Shark Talk with Sam Shinazzi and Jardian Ormsby

[00:00:00] Hi guys, welcome to the Mane Cronulla Sharks dedicated to great sport and history of the club, the Mane Cronulla Sharks. SharkCast! SharkCast! Hey there, welcome to SharkCast Podcast, a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the Mane Cronulla Sutherland Sharks.

[00:00:47] My name is, my name is, my name is Sam Shinazzi, I'm OG from 2016 and no 2015, I always get that wrong. Let's just start again. No, let's not start again. It's 2015, OG Sam Shinazzi here. I'm a bit rusty because I haven't done this for a few weeks.

[00:01:04] This show is brought to you as always by SharkCast Pod. This sucks. We're starting again Jards. Hey there, welcome to SharkCast Podcast. No, no, no. Don't start again. You know what happened here Sam? I caught the reference. The inner M&M in you came out.

[00:01:24] Oh yes, that's it. You just caught up in the moment and I love that. I love the authenticity and the rawness of going straight into it. I don't know where it came from but as a hip hop connoisseur I loved hearing it.

[00:01:35] It's up to you whether or not you keep that part but I am going to advocate for its inclusion. Alright, well let's just say this show is brought to you by SharkCast Pod because this is SharkCast Pod.

[00:01:45] It's also brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Mode of Your Club, Inport Hacking, Jason Horsey, Crips and Crips Real Estate.

[00:01:51] The gentleman on the other end of this conversation is the legendary app maker, intro music mashup creator, legendary father figure to all of us including his beautiful children,

[00:02:06] former Shark's employee, lifetime baller. I mentioned the apps. He's my good friend Jadian, Almsby Jadian. Can you believe we're recording all the hiccups we've had? Welcome back.

[00:02:17] I will say this much. I don't know if I've actually said this before but I'm going to say it again if I have. If I ever become a professional wrestler at the age of whatever it is I'm going to be in the next couple of years which is slightly too embarrassing to say out loud,

[00:02:30] you are going to be my ring announcer. You are going to be my Howard Finkel, my Jimmy Hart, my... Howard Finkels we're at. Yeah okay, we can do my... A NEW CHAMPION!

[00:02:43] Yes, you are going to be that person because I can be feeling ordinary in whatever day that you ask me to do these things on but however I'm feeling I always feel a million times better after one of your intros from either me or anyone else that you speak to.

[00:02:58] So thank you for having me again. Thank you for your generosity with all that and I'm excited to talk to you.

[00:03:04] Getting into all things sharks, past, present, future. What have you been up to the last few weeks since the season has wound down Jadian? What can you tell us?

[00:03:13] So live at the NRL is quite interesting because when you're in season and this is not just the NRL this was the same at Fox and Fox Sports and other places that I've worked at as well.

[00:03:27] While the sporting season is on you're busy and you're doing a lot of things but the action kind of is taking care of a lot of the conversation, a lot of the dialogue.

[00:03:40] You're almost in BAU business as usual mindset by the time round one hits or something like that.

[00:03:48] When the season finishes and you get a little bit of chance to digest you really don't get that long to let the hair down because pretty quickly after that you've got to get into planning for the next season or at least getting all the ducks lined up for next season.

[00:04:07] For people who have worked inside NRL clubs, Gary can probably vouch for this as well. It's usually that off season part that it actually way busier in terms of getting things done and in terms of getting everything set up because that's where you're really putting all of your planning into motion, particularly from a membership perspective.

[00:04:27] And for us at the NRL it's a little bit similar. We've got some things that we from a digital perspective want to execute on next year and we're going to be spending, you know, we did get an opportunity to let the hair down for a few days there after the grand final but we are already pretty much coming into the next season.

[00:04:45] It already feels like it's all systems go for us so busy is the short answer. What is PVL like when the hair comes down?

[00:04:53] I am not important enough a person in the world Sam to have been blessed with the opportunity to be at the table with PVL but from all conversations like from all I hear he seems like he's always switched on and he's always, you know, looking for the next mountain to climb.

[00:05:10] I imagine it's probably a little bit of that just trickling down. I mean the thing that is on the top of mind for everyone in the hallways at the moment is getting ready for Vegas and just getting everything that we can ready looking Schmick doing our absolute best to make that a positive experience

[00:05:29] for the game, a positive experience for fans and a positive experience for any casual person who doesn't know what rugby league is as of right now who will be going to that will be their first encounter with rugby league trying to bring them into the game on a longer term basis than just casually strolling through.

[00:05:47] We have a lot to talk about Jardien in Shark land. We haven't spoken to you for a while. I want to ask you a little bit about how the season ended up for the club and your feelings on that. How did you see the season overall?

[00:06:02] Give me some thoughts what were your thoughts on the final game against the roosters.

[00:06:06] I thought the final game against the roosters was the perfect summation of our season as a whole, which was we were good. We were right there. We probably could have won, probably should have won, but we didn't.

[00:06:21] And that game was almost a microcosm of the year at large. There were times when we looked amazing. There were times when we didn't. There were times when we should have put the game away. There were times that I thought we were actually lucky to hang on that

[00:06:36] That ebbing and flowing was not uncommon to us. Even the teams that were at the top end of the pyramid and who were there on grand final night, they had their things that they had to work through during the year as well.

[00:06:50] They had their challenges, but for us, I walked out of Shark Park that night feeling, I don't know. I definitely wasn't as deflated as I was walking out against the Cowboys, even though the result was the same and the circumstance was the same.

[00:07:09] I think that was probably the fact that it wasn't an X Shark kicking that point made it less painful for me to digest like when Val Holmes did it to us. So it wasn't as painful as the previous year, but it still hurt.

[00:07:26] I probably walked out of there a little bit more resolute in how I felt about the team as a whole than I did last season. Last season, I probably felt as though, ah, that's just a really unlucky break. Penalty doesn't happen so late last year, then it's a completely different result.

[00:07:42] But this season, I probably went into the game against the Roosters with a mindset that I was probably going to walk out more surprised if we did win than if we didn't win. And that's the difference and that's where we got to there.

