an air of like,

[00:54:32] they're going to stuff this up.

[00:54:33] Can I mention the Minnesota Timberwolves right now then?

[00:54:36] That is the most losing state in the history of sport.

[00:54:40] And it's proven, right?

[00:54:42] Cross all sports.

[00:54:44] They're up two nil.

[00:54:45] They've won both games away to Denver.

[00:54:48] They lose their games at home,

[00:54:51] lose the next game away,

[00:54:54] then win the last two, one in Minnesota,

[00:54:57] then go to Denver and win.

[00:55:00] Now I had people who I know from the state saying,

[00:55:04] hey, don't expect anything.

[00:55:06] Forget about the Nuggets being the best team in the comp.

[00:55:09] This is Minnesota.

[00:55:10] They're going to muck it up.

[00:55:12] And they were down by 20 points in the game

[00:55:14] and had the biggest ever game seven comeback.

[00:55:17] We saw in 2016, Hootoo's don't exist.

[00:55:19] Sorry, they exist and they can be killed.

[00:55:22] I don't know if they can come back.

[00:55:23] Once they go on, I don't know if they can come back.

[00:55:25] They can't come back in the next 30 years.

[00:55:29] So anyway, continue.

[00:55:31] I agree though.

[00:55:32] There is a sense of doom sometimes

[00:55:34] when you're just down a shark buck.

[00:55:36] Yeah, and on that Tim O'Wolf thing, right?

[00:55:38] That's a classic example.

[00:55:39] And so someone said to them,

[00:55:41] do you think you need to make the NBA finals to lose one?

[00:55:44] And they sort of said, we've been losing for 20 years.

[00:55:47] What else do you want us to keep losing for?

[00:55:49] We've experienced enough.

[00:55:50] We're good to go.

[00:55:51] And I think that mentality,

[00:55:53] and whoever the shark's social media person was in 2016,

[00:55:58] they did a really good campaign.

[00:56:00] I think it was like, Why Not Us or something like that.

[00:56:03] And it was like the mentality that they kind of just adopted.

[00:56:06] And it was everywhere.

[00:56:07] And I saw other people's fans,

[00:56:09] like you find them saying, Why Not Us?

[00:56:11] Because you'd never won a competition

[00:56:12] and all that type of stuff, right?

[00:56:13] They stole it from whatever American team

[00:56:16] that year broke.

[00:56:18] I don't know if it was the White Sox.

[00:56:21] Was it Cleveland?

[00:56:21] Someone that year did something.

[00:56:23] So Cleveland did it in the NBA that year.

[00:56:26] So they had believed land.

[00:56:29] And I think they might've even,

[00:56:31] maybe they did the Why Not Us

[00:56:32] or something like that as well.

[00:56:33] But to your point,

[00:56:35] these hoodoos are meant to be broken and things like that.

[00:56:36] And I think if you have a chance to play at Shark Park

[00:56:39] and get a week off for winning at Shark Park,

[00:56:42] and so far this year,

[00:56:43] they're playing unbelievable at Shark Park.

[00:56:45] It's a different team.

[00:56:46] It's a different mentality.

[00:56:48] I think you got to take it.

[00:56:49] And yes, fans will miss out.

[00:56:50] And you know, you and I personally have sat there

[00:56:53] on Ticketex website battling to get tickets.

[00:56:55] And we had two diehards that go

[00:56:57] every single week to the football.

[00:56:58] We sit there rain, hail or shine,

[00:57:00] and we were fighting for tickets, right?

[00:57:03] And you always say,

[00:57:03] if you really want a ticket,

[00:57:04] you can work out a way to get one, right?

[00:57:07] And the people will miss out,

[00:57:09] but that's what week two of the finals is for, right?

[00:57:11] We'll go to a big stadium hopefully and have a week off

[00:57:14] and everyone can get there

[00:57:15] and then hopefully keep going from that.

[00:57:16] As I said to Michael when he sent that to me

[00:57:19] during the week,

[00:57:19] I said, well done on opening Canterworms,

[00:57:22] which it is.

[00:57:23] And to your point just there,

[00:57:25] I'm gonna be a lot more cool

[00:57:26] with us playing there in week one.