[00:07:59] So trying to articulate this in ways that doesn't make me sound really critical of people because I know that in the moment everyone's doing the best that they absolutely can. But as a person who's kind of watched this for quite a while, now I didn't walk out there feeling as though we were even moving in the right direction.

[00:08:19] Do you mean from that game point of view or the whole season as one kind of thing?

[00:08:24] The whole season as one kind of thing. We went from a very silky second place or at least finished the regular season, the normal season in second place last year and granted the schedule. Say what you will about the schedule and all that other stuff. You can only play what's in front of you.

[00:08:47] And we did and we placed second. This year it was a little bit more of a grind and it was a little bit more challenging. And I think there were some things that happened mid season that didn't help with all of that.

[00:09:01] And specifically if I can get specific on that. I'm talking about the way I think Nico's origin experience and maybe a couple of other things that happened around there were maybe more impactful than we knew.

[00:09:15] Then we thought I still don't know the extent of how impactful any of that was. I'm not in Nico's head and I can only put together bits and pieces of when he spoke about it at that press conference.

[00:09:28] But if you were to ask me do I think we moved closer to winning a Premiership or further away from it. I mean the brutal truth is that I think we probably slipped further away from that last season.

[00:09:44] Not in ways that can't be fixed or in a huge drop off. I mean still top eight still top six had a home final. There were other teams in the competition that would kill for that.

[00:09:58] But you know we're not necessarily one of those teams that would kill for a top six finish. We are bigger than that and we're better than that. And that's how I feel about the way it all finished.

[00:10:11] Given your well known to this show thoughts on how we need to expand Shark Park. What was your experience like at the last game?

[00:10:22] Let me tell you what my brother's experience like was like because he's a better person to judge because he doesn't go to Shark Park as often as I do yet he feels very similarly in his affection towards the club that I do.

[00:10:34] It felt different for him than other stadium experiences in Sydney in ways that were hard for him to understand why we would still do certain things like that in 2023.

[00:10:49] That was his polite way of putting his experience with his kids. I'm less polite than he is when it comes to this conversation and I think I've written things about this certainly within our chat group.

[00:11:01] I've spoken about this. I just don't know how long we can continue to make excuses for that sorry state of the stadium. Some people love it and I'm one of those people who for the nostalgia it gives me in my life.

[00:11:16] I will always love Shark Park and I will always love the memories that I have there. I think it will always be the home, the spiritual home of the club.

[00:11:26] But as a stadium and as an experience if you're going there with kids like I am regularly it's not easy to cart around in there particularly if you just so happen to get stuck in traffic and you're just trying to cram in at the last minute.

[00:11:43] I've gone to five other stadiums this season outside of Shark Park with kids Sam and they were all far easier to navigate through. And in a few of those experiences much better atmospheres than ours.

[00:12:01] And the times there when I totally understand why people, why the team would want to play every single game that they have at Shark Park because there's an advantage there that I think none of us who really qualify to speak about you have to be a player or a coach to understand what type of advantage people are talking about when they talk about the advantage of Shark Park.

[00:12:22] But the result was the same as last season. So like someone's going to have to tell me about what these advantages are because we do it, we lock people out, we tell casual sharks fans that you cannot come to this game because you know it's sold out and we deny them the ability to go to a final in the spirit of increasing our chances of winning a particular game and progressing on.

[00:12:48] And that's all well and good. I actually think that's within the, I don't think anyone except for the football team should have any say on that because if like we're here to support and this is true for the NRL it's true for any other sporting organization.

[00:13:04] It was true at basketball Australia when I was there. It's true for every sporting organization that I've worked in.

[00:13:10] We in the offices are there to support whatever's going on field. We are there to make it as easy for them to do their jobs either through its through membership or through game day experiences through whatever it is we our job is to do everything we can to make the players on the field or on the court responsible for only those things that happen on the court.

[00:13:35] When I get told there's an advantage here for our playing squad by playing here. I'm not one to challenge that, but it kind of grates me and people who want to be there can't be there.

[00:13:47] And we cite competitive edge as the reason that that's the case. And then that competitive edge doesn't manifest in a result. That's what's tricky for me sometimes when it comes to that on the competitive edge and the hungry advantage of the players.

[00:14:02] I mean to be fair they've gone really close both times. I'm not even being 1% cheeky. It obviously helps, but I take your point that we actually haven't got the W and either of those last two finals games there from there.

[00:14:18] There the end of the season. How do you think we're shaping up this year and we'll talk about it throughout the episode but just top your head. How do you think 2024 is looking at this current point in late October?

[00:14:32] I'm a little bit nervous about the lack of signings, which it appears to be connected at some level to the inability to financially salary cap wise do that because we I don't know the details of everything of every person's contract or anything like that.

[00:14:51] But it looks as though most of the squads set and it looks as though the room to maneuver finances within the salary cap might be a little bit more limited than it has been in the past because the only person as far as I can see who's coming off the books is Wade Graham of considerable note.

[00:15:08] And I have no idea how much of that money of Wade's money has already been factored into other people's contracts of you know people who have resigned or I don't know who did restructuring and any of that.

[00:15:20] If none of that had to come out of Wade's salary and Wade's was we had his full salary to play with in terms of way we go to from here.

[00:15:29] I would still be a little bit nervous about what we actually have the ability to achieve with that given the gap that given the way that we finished this season and that makes me a little bit nervous.

[00:15:42] There's some development that I thought slashed hoped would happen in some of our playing squad that looked like maybe it was going to for a little bit there and then petered off a little bit or was inconsistent. Can you elaborate on that at all?

[00:15:57] I think there are a couple players who at the start of the year at least I said to myself if this person has an origin caliber season or if that person has an origin caliber season or if this person can even get themselves into the origin conversation.

[00:16:14] Then I think we're good and I think we're set and you know this goes back to the old school of thought you know plan I think plan and maybe others have mentioned this but if you really want to be there at the business end of the year.