[00:57:29] If the Sharks and the NRL have the guts

[00:57:33] to work out a system,

[00:57:34] it can't be that hard,

[00:57:36] where season ticket holders

[00:57:39] and then members are guaranteed place.

[00:57:43] Now I don't care how you do it,

[00:57:44] but just do it, make it happen, make it work.

[00:57:47] You make it work for 10 games of the year,

[00:57:50] you charge a lot of money,

[00:57:52] reward me, give me a guarantee.

[00:57:54] If you can't do same seat,

[00:57:56] and I don't know why you can't,

[00:57:57] but if you can't,

[00:57:59] then guarantee me a seat somewhere.

[00:58:00] If I'm a GA, guarantee me a GA.

[00:58:03] It's not that hard.

[00:58:05] You've got all these months of the year to work it out.

[00:58:07] Having said that,

[00:58:09] I'm with you in the fact that

[00:58:11] teams don't like playing at Shark Park

[00:58:13] as far as the playing experience, they hate it.

[00:58:16] So there's two advantages.

[00:58:17] I will say it'll be dependent for me on who we play

[00:58:20] because as we've spoken about in the show,

[00:58:23] the Roosters had probably what?

[00:58:25] 40% of the fans

[00:58:26] and they were as loud as the Sharks fans.

[00:58:29] So it wasn't exactly this huge advantage for the team,

[00:58:32] but it is your home.

[00:58:34] You are gonna have the greater fan base.

[00:58:37] My heart says week one, Shark Park.

[00:58:40] My head says I wanna listen to Michael

[00:58:42] and other people like that

[00:58:43] and make up my mind a bit later on,

[00:58:46] but my heart says Shark Park.

[00:58:47] There is something to be said though

[00:58:49] about the atmosphere at the SFS

[00:58:50] when it's full of Sharks fans, right?

[00:58:52] Some of those Friday night finals games

[00:58:54] that I've been to,

[00:58:56] my first ever Sharks game I attended as a fan

[00:58:58] was actually at the SFS in the finals

[00:59:01] versus the Roosters in 2002

[00:59:03] because it was easier for me to get down

[00:59:04] from the Central Coast to get there.

[00:59:06] So the SFS can be a great place for the Sharks

[00:59:09] and it can be a really good atmosphere.

[00:59:11] So I do see validity in that point of the question

[00:59:14] and if they did say it's gonna be at the SFS,

[00:59:17] I would get on an Uber

[00:59:19] and I'd get to the SFS

[00:59:20] and I'd have a great time, right?

[00:59:21] So it doesn't really matter in that sense

[00:59:24] because hopefully we would be going,

[00:59:26] but the SFS can be a really good shark ground too

[00:59:29] because the captain cooked before the game.

[00:59:31] I remember when we played the Cowboys,

[00:59:33] it was playing up up Crenella before the game

[00:59:35] and I was so superstitious.

[00:59:36] I was like turning that off,

[00:59:38] but the whole pub was rocking, mate.

[00:59:39] And it was one of the best vibes

[00:59:42] that I've ever been to

[00:59:43] and that game versus the Cowboys

[00:59:44] in that 2016 final series

[00:59:46] will forever be one of the best atmospheres

[00:59:48] I've ever been in.

[00:59:49] All right, we'll wait and see on that one.

[00:59:50] We've got to make the finals first.

[00:59:51] Yeah, that's a huge can of worms

[00:59:53] that we're going to be starting now

[00:59:54] because it's going to be a talk truck

[00:59:55] for the next four months.

[00:59:56] Michael's earned it,

[00:59:57] so I'm happy for him to do it.

[00:59:59] Stephen sent a photo from Magic Round

[01:00:01] of him and his son holding up

[01:00:03] big sharkies letters to make the word sharkie.

[01:00:06] So he sent an awesome photo

[01:00:07] and they had a great time, which is awesome.

[01:00:11] Joanne replied to Gary Dovo's photo

[01:00:14] of Britton Nickerer saying it's one of her favorites

[01:00:16] and I replied me too, if not my favorite.

[01:00:19] Alec said, talakai off the pine is different gravy.

[01:00:24] And I thought that was my quote of the week.

[01:00:26] Alec says, talakai off the pine is different gravy.

[01:00:30] Love it.

[01:00:31] Peter said, without doubt,

[01:00:33] Nicker was man of the match

[01:00:35] followed by Eero and Tom.

[01:00:38] Now if we've missed any mail, I apologize.

[01:00:40] I believe that is everything up until a certain point

[01:00:44] in the evening last night.

[01:00:46] We do have a big game on Saturday, 5.30 p.m.

[01:00:51] Shark Park, it's sold out already,

[01:00:53] which is topical given what we were talking about,

[01:00:56] but that's fine.

[01:00:57] It's great actually.

[01:00:58] It's our 100th game against the Panthers.

[01:01:01] What do you think is gonna happen?

[01:01:03] The Panthers are still a really good team

[01:01:05] even without clearing.

[01:01:06] And if you look at their strengths,

[01:01:07] it's their outside backs getting them out of trouble.

[01:01:10] It's their middle being explosive.

[01:01:12] And that's what we've tried to mold our game

[01:01:14] on this season as well, right?

[01:01:16] It's gonna be a really good test for the Sharks

[01:01:19] to see where some of their middle stand

[01:01:21] versus a super aggressive Panthers pack

[01:01:24] and how our backs go against

[01:01:26] a super aggressive Panthers back line

[01:01:28] who are gonna be going after them as well.

[01:01:31] In terms of the half that they got there,

[01:01:33] I think Luai is probably gonna be trying

[01:01:35] to do one last push for Origin

[01:01:38] and so with Nico too, right?

[01:01:39] So it's gonna be one of those sort of games

[01:01:40] where it's gonna really be under knife edge.

[01:01:44] I saw someone on Fox Sports say the other day

[01:01:46] that the Sharks versus Roosters game

[01:01:48] was the highest rating 530 game

[01:01:50] in the history of Fox Sports.

[01:01:52] And there's a chance that we could break that again

[01:01:55] because this is two of the best teams

[01:01:57] going up against it.

[01:01:59] And if you look at the ladder,

[01:02:00] we've played like these are the teams

[01:02:02] in the top four, right?

[01:02:03] So that narrative was slowly eroding.

[01:02:05] So I'm so excited about it.

[01:02:07] I think it's gonna be a cracking game of football.

[01:02:10] There was obviously a little bit of concern

[01:02:13] how can they get for all these big games in a row,

[01:02:15] but there's nothing that I've seen so far

[01:02:18] that's making me nervous because again,

[01:02:21] I do think we fixed a lot of the deficiencies

[01:02:23] that we traditionally said.

[01:02:25] Because when we go into these Panthers games,

[01:02:27] we always say if the middle can stand up,

[01:02:30] we might be able to hold on.

[01:02:31] But now our middle is banging down the door

[01:02:33] and dominating teams.

[01:02:35] So I can't wait.

[01:02:36] I'm so excited for Saturday.

[01:02:37] Imagine this was a final series.

[01:02:40] We went to Melbourne, one.

[01:02:43] We went to Brisbane for some reason and beat the Roosters.

[01:02:46] Now we come home week three to play the Panthers.

[01:02:48] It's intense, it's a lot.

[01:02:50] It's a lot to get in a month, right?

[01:02:52] And then you got the Eagles next week

[01:02:54] who have just gone through all this drama

[01:02:56] with their coach.

[01:02:57] And then it's the Broncos again, right?

[01:02:58] So back to Brisbane.

[01:03:00] So it's gonna be a crazy few weeks.

[01:03:02] There's gonna be origins, it's gonna be disrupted.

[01:03:04] But again, it's the next man up mentality

[01:03:07] where they don't back down

[01:03:08] and then they're giving it to people.

[01:03:10] So, yeah, fingers crossed for another great performance

[01:03:12] this weekend and walking out of Shark Park feeling happy.

[01:03:15] Now we've named the same team, I believe that's correct.

[01:03:20] And on the extended bench is Sam Healy.

[01:03:24] I'm not sure if that's for the first time or not,

[01:03:26] but he doesn't get much of a go on the extended bench.

[01:03:29] That is the first time, mate.

[01:03:30] I've not seen him being named before.

[01:03:31] That's quite interesting.

[01:03:33] Yeah, someone messaged me and said,

[01:03:34] he's brawling any doubt.

[01:03:35] And I said, I don't think so.

[01:03:36] I think it's more of a reward

[01:03:38] for the other fellows good form.