[00:16:27] It helps when you have three or four origin type players and not only helps like it's almost likely to be the case that you have that number of representatives in your team on the verge of that type of representation in your team.

[00:16:41] I don't know that we're there right now and it feels like we maybe slipped a little bit further away from having that representation there. I felt really sad for Nico about that experience that he had around origin.

[00:16:55] I felt disappointed for him and I thought it was a little bit it wasn't a real opportunity.

[00:17:02] It wasn't a real chance to plant the flag down there and he was our best shot at that in terms of having someone from the club fly that flag get that experience and you know I felt disappointed that he had been it appeared as though he had been prepared for a bigger role going back to the

[00:17:19] team last season.

[00:17:21] The year before even though he didn't get onto the field then he was around camp he was around the players he understood what was happening there and then for that to kind of happen the way it did and for us to perhaps not really have anyone to their pushing pushing the case for origin selection.

[00:17:40] It left me a little bit unsure of the future prospects of where we're at with this particular squad.

[00:17:47] In my weekend moments I will ask myself and I wonder whether we have actually already maxed out in terms of our ability to win with this particular configuration of players bringing another one or two or three potential game changes and that whole conversation goes up in smokes and we're kind of a different team.

[00:18:05] That's how it works for the most you know big teams is that you see some sort of change you seem some sort of shift and it leads to the filling of the gap that was there from a previous season.

[00:18:19] James Maloney comes in yeah me can ask then you get these people slowly rolling in and it doesn't happen overnight but eventually it gets you to the point and you're always moving forward like you kangaroo and emu.

[00:18:30] There's only one way to go in it try not to sound critical on this but I want to be authentic. I don't know if we moved closer to the goal this year or slipped further away from it.

[00:18:41] So it's a some great point you bring up firstly I want to just remind people that this stuff doesn't really happen overnight like it takes seasons and we demand success since 2016. It's what we want to achieve every year we can.

[00:18:56] So I'm with everyone else saying let's have this success as soon as we can. We're going into year three of the Fitzgibbon era season one finished second pitted out in the finals last year.

[00:19:10] What were we six or seven I think is that right and then six together final year six and then pitted out in the final. So a step back in a lot of ways.

[00:19:21] This is season three with pretty much the same squad will say this is the last year I think that they'll have that chance to do something special. A lot of players off contract for both us and good players coming off contract for 2025.

[00:19:39] And that's where you'll see the change particularly if we have a similar or worse year. It's a young squad in a lot of ways like take out for new can take out McKinnis few of those guys. It's a young squad.

[00:19:53] So I think that a lot of those players whilst they may not have replicated their first season under Fitzgibbon this year they didn't fall back like a long way. They fell back a foot or two a step or two.

[00:20:06] It's easy enough I think to sort of get back to where they were the challenges that go past that. I think it's a big year for a lot of players and for the club.

[00:20:13] And I think the way forward Jardine is we've got the same squad this year moving forward for a year they got to mix it up. They've got to do something in the left center. They've got to do something with their middles.

[00:20:27] I'm assuming the Trindleheim things are work thing will work out at best so the workout that's that'll be our halves more or less unless something goes wrong.

[00:20:37] So I think we're kind of in the hunt still but they definitely as a team and as a coach they need to mix it up somewhat to take the next step otherwise it'll be the same all same all agree.

[00:20:51] And if I'm being honest Sam I think the way that the team performed this year was probably what I expected to happen at the start of the season anyways.

[00:21:02] I think in the year one of a new coach with the pedigree that Fitz has everyone wants to play out of their skin.

[00:21:10] Everyone wants to prove to him that they belong and his reputation coming into the club as a coach was that almost everyone wants it to work with him. Players love playing for Fitz. That speaks volumes to who he is as an organiser as a human being.

[00:21:32] And so when he came in and we did well I was like really well like second place well heading into the finals that was probably not all too surprising to me because I expected everyone to lift at the start there.

[00:21:46] This past season we all hoped I believe we wanted the team to go a step further but it made more sense to me that you know when I looked at this at the start of the year that as you get more and more comfortable with people and as you get more set in your ways so to speak.

[00:22:08] The opportunity to for slippage is a little higher than usual. We didn't have too many people challenging that first grade team for roles. This isn't a this isn't a take about people's mindset.

[00:22:25] This is a take on my own mindset when you don't have people breathing down your neck and putting pressure on you to perform sometimes you just don't the way that you should. That's just life. It's not about the football players we have in our team.

[00:22:38] It's not about the football players we have in the game.

[00:22:40] This happens everywhere in life like we move a little faster we move a little harder when that next person is there saying I'm going to take your job if you don't do it very well and in the absence of that because we didn't really have a lot of that things happen.

[00:22:55] That I don't know would have happened if there was a little bit more pressure applied now.

[00:23:00] Craig Fitzgibbon sees the game a million times better than I do and he is much better at adjusting to that but just from the casual perspective from the fan sitting on the sides perspective.

[00:23:12] I thought it was sometimes obvious that you know people were playing comfortably at certain points and I think that I think the sentiment I saw online later was probably similar to that too.

[00:23:22] In hindsight he made the changes towards the end of the year two or three weeks too late and you might have seen a few more wins who knows we don't know.

[00:23:34] And what you said before Sam just before you move off that point I thought it was really astute as well because in the when you talked about playing style because the reality is in the absence of being able to change your personnel which we cannot do or we have not done.

[00:23:49] You need to change the style of play that you have. That's the only option if you don't have new bodies coming into the building then you have to adjust your playing methods to try and meet the expectations of those real clinical finishes.

[00:24:04] That's our only choice this offseason it's not going to come change is not going to come in new people coming into the team or at least to date there have been no changes in terms of new people joining the team.

[00:24:14] Change has to come in the way that we play the game whether that's a philosophical approach whether that's a mindset thing which I think we looked at times like like a team that was playing together for the first time we looked real tentative real nervous real very unlike the team that we expect to have out there so we're going to have to see that if we want to take three steps forward to accommodate and over compensate for the two steps.

[00:24:44] It's back that may have been taken it's going to have to come in that style of play and it's going to have to become in on the team list.