[01:03:40] And I think Beryl's injured at the moment too, right?

[01:03:43] So there's probably no other coverage there,

[01:03:45] but mate that's a great story.

[01:03:47] I didn't pick up on that.

[01:03:48] And if he can actually get a game

[01:03:49] at some point this season, they'd be unreal

[01:03:51] because his dad was one of the reasons

[01:03:53] where I fell in love with the sharks

[01:03:54] or those big bombs at Shark Park.

[01:03:57] He's got a future.

[01:03:58] He's definitely, if anyone hasn't seen him play,

[01:04:00] he's a great young hooker

[01:04:02] and definitely got a big future all being well.

[01:04:05] Panthers, man, their forward pack is still decent.

[01:04:08] So it's Leota, Fischer-Harris and the back row

[01:04:11] is Scott Sorensen, Liam Martin, Isaiah Yeoh.

[01:04:14] Now as far as the second row has go,

[01:04:16] Scott Sorensen obviously we know his work.

[01:04:18] He's very competent.

[01:04:19] He's improved since he left.

[01:04:21] Liam Martin for me, wider picture.

[01:04:24] I think he's overrated,

[01:04:26] but I'm not saying he's not any good.

[01:04:27] He's a tough bugger and he does a role for them.

[01:04:30] But I don't think he's some sort of superstar player

[01:04:33] for me personally.

[01:04:34] Isaiah Yeoh though is very, very good.

[01:04:37] And knocking down that forward pack again

[01:04:39] is gonna be very, very important.

[01:04:41] I think if you do that,

[01:04:43] you're probably gonna win the game.

[01:04:45] And the other obvious one is Dylan Edwards.

[01:04:47] So I'm just looking at the two teams right now.

[01:04:50] And so if you look at the back line,

[01:04:52] Kennedy versus Edwards,

[01:04:54] you give it to Edwards

[01:04:54] because he's been so great for a long time.

[01:04:57] Katawa versus Chiruba, I would go Katawa.

[01:05:00] Raymond versus Tago, I'm going to Jesse.

[01:05:03] Iro versus Alemod, Paul.

[01:05:05] I can't remember.

[01:05:06] I'm terrible with those names.

[01:05:07] So yeah, I'd go Iro.

[01:05:09] Ronaldo versus Toto.

[01:05:11] I mean, again, that's personal preference,

[01:05:12] but most people, you would be 50-50 on that one.

[01:05:15] I would say, again, I know Ronaldo.

[01:05:17] I'm going with Ronaldo.

[01:05:18] Atkinson versus Cole, I'm going Atkinson.

[01:05:21] Nico versus Lui, I'm going Nico.

[01:05:25] Then it gets to the forward pack.

[01:05:26] And there's two front rowers,

[01:05:28] Lyota and Fisher Harris versus Caffuzzi and Hazelton.

[01:05:31] This will be the biggest test of this combination

[01:05:34] that we've seen.

[01:05:35] I would go both those Panthers front rowers over ours.

[01:05:38] You go to number nine, Brailey versus Kenny.

[01:05:41] I'm going Brailey.

[01:05:42] And our back row, Nacora versus Sorensen,

[01:05:44] I'm going Nacora.

[01:05:44] I'm going Wilton and Martin's probably a heat.

[01:05:48] That's probably a 50-50 one.

[01:05:50] And you're sure you give it to Isaiah,

[01:05:51] yeah, but Canberk and this has been unreal.

[01:05:53] But look at the bench.

[01:05:55] We've got Jack Williams, Sifataleke,

[01:05:57] Royce Hunt and Tuku.

[01:05:58] They've got Matt Eisenhuth,

[01:05:59] who's a solid player, he's a big worker.

[01:06:02] They've got Liam Henry, Lindsay Smith and Dane Laurie.

[01:06:05] So if we are to get on top of these guys,

[01:06:09] we're gonna need the front rowers

[01:06:11] to do a really good job

[01:06:12] to hold up Fisher Harris and Lyota

[01:06:15] to give us a chance to unleash our bench against theirs

[01:06:18] because I think if I was to say we had one advantage,

[01:06:21] I would say it's the bench.

[01:06:22] Yeah, and I agree with you.

[01:06:23] The bench is not fantastic.

[01:06:25] So I do think it's there for us to win.

[01:06:29] Current form aside,

[01:06:30] I think that as you just went through it,

[01:06:32] I think our team is better.

[01:06:34] I feel like we have more to play for.

[01:06:36] The one thing I will say is the Panthers,

[01:06:39] obviously the number one team for the last four years

[01:06:42] and in some instances in record-breaking circumstances,

[01:06:46] they're gonna wanna knock off

[01:06:48] the best team in the comp, which is us.

[01:06:49] So I have no doubt in my mind that's their storyline.

[01:06:52] No doubt in my mind.

[01:06:53] You know, they're underdogs, no Cleary.

[01:06:56] Let's show them who's boss

[01:06:57] and that's what they're gonna bring.

[01:06:59] So everyone should be prepared for that.

[01:07:01] It's gonna be an easy game to win,

[01:07:03] but I think we will win and I'm looking forward to it.

[01:07:06] Before we go, Kieran,

[01:07:08] because I know you love this so much,

[01:07:10] I have got a random shark of the week for you.

[01:07:13] I'm very stressed already, let's go.

[01:07:14] I feel like for some reason you're gonna get it,

[01:07:17] but this is what we're doing this week.

[01:07:19] We're going with it.

[01:07:20] See how quick you can do it.

[01:07:21] Okay, I got you.

[01:07:22] Born on the 8th of May, 1981,

[01:07:26] he is a Murgon Mustang Junior.

[01:07:30] Your eyes went wide when I said that.

[01:07:32] Do you even know where that is?

[01:07:34] No, I have no idea where that is,

[01:07:35] but I have looked at a player on Wikipedia in the past

[01:07:39] and I have seen that team name before,

[01:07:40] but I can't remember who it was.

[01:07:42] NRL debut 2003 for a club

[01:07:47] and he played against Penrith.

[01:07:49] His last game, the NRL for a club was in 2008.

[01:07:53] 37 NRL games.

[01:07:56] He didn't score a try for the sharks.

[01:07:59] He did not score a try.

[01:08:01] In his NRL career, he kicked two goals.

[01:08:05] In his NRL career, he scored 12 tries.

[01:08:07] 12 tries, two goals.

[01:08:09] Any ideas so far?

[01:08:11] I am blanking at the moment

[01:08:12] and I keep thinking to myself,

[01:08:13] I peaked with Andrew Dallalana.

[01:08:15] So his last game was at Shark Park

[01:08:20] against the Broncos in round 10 2008.

[01:08:25] In 2008, was it?

[01:08:27] That was his last NRL game.

[01:08:28] It was for the sharks.

[01:08:29] Yeah, well, mate, I do remember 2008 really well

[01:08:32] and it was very traumatic that the way that it ended,

[01:08:35] especially with that soccer training incident

[01:08:37] where we lost one of our halves.

[01:08:39] So I've got PTSD coming at the moment,

[01:08:42] but I think I need a little bit more.

[01:08:45] Yeah, played for three different clubs.

[01:08:49] At one club he played 17 games,

[01:08:51] another club 14.

[01:08:54] He played six games for the sharks.

[01:08:57] Six games?

[01:08:58] And I'm guessing he probably joined us in 2008.

[01:09:02] So I'm guessing he didn't do the six games

[01:09:04] over multiple years.

[01:09:06] Believe it or not, my research doesn't have that,

[01:09:08] but I think it was potentially two years.

[01:09:12] Okay. Yeah.

[01:09:14] He was versatile and he played in his career

[01:09:19] both in the back line and the forward pack.

[01:09:22] Paul Stevenson?

[01:09:23] No, but if memory serves me correct,

[01:09:28] is he the chap that came from Manly?

[01:09:30] Yeah, he was a guy that came from Manly.

[01:09:32] He was like a center winger.

[01:09:33] Serviceable.

[01:09:34] He was a play back bro as well.

[01:09:35] I liked him a lot.

[01:09:36] Yeah, he had a really good year for us.

[01:09:38] Not him.

[01:09:40] I think he had more of a career than this young man.

[01:09:42] So all right, so he can play in the forwards

[01:09:45] and the backs, he was there in 2008.

[01:09:47] I reckon that you would have seen a lot of talk

[01:09:49] about him on a certain forum

[01:09:52] that is still running to this day.