[00:24:52] It's going to have to people are going to have to shuffle around if we want different results or at least execute a little better on on the game plan if we want to see those things so I think you raise a good point when you kind of called out the style.

[00:25:05] Yeah as far as recruitment personnel etc the only real possibilities that would happen would be and they're at the moment just possibility is nothing more would be a Matt Moylan moving to another club and he's on speculating here about four four fifty tops so a good chunk.

[00:25:27] He could possibly move to a dragons type team in the offseason. Conor Tracy has been widely speculated to do a similar thing I'm of the opinion without strong knowledge that the club probably would not want that they would want to keep corner the extra year that he's on.

[00:25:46] I think with Matt Moylan there'd be more flexibility because there is a bit more depth there so they're the only two real significant changes as far as money ball goes that we will see there's no other as far as I know no other things happening.

[00:26:02] We might pick up a reserve great player or two here or there fringe player these things tend to happen it's not going to be anyone of great note doesn't mean they can't bring in something but yeah what we have now is what we've got a great note.

[00:26:15] Unless one of those two players kind of move on if a Matt Moylan was to move on it's a big if then there's a bit of money to play with but then you look at the market and well who are you going to pick up.

[00:26:26] You might pick up a young big bopper that we kind of need but again are they going to be ready to be thrown into first grade at that price and that part of the depth squad so there is not a lot of change coming which is why I'm pretty sure we'll see some changes in if it's not the way they play it'll be as you said.

[00:26:45] The positions are the guys playing Jardine I saw interesting SMH article this week I have no affiliation with SMH although I did was my first job with them a long time ago my dad is working but I have no affiliation with them and the article was titled.

[00:27:02] Want to avoid a Panthers for Pete here's your teams to do list over summer big title and I thought we could go through this and just talk about it from our point of view of course and whoever wrote this article apologies I'm not sure they had five key points that I'd like to talk about at least most of them.

[00:27:20] And the first one was hatch a plan to beat the top sides it's now becoming a mental obstacle you can't win a Premiership if you can't beat the sides in the top half of the ladder.

[00:27:32] Now as the year went on we did see us beat some top eight teams so that from a stats point of view wasn't a thing but they did struggle against the top teams we know this I also believe that it is partly a mental thing I'm not suggesting that a Panthers team isn't better than that.

[00:27:49] Better than us because they are as a playing group but also particularly in these finals games I do believe that there is some mental kind of as this person said obstacles what do you what are your thoughts on that.

[00:28:00] You and I both in this mental health space a lot so before I say anything about this when I hear this particular word using this context I don't think people are talking about mental wellness.

[00:28:11] No no no there when we're talking about mental obstacles we are we're kind of we're talking about mental steel yes let me put that let me lay that down there before I say what I'm about to say thank you is that yes.

[00:28:22] I think that the mental steel and the mental resolve in those tough moments was found wanting many many times during the season like I've touched on earlier and now we're at the point where my casual friends who know next to nothing about the sharks fans like their fans of their own club but in terms of our team they don't know a lot.

[00:28:47] They're sending me the memes about the teams in ability to beat top four teams that beat top two teams to kind of beat out top eight teams so what was once upon a time kind of only really known to us as a fan base like we kind of noticed here during the John Morris era that we have a bit of a hard time with the top eight that eventually got into the media saying oh look at that have a look at that when you go down that list it looks like you're

[00:29:17] like they struggle a little bit against the top eight teams to now being at the point where everyone knows this is a challenge for the team and it's not to say that anyone is individually mentally unfit or mentally weak just we lacked some of that poison some of that steel that we saw out of the now three time defending champion back to back.

[00:29:40] Champions who just never panicked it never seemed as though Penrith were too far away from being right where they wanted to be even when the score was getting run up to run up on them in that middle part of the game you always felt as though or at least many of us felt as though if Penrith can just score one of these tries which happened via a clear line break onto.

[00:30:10] On to a try their Moses Lyotta they were still behind but it felt like it was game on and this is what this is what really good teams have in their arsenal sometimes they have that person who will say enough is enough give me the damn ball and get out of my way or give me the ball and let me go to work.

[00:30:30] And I'm still not sure that we had that person there in the team yet we have someone who can be that person we have someone that has been that person last year in terms of applying that mentality consistently needs a little bit of support from the rest of the group.

[00:30:49] Around him in order to make that happen Nathan Cleary doesn't just do that on his own Nathan Cleary does that on a platform of aggressive forward play that allows him the space time and freedom he does that off the back of having a partner in the harbors who won't ask if he needs to take pressure off.

[00:31:09] Clear he'll just step in like think what you will about Jerome Lui but when when he can sense that Cleary needs some assistance or he needs something else he won't ask his permission to do it he'll just go and take it.

[00:31:22] And that's where I think we are a little bit different to and to loop this back to the original point you made if we're going to really compete against and beat the top teams.

[00:31:34] In the top in the big games we need to beat the top teams in the games that are so big.

[00:31:40] We need to beat them in the season we need to go into any games knowing that hey, we saw you 10 rounds ago we beat you by 15 points we're going to do that again tonight but we were not there yet.

[00:31:53] Yeah, it's something that we had in 2016 obviously and that's what took us all the way. It's a premiership thing but you don't need to win premierships to have that steal and we are a little bit away from where we want to be in that department.

[00:32:09] When do they start working on it Jardine as far as making the next step in the finals do you wait for the finals to come around next year like when does this start because it's a question that obviously will be asked when we make the finals next year

[00:32:23] but it'll be asked round one like it's something that's going to continue to haunt them and ask the audience watching them like when do you start working on it? As soon as you can now. How do you do it?

[00:32:35] Round one like look here's something from me saying this is how I feel about the situation right now my preference right now is to go into the finals next year playing on the road in that first week.

[00:32:50] Like let's break a few things here let's do something different let's snap a certain mindset because the moment that we're at Shark Park I don't know I think we're actually in counterintuitive territory.