[01:09:54] And hello to everyone listening on that forum.

[01:09:58] Yeah, they're probably going to abuse me.

[01:09:59] The amount of people that message me actually

[01:10:00] around the last time we did this on Instagram.

[01:10:03] I haven't given you a lot of clues.

[01:10:06] There's not a lot of clues here.

[01:10:08] The Mustang thing is the part that's probably wild.

[01:10:10] I feel like if I tell you the other clubs,

[01:10:11] you're just going to get it straight away.

[01:10:13] So I'm holding off on that.

[01:10:14] His last game was against the Broncos at Shark Park

[01:10:19] round 10.

[01:10:20] Okay, so was he in the starting lineup

[01:10:23] or was he like off the bench in this sort of era?

[01:10:27] I believe it did both, but I mean,

[01:10:30] given the fact that he played six games.

[01:10:32] There's not a lot to work with here in my head.

[01:10:35] He played for the Storm and someone else.

[01:10:40] Okay, all right, now we're getting a little bit closer.

[01:10:43] So who do we have in 08 that had started at the Storm?

[01:10:49] Real forum kind of guy.

[01:10:52] The pressure is getting to me here.

[01:10:54] He's a center back rower.

[01:10:56] I feel like he had a brother that played,

[01:10:58] but I couldn't prove that when I was doing my research.

[01:11:01] This is not the answer.

[01:11:02] This is not what I'm submitting here,

[01:11:03] but whenever we talk about brothers,

[01:11:04] I always go back to the great Tim Wayman

[01:11:06] and his one game at the Sharks.

[01:11:08] This guy, I'm trying to think back

[01:11:10] to our 2008 squad

[01:11:12] and I've got a lot of fond memories of that year.

[01:11:15] So it's a little bit strange

[01:11:16] when I'm blanking on who our top 30 was back then.

[01:11:18] I was surprised he was in this squad

[01:11:19] when I worked it out, but he was.

[01:11:21] Okay.

[01:11:22] He also played for the Knights.

[01:11:24] I should know this.

[01:11:25] This is really getting to me right now.

[01:11:27] In theory, he should have been a really good player

[01:11:29] and he wasn't really living up

[01:11:32] to the really good promise with all respect.

[01:11:35] I don't know what he did after that,

[01:11:36] but hopefully he's doing well.

[01:11:38] This is really starting to get to me here.

[01:11:41] I need more.

[01:11:43] I need something.

[01:11:45] I need a key.

[01:11:46] He started in the back line

[01:11:48] and technically finished his career in the pack.

[01:11:50] I'm trying to think of players

[01:11:51] that have gone from the Sharks,

[01:11:53] from Melbourne to Cronulla.

[01:11:55] And I feel like it's been probably

[01:11:57] a little bit more the other way.

[01:11:59] 17 Storm Games.

[01:12:00] That's not a lot in the grand scheme, it thinks.

[01:12:03] Well, I just think back to the great 2008 team

[01:12:05] of Fraser Anderson and Missy Talapapa.

[01:12:08] Yeah, this young man is not in that same circle,

[01:12:13] but he is at the same time.

[01:12:15] Yeah, I'm just trying to go back.

[01:12:17] I wish, at times like this,

[01:12:18] I wish I had a poster in my room

[01:12:21] that I could go back to.

[01:12:22] Because I did actually have an 08 poster up on my wall,

[01:12:25] which was probably the reason why

[01:12:27] I didn't have a girlfriend when I was 21 in 2008.

[01:12:30] Yeah, mate, I am blanking right now.

[01:12:33] I'm trying to think of guys

[01:12:34] that went between both clubs,

[01:12:35] but everything that's coming back to me

[01:12:36] is that really bad reserve grade

[01:12:39] Storm Sharks jersey, the Sharknado one,

[01:12:41] where it was that really bad Sharks jersey

[01:12:43] with the purple line on it.

[01:12:45] Oh hey, Brett Kearney,

[01:12:47] but he was a Central Coast guy.

[01:12:49] Right, so I've looked up his Wiki page,

[01:12:52] which I don't use that when I do my research, right?

[01:12:54] I use my own stuff.

[01:12:56] He did go on after the Sharks play overseas.