[00:33:04] You're saying now and it's sort of only dawned on me for real you're saying we're taking it pretty easy when we're down at Shark Park in week one of the finals because we think we're at home baby and we got this crowd and we've got the wind and we're going to go.

[00:33:19] Not taking it easy but taking for granted things that others in those pressure moments are not and again I'm not saying that we don't want we're not inviting competitive advantage.

[00:33:30] We should always invite competitive advantage but let's talk about a different type of competitive advantage let's talk about the competitive advantage of doesn't matter where we are we can win at any stadium.

[00:33:41] That is the type of competitive advantage that a team is going to need if it wants to win on grand final day unless you're the Bulldogs or rabbit who play there anyways.

[00:33:50] Every single other team needs to be able to say that about themselves needs to know that they can walk into any place so for me I'm looking for circuit breakers right now I'm looking for anything that will snap us out of whatever funk.

[00:34:03] We are in when it comes to certain things if we were to lose another home final in the first week of the finals and I think you've actually you've actually now created things that are really hard to untangle.

[00:34:16] One more is going to be a piccolo I reckon there is also that expectation that feeling and we felt it in the crowd particularly set a second half both last year and issue in the finals and it's that 12,000 people whose weight is on these 13 players on the field.

[00:34:33] There's a part of that they can probably feel I can probably hear the groaning in the crowd or whatever that weight of expectation just win the game come on get the field goal whatever and that is taken away if you're on the road.

[00:34:45] We have nothing to lose here and I hate to cite this as an example of what I'm talking about here but like I'm going to when you roll down to camera and you lose your captain before the game even starts highly influential captain as well.

[00:35:01] And then you lose your substitute captain really quickly into the game through concussion or through injury like.

[00:35:09] You're on the ropes and that's what the 2016 shark for they were on the ropes they were getting absolutely slaughtered in that first half and then that one moment of brilliance you end up with. You know, maybe prior who I don't think we win the premiership unless.

[00:35:24] He's there to be honest like I thought about this a million different ways you think without with him there none of this happens but.

[00:35:32] It changes the trajectory of the game and it changes everything but the one thing that didn't change in that is was the mindset which is that like.

[00:35:40] We're right up against it here this is a hostile place with really hard intangibles to like navigate around and that's you know valuable that's handy that's what those teams at the top have in them I felt as though we could have walked into any arena after that particular game.

[00:36:03] We didn't matter where we played the preliminary final which also happened to be the Sydney football stadium against Cowboys didn't matter if it was there didn't matter if we were playing Melbourne in Melbourne I actually would have thought you know even if it had been Melbourne in the preliminary final at the grand final.

[00:36:16] I'd back us to win that but here like but right now. I don't know this. I go back and forth on this one with people Sam I know that we talk about in our chat. I'm just not a big fan of shying away from big crowds.

[00:36:31] Yeah, in order for you know protecting home field advantage let more fans in go to a bigger stadium you're going to need to win at a core anyways if you want to lift the trophy take it to come back.

[00:36:43] So like I understand not taking it to Aliens this year given that we were playing the route but like there's other.

[00:36:48] Because the sharks don't control the ticketing situation when you're in finals this is like once you're in finals doesn't matter where the game is being played that that ticketing thing is going to the NRL.

[00:36:58] I actually think that you're in some ways you're actually disadvantaged if you're a small team playing at a small stadium because what you're relying on is the crowd to be configured the exact same way they have been for the 12 or 13 home games that you've played there prior to but you get into that arena.

[00:37:17] And guess what there's a whole part of your stadium that you're used to seeing sharks fans in that is suddenly red white and roosters blue that makes it a slightly different experience.

[00:37:28] So like you say that you want to play here because you want to try and best as best you can recreate that sharks park that shark park experience but it isn't actually that shark park experience because there are 40% of the crowd.

[00:37:42] I was going to say what would you what would you put out I would say at least 35 40%. I was in a section down by the hill and I was in my sharks here with my brother we had our sons there.

[00:37:55] And we were in the minority there as sharks fans we were surrounded by roosters fans who had either gotten onto ticket really quickly or who had you know scouts or whatever else to get their tickets and I could see over the way on the eastern concourse.

[00:38:12] And I was like there's sections of only roosters fans there.

[00:38:17] This isn't the home field advantage that players probably thought they were walking into when we said we want to be here at shark park and we want to do that we probably didn't imagine that when we run out there on the night it would almost feel like an away game anyways because you've got booing coming out of portions of the crowd that weren't there previously and this was different to when we played the cowboys because when you're playing the cowboys at home you're playing an out of town team.

[00:38:42] And that configuration was completely different because there were less people coming from townsville down to Kranala than they were coming from the eastern suburbs. Great to Kranala.

[00:38:53] So it felt like for a home final where you're not using the same run out like when you're not using I think we did actually have the same right but when you're not having the same person on your loudspeaker when you're not having the same type of entertainment that you used to when it's in control of the NRL this is actually a completely foreign experience.

[00:39:12] Whereas that thing that you thought you were preserving by way of competitive advantage is marginalised significantly I think and I think we know that now.

[00:39:21] The advantage was for the I don't know if there was like 7000 sharks fans there maybe 5000 live locally I don't know I'm just estimating but the advantage was for people like me who could walk down to the ground or whatever.

[00:39:34] Woo that's awesome but as soon as you go through those gates it's all different anyway we've jotted in your ladder talk about the home ground throughout the rest of the episode so we're going to move on but you are allowed to bring it up whatever you like.

[00:39:45] Next point was fix the left edge defense now this is a bit complicated because our left edge defense had different people playing in different spots throughout the year in different sections but definitely good point it was a weakness of ours throughout the year and I think on top of that subject fix the left edge defense I want to talk about who's going to be playing left centre.

[00:40:10] And I am of the belief now completely even though I am denied for years and years and years that Sifatalakai is not the best left centre that we can have there.

[00:40:21] I think he does a remarkable job I think that he's a remarkable player I want him in my 17 but it's just not really I don't think it's the answer I think he he filled a gap for a long time.

[00:40:33] It's time to move on if four or five guys go down and we need one we've got one in Talakai beautiful but I think there should be a new left centre this year I'm open to different thoughts on who that should be there's a number of options.

[00:40:48] You can go with someone like Connor Tracy who's had a great finish to the year at fullback he played really good in the centres throughout the year for four or five games at least.

[00:40:57] You can go with the young fella Kale Iroh who's been really good in cup games and there are other scenarios there you could go down but I think that Talakai will then feel a great spot on the bench as a middle forward he needs he needs lots of time and he's also there with flexibility to be an edge forward

[00:41:17] and he needs to be a centre if you need it and that's the way I'm thinking I don't think we can name Talakai around one left edge centre.

[00:41:25] I try to think of reasons why I would feel differently what you just said Sam but I can't really think of too many of the many challenges that we had there because it wasn't just him there were multiple challenges that we experienced there with the ball and with Will Kennedy healthy.

[00:41:41] The stiff attack I is the best centre that you can have I do believe that I do believe that on that side of the pitch with a healthy will Kennedy that the way that back line moves and their connection there there's just something to say for the way that they can get up on each other but defensively it's just not viable anymore for that for that to continue on

[00:42:02] that we just get attacked down that side the same way that the dragons get attacked down the right you just know just go at it and eventually it's going to crack.

[00:42:15] And Sifra is a good defender I want to state that as well but his build and his style is not made for turn and run defensive centre playing which is what you do when you're in the centre is a lot you sort of either run along with the guy or you turn and chase like he just doesn't know what to do.

[00:42:32] I don't really have that in him we've seen that in the bigger games against the flashier centres and he's not on his own but the left edge defence is not a weakness because of Sifra Talakai it's a connection of a whole bunch of guys.

[00:42:48] I'm just adding him into this story because I think that for me he should be moving back into the forwards as a middle which is where we're also lacking go forward.

[00:42:58] Now I know he's a smaller middle but you can't tell me he won't be destructive no matter where you play he's just he's impossible to tackle so that's my thinking there.

[00:43:08] If it was NFL and it was offence defence as they call it then absolutely throw him out there maybe you can do trick shots Jad in every now and then you can do a scrum move like serious now I'm serious this is the serious part of the NFL but it wasn't serious this is serious like you could you could do trick shots and have him move to the centre through now and then and freak people out and he can do his hand.

[00:43:28] Handy work but I just think that it's probably time to get someone else out there.

[00:43:33] Kail Eero for me I'm not completely sold on him being the guy but I do like what he does I do believe he's a first grader whether he's the one to shine for us I'm not sure happy to give it a shot I think that kind of Tracy.

[00:43:53] There's a lot of pros there some cons you could then do other things like there's been talk from fans at least of shifting Ronaldo to the centre's get Sam Stone Street in the wing.

[00:44:07] I'm not a huge fan of that because I don't think Ronnie's a centre to be honest there are different scenarios there the coach can look at oh sorry the one I'm leaving out the one I'm leaving out is Kate Dyches right and everyone's talking about him being a fullback being a five eight.

[00:44:21] He's also got the capabilities to be a centre and I'm of the belief that he will do some training at centre this season so I would also put Kate Dyches in the centre possibilities whether it's round one or not I couldn't tell you but I wouldn't rule out Kate Dyches having a go in the centres which I'd be all for as well and I sort of would almost lean towards risking him when he's ready over the other guys just because of his natural ability.

[00:44:51] That is interesting I don't mind it I'm probably not there yet with her but I don't mind it and I think even with the position as a whole my thoughts on it probably has less to do with Talagai as much as it does about a couple of core things that I do believe to be true with this particular playing group like I have maybe five or six different individual statements or beliefs about this team Sam that I kind of base all my other thoughts around.

[00:45:19] Two of those beliefs are this one of them is that will Kennedy is the best fullback that is at the Crinnell sharks undisputed the best fullback that we have there my second belief is that kind of tracing needs to be on the field.

[00:45:32] For the sharks to be the best team they can be and because of those two beliefs is because of those two beliefs that I have.

[00:45:38] I think he for me is probably the person that I would put out there first and we've seen it before and we probably know what to expect but I think if we can commit to it like fully commit to it the way that we fully committed to Talagai being in the centres maybe the results will be a little bit different to the version of Connor that we saw playing there before which was operating more as a Swiss army knife of sorts rather than committed and dedicated to that particular position.

[00:46:05] He impressed me at centre this year particularly he was awesome fullback we all know that do you have him in your 13 or your 17 you're saying 13 I have him in my 13 yeah that's just because of what I said there before I just I think they're a better team when he's on the field but I think will Kennedy is the best fullback at the club and that we're running downhill more when will Kennedy is playing in that position.

[00:46:35] And there's a connection there's a connection that will has with the people inside him and outside of him but I don't think I've seen anyone else replicate there. That would be true if Kate Dykes was around now too.

[00:46:46] I think there's an advantage that there's an unspoken connection that exists between will Kennedy and the people who are in that back line.

[00:46:53] There's trust there from the players to him there's trust from him to the players and not to say that that's unique to will but it just it it's obvious it's more obvious with will then it is with others. I'm with you completely agree.

[00:47:06] Sharkast player of the year by far and people may forget what a great season he had because he was injured for the second half mostly but I'm with you. I'm with you that left edge will see T.

[00:47:19] Willton return as well he missed a bunch of the season towards the end especially. Trindle will get the starting job you would think as well so it's going to be a somewhat new left edge.

[00:47:30] They better get it right in the training sessions I'm sure the coach will absolutely punish those guys this summer because it wasn't the best season so. The next storyline in this SMH story was find an X factor.

[00:47:47] Sharks have made a single addition to the roster departure of Wade Graham and Matt Moeyland if he doesn't stick around would free up some money so I don't think we're going to find an X factor on the market.

[00:48:00] But we do have a couple of backs coming through in Sam Stone Street. We do have K Dykes returning. We have some really good backs and halves there already.

[00:48:11] Do you are able to define for me who your X factor is at the moment Jardin whether he's on the field or is coming through do you have an X factor in this team or do you think we're really missing one.