[01:13:00] He played until 2014, overseas.

[01:13:04] I wouldn't say he played in the elite overseas,

[01:13:07] but he played overseas.

[01:13:08] I feel like your clues are getting more obscure

[01:13:11] each week that we do this.

[01:13:13] And it's very hard now.

[01:13:16] Mate, I'm blanking.

[01:13:17] I've got no idea on who this one could be.

[01:13:18] He played some rugby union as well later on.

[01:13:21] Again, not at the elite level.

[01:13:22] I was thinking of that Cooper Vuna,

[01:13:24] but he never played for the Sharks.

[01:13:26] He was a Storm Glider, like a union, but.

[01:13:28] What if I said the name Cooper Vuna

[01:13:31] is as close as you've gotten so far?

[01:13:34] Oh, Dustin Cooper.

[01:13:35] Dustin Cooper.

[01:13:37] Dustin Cooper.

[01:13:37] There we go.

[01:13:38] Dustin Cooper was a really handy player,

[01:13:40] and I'm surprised he only played six games for us.

[01:13:43] I even remember him playing a lot more for us.

[01:13:45] A few Regis.

[01:13:46] Ah, and his brother, yes.

[01:13:49] Okay, now it's all making sense,

[01:13:50] and now I feel like an idiot.

[01:13:51] I feel like people would be listening to this saying,

[01:13:54] how could you not remember Dustin Cooper?

[01:13:56] Because he had a really unique style.

[01:13:59] Totally, totally.

[01:14:00] Did he play Japanese rugby?

[01:14:01] Yeah.

[01:14:02] And he had a kick on him as well too

[01:14:04] that didn't really look like it would come from him.

[01:14:07] But yeah, he had a really good high ball on him.

[01:14:10] But yeah, Dustin Cooper could fill a number of holes.

[01:14:12] And I think that was the start of the time

[01:14:15] when he went over there to the rugby,

[01:14:17] and then we lost Fraser Anderson at the end of O.A.

[01:14:20] Oh, so he's responsible maybe.

[01:14:22] So I remember reading some articles

[01:14:24] about saying how they were really good friends.

[01:14:26] But when you talk about untapped talent,

[01:14:29] Fraser Anderson was definitely one of those guys for us

[01:14:33] that we had such high hopes for.

[01:14:35] Oh, we can do a whole episode on him.

[01:14:36] The money was too good.

[01:14:37] Love it.

[01:14:38] Oh mate, it was unreal.

[01:14:39] And that 08 team was really carried

[01:14:42] by some of his performances.

[01:14:43] And then he was never to be seen again.

[01:14:45] He just vanished.

[01:14:46] But Dustin Cooper, yeah.

[01:14:49] Who was the first guy we played for?

[01:14:50] Was it-

[01:14:51] Storms.

[01:14:52] Storm and then Cowboys.

[01:14:54] Newcastle.

[01:14:55] Newcastle, sorry.

[01:14:56] And then I don't remember the other nights.

[01:14:58] But yeah, surprisingly only played six games for us.

[01:15:01] He's definitely someone I probably would have pegged

[01:15:04] as like a 20 gamer.

[01:15:05] In breaking news,

[01:15:06] Clinton Maynard has just put in his three two ones

[01:15:08] from the weekend.

[01:15:09] Three to Nico, two to McInnis, one to Tall Tom.

[01:15:14] Just in case anyone's wondering.

[01:15:15] And hello to Clinton.

[01:15:15] Clinton is on the air four nights a week.

[01:15:18] I don't know if it's nationwide, it might be.

[01:15:20] Definitely New South Wales on 2GB doing the overnight show.

[01:15:24] So if you want to talk sharks,

[01:15:25] ring in to talk to him.

[01:15:27] I'm sure he'd love to hear you ring in about that.

[01:15:30] And it's a real accolade for him to be doing that.

[01:15:34] It's well done.

[01:15:34] Very, very well deserved is what I'm trying to say.

[01:15:38] Kieran, I think we're done man.

[01:15:39] Thanks for your time.

[01:15:41] Appreciate it.

[01:15:42] It's been a bummer not being able to chat to you

[01:15:43] about the sharks in a public forum.

[01:15:46] So I'm glad we could do that today.

[01:15:48] And I look forward to seeing your pretty face on Saturday.

[01:15:53] It's gonna be a good one.

[01:15:55] I'm gonna go absolutely feral.

[01:15:57] So if anyone sees me there, you didn't see me.

[01:15:59] Don't tell anybody what I get up to

[01:16:00] because I'm gonna go wild.

[01:16:01] I can't wait for this game.

[01:16:02] It's gonna be unreal.

[01:16:03] Well, if you're sitting in the upper ET,

[01:16:06] you won't be going too feral my friend.

[01:16:09] You can do that once you leave the precinct

[01:16:11] of the upper ET.

[01:16:13] Although lately, some of the people.

[01:16:17] There's been some yahoos lately.

[01:16:18] Yahoos, yes.

[01:16:19] Good way of putting it.

[01:16:21] Yeah, it's gonna be good.

[01:16:22] It's gonna be great.

[01:16:23] It's a big one.

[01:16:24] I think when we win,

[01:16:26] it's gonna be a very strong feeling of justification,

[01:16:31] of validation because they're just flying so high.

[01:16:34] And yeah, we were all a little bit nervous

[01:16:36] leading into the big games,

[01:16:37] but they've shown what they can do

[01:16:39] under adversity as well.

[01:16:41] Just terrific time to be a Sharks fan.

[01:16:43] So we enjoy it.

[01:16:44] Lap it up.

[01:16:45] Wear your colors.

[01:16:47] We're gonna get a great game of football

[01:16:49] with two really good teams

[01:16:51] that are really gonna go for each other

[01:16:52] because that Panther team is a really great unit.

[01:16:55] They've been together for a long time

[01:16:56] and they'd be annoyed that the Sharks

[01:16:58] are four points clear.

[01:16:59] Absolutely.

[01:16:59] And they'll be wanting to send a message.

[01:17:01] So it's gonna be a firecracker.

[01:17:03] I absolutely can't wait.

[01:17:04] It's been three great weeks of football

[01:17:06] where I've actually been excited to watch the Sharks play

[01:17:09] and I've been confident versus being nervous.

[01:17:11] So hope everybody else has some of that feeling too

[01:17:13] because it's a different year,

[01:17:15] it's a different mentality

[01:17:16] and it's a different squad.

[01:17:17] So don't hold onto negativity baby.

[01:17:19] Let it all go.

[01:17:22] People are funny.

[01:17:23] Anyway, Kieran we'll talk to you soon.

[01:17:25] I'll see you soon, which is exciting.

[01:17:27] Everyone thanks for being in touch.

[01:17:28] Hopefully we got through all your mail.

[01:17:30] SharkHousePotteryGML.com.

[01:17:31] We're on the socials.

[01:17:32] Follow us, message us, like us.

[01:17:35] Importantly tell your friends about us.

[01:17:37] I've got some nice emails during the week

[01:17:38] which I didn't get to.

[01:17:40] It wasn't really for public attention

[01:17:42] but someone wrote in saying they were actually

[01:17:45] at SunCorp at Magic Round having a great time

[01:17:49] and they were mingling with other Sharks fans.

[01:17:51] One thing led to another, another, another

[01:17:53] and somehow we came up, which was great, the pod

[01:17:56] and the person who wrote to me

[01:18:00] had never heard the show

[01:18:02] and they consumed in their words

[01:18:05] a lot of episodes in the past six days or whatever it was.

[01:18:09] That's what we want though.

[01:18:11] We want word of mouth just to keep spreading.

[01:18:13] So just keep telling all your friends

[01:18:16] about the SharkCast pod and there is that asterisk

[01:18:21] there that we apologize

[01:18:23] and you can apologize if it's not for them

[01:18:24] but so far we've had really great feedback

[01:18:28] from people spreading the word.

[01:18:29] So if you could keep doing that, that would be awesome.

[01:18:32] Kieran, I'm out of here.

[01:18:33] You're out of here, SharkCast people.

[01:18:36] We're gonna play the song again

[01:18:37] because we keep winning.

[01:18:38] So let's play the song.

[01:18:40] Take care, we'll see you on Saturday.

[01:18:41] Up, up Cronulla, let's go.

[01:18:43] ["Up Cronulla"]

[01:19:09] ["Go Out and Play Without Fear"]