[00:48:20] I think we're missing one but I think I think there is a person in our team who could be the X factor who should be the X factor. And I've said this for a couple of seasons now.

[00:48:32] As Blake Brailey goes so to do the Cronulla Sharks go Blake Brailey is having a cracker of a game very rarely will we lose that but if Blake Brailey is not having a great game only ever so often will we win that.

[00:48:53] And that's I feel as though we're at the point now with Blake who was just recently crowned. And then he's been crowned. Monty Porter, Porta Gellin, medalist that as our player of the season. I don't really have any opinions of that.

[00:49:09] Like you said from the perspective of our Sharks cast crew will Kennedy was way out in front of that until he got hurt and that probably opened the doors for for a few other things but if Blake Brailey can get to that point and can get into legitimately

[00:49:29] the upper the more serious part of that origin conversation there, which was there this season but that might have had to do a little bit more with with Robson than anything so and with the draw kind of breaking the way it did with like we had to buy that particular week which allowed some things to happen there.

[00:49:52] I think that's the that's the X factor if it can't come in from the outside which it doesn't look like it can come in from the outside or at least it hasn't from as of today with with no additional signings there but it has to come from inside.

[00:50:05] I don't see that being from the reserve grade I see that being from that very particular position from that very particular player.

[00:50:13] If he is representing New South Wales in origin next year, my assumption will be that we are a top two top four at worst team and it will be due to that play. What about if he's in strong contention but doesn't get the gig top 14.

[00:50:33] I would imagine us if he is in strong contention there because I really do think very much like with McEnnis when McEnnis was there who also not at that point of his career was in that was in that particular you know origin conversation but when you get someone in there who has that X factor

[00:50:51] McBord it on two sides of the ball but also you know his third dimension X factor was just quite chippy and had the ability to manipulate the flow of a game without ever touching the ball.

[00:51:06] I don't know if that's in Blake's personality to be like that he seems strikes me as just very different to me.

[00:51:12] I wouldn't want to try and turn his personality into McEnnis is one either but if you can be that type of X factor it would always felt like McEnnis was an X factor for us and we haven't really had a someone like that at that position since he left.

[00:51:30] And so if Blake can grow into that stature and into that role he's already deeply respected by everyone at the club and by you know a good portion of the fan base not all.

[00:51:43] I think some of the people who aren't fans are quite vocal about that but I am still a believer in his abilities and his ability to kind of get to that next level.

[00:51:54] I know that there are some people that I look at and I sometimes wonder if that person has actually already played their best football that they're ever going to play in their life.

[00:52:04] I don't think that Blake has gotten to that point where he's not an example of someone that I think has done it.

[00:52:10] I think there's another gear that he can shift into and if he can do that he will be that X factor that takes us to the next level we need him to be.

[00:52:16] It's a good time for me to point out that all being well all things adding up I'll be appearing on the opposition podcast next week fins up so there might be some Blake Bradley talk on that but I'm with you.

[00:52:30] I think that I don't know if I'd ever class him as an X factor but there's no reason not to but he definitely needs to find another gear.

[00:52:37] I really like what he does we just need more of it we say it every week on the show and the times when we have seen Blake fire up a little bit not in a Mikannis way but in a non Blake way he's gone pretty good.

[00:52:49] He's led them really well few games stick out the roosters home game this year from earlier in the year the Canberra final we lost a few years back in Canberra there's some games that stick out for me where he has shown that leadership and that aggression and you're right.

[00:53:07] I don't want him to be someone else like he's got enough within him to become a really elite player but he needs to bring that out and you know I talk about it every second week training you see him do these things and they're amazing.

[00:53:21] And then you don't seem to the same things on the field necessarily and that could just be showboating whatever but the kid has a lot of talent calling me kid is probably what 23 24 now he's on a long term deal with the sharks player of the year for the sharks.

[00:53:37] And Nicko Hines desperately desperately needs the likes of Blake will Kennedy and now Trindle to step up and in that roosters finals game they didn't they kind of went the other way Trindle had a really good first half.

[00:53:57] And then second half went a bit missing and it may not it may have been a Nicko takes over Trindle steps back like I don't know what happened I'm not having to go at Trindle I thought he was great.

[00:54:08] But second half he wasn't really to be found second half Blake made a few judgmental errors that he would like back will Kennedy wasn't there so we need Blake to step up I'm with you there. We do and look we don't need Blake to be Harry Grant.

[00:54:24] We don't need him to be happy because we don't need him to be anyone else other than the best version of himself which.

[00:54:33] Take us to those things like I actually think the person who is most likely to take pressure or the person who has the most capability to take pressure off Nicko.

[00:54:42] Is him it's not Trindle and it's not will it's it's him he's the person that is most likely to be able to take the type of pressure off him and you can do that by just your decision making tackles one through four.

[00:54:55] And all that like you can you can aid and a bit a person's ability to play half by getting your decision making in tackles one through four right yeah be a little forceful in that there's a great story from a few years ago now where.

[00:55:10] One of the things that people will say one of the things that has been said about Dean Treister that made him good is that sometimes when he could sense that there was a forward who wasn't pulling their weight.

[00:55:22] He would go out of his way to find that person the ball and that's how he would integrate those people like it was a really interesting comment that was made by one of his teammates it's that I always knew that I couldn't slack off.

[00:55:33] When I was out there with Dean because if I was slacking off I knew that he was going to look for me and he was going to find me to get me the ball as a way to remind me roll up your socks were on here we're live on TV now like it's time to go.

[00:55:46] Maybe maybe we need to have a little bit of that mentality coming out of that position as well because our pack can be a little lean sometimes and it can get bumped around sometimes.

[00:55:56] And you know Blake's got to know and be able to make decisions in the moment which is you know it's not an easy skills have he's got to be able to make those decisions in the moment of when to run brackets.

[00:56:07] I think it should be more often brackets and we're not to this one's interesting jobs I know it's close to your heart.

[00:56:13] Number five finish the precinct redevelopment the least of precinct remains out of play no timeline when the actual club will be open and then they say an additional 1500 spectators should be able to squeeze in when it's done I think that numbers just people just make up the number whatever the story or article is.

[00:56:33] But the point remains that in about a month Jardin the precinct itself will be open lots of restaurants and and medical centers and barbers and grooming places and bars and lots of really really good looking.

[00:56:51] Attractions for locals and out of town is to go to but the club is at least a year away and it sucks and do you have any thoughts on that good to have more people there.

[00:57:03] Even if it's only 1500 as is reported there for that particular part the more fans that we can get into the venue the better I think it's going to be amazing when it opens up though.

[00:57:14] The positive is that the precinct itself will be open real soon and as I said there's lots of things that will attract a whole lot of different demographics which is great.

[00:57:24] And we know that the company you work for I've got a hotel down there called quest which will you know we'll see that.

[00:57:34] It's got to be close but the sharks also announced this week that they're not going to be opening their store office in Cronulla that they have purchased. They're going to try and lease that out.

[00:57:48] And that came as a surprise to some and I think again it's just a little bit of there's a little bit of the what are you guys and girls doing here do you have an end game here like it seems like things are just sort of changing on a weekly monthly basis with what the plans are and the shop was fitted out the you know the colors and the signage and the.

[00:58:14] Ready to go and they put a halt on that which is it's you know I've got no problem with that but I think that there needs to be a little bit more foresight maybe.

[00:58:26] Any of these things in isolation probably don't seem like that big of a deal but all of these things kind of building up one on top of the other yeah that's what makes you wonder yeah I wonder if this is okay or if it's not okay I think it's fair for people to wonder huh okay what else.

[00:58:41] I mean I like the fact that we own the property like that's cool it's cool the own property I love that Carilla is going pretty good like that seems to be rolling along so I'm not staying up at night worrying about the sharks it's more just these make the headlines then.

[00:58:59] And whether that's right or wrong I couldn't tell you but. That's topical it's topical for us as as an audience of the sharks but hopefully they can I don't know hopefully they can.

[00:59:12] Get it all happening and do the right thing by the club first and foremost and also the people that support the club.

[00:59:19] Jards we also saw some more headlines in our L's most marketable player shop to rival club and that should say second most marketable player obviously but Ryan Pappenhausen might be on the market at some point soon as a sharks tragic like you are are you even remotely interested.

[00:59:42] No I am not because of his injuries.

[00:59:46] Because of his injury history not because of anything else it's literally the injury history alone Kelly bills finest Brian Pappenhausen my ad he's quite the celebrity here he's I'm out in the northwest of Sydney these days at and Kellyville and he is the local product here so amongst the locals here he's quite popular and amongst the hair care products he's also a popular pick for an

[01:00:11] Ambassador ship but no as of as of right now probably just not something that I think is going to be helpful for our team relative to the amount of money out that I think it would cost to land him I mean obviously if you could have him there and it was at at the right price I think you would do that in the heartbeat but.

[01:00:30] I just assume the right price is probably above what we have available so that's why I gravitate towards the not not ask not now.

[01:00:39] Now Jards we're doing things a bit differently today and I have forgotten to do some promo if you will so bear with me while I lovingly tell you about Dyson logistics they've been with us since day one.

[01:00:51] They are based on the Central Coast but they are sharks die hard season ticket holders for many many years lifelong fans and they're award winning they've recently won best local business up on the Sene coast but they do things for everyone worldwide given their logistical company get in touch with them on 0283391844.

[01:01:15] That's logistics.com we also want to give a shout out to our friends down at the Royal Moteo club in Port Hacking we love those folks will hopefully see them all soon.

[01:01:26] They're down in Baroneer technically you can get in touch with them on 952393 00 just a great club for all of your needs and they also have a website which I don't have right in front of me as I do it's rmypc.com.

[01:01:44] And also with love I want to say hello to our friend Jason Hawes at Crips and Crips real estate who's been a supporter of the show for a while now he's a lifelong sharks fan best in the biz.

[01:01:56] Locally he's got some competitors you Justin restles and those guys but we love Jason Hawes and the best way to be in touch with him would be to call him on 0410417450.

[01:02:11] And even if you have just any kind of general questions about real estate at all particularly in the suburb Shire tell him that we sent you and he'll look after you.

[01:02:23] Really one of the truly truly great people I just wanted to put that in go as well as Jason Jason Hawes just I'm not paid to say this.

[01:02:34] But I think back to my first experience there at the sharks and it was quite a quite a difficult transition for me just given where the team was at that time given what was available at that time and so you really do cling on to just any sort of positive interactions that you can have with

[01:02:53] partners and or anyone else.

[01:02:55] And when you say when Sam says I'll say this to everyone who is out there when Sam talks about Jason Hawes and talks about him being a lifelong fan I can unequivocally state the truth of that not just a lifelong fan but as a good human being you could talk to Jason about real estate.

[01:03:16] You could also talk to Jason about just about anything else you want to have in life so that's my unprompted unscheduled endorsement of the partners you have here. Absolutely.

[01:03:28] No he's a pillar of the local community I can definitely confirm that and it's been great and Jason over the last few years seem around a lot and yeah definitely if you have interest in any of those three companies in particular just let him know that we sent you now.

[01:03:43] Jards this one's might get a little messy so let's just buckle in. A debate has erupted over high paid players being allowed to partake in other sporting tournaments.

[01:03:53] This is specifically in our world talking about the Curry Cup the indigenous cup that they have every year at the end of the NRL season and a whole lot of NRL guys of all different levels go along and play some also go just to support it on the sideline.

[01:04:10] What are your thoughts on whether it's Curry Cup or anything else what are your thoughts on players playing outside of their club and I guess NRL affiliated rep duties etc. I see it from both sides.

[01:04:25] I'll start with the team side of it totally understand why a club would not want their very highly valued assets that they've plunged a lot of money and a lot of resource and a lot of game structure into going into these what they would I think many would call extra curricular activities and potentially getting hurt and or doing is putting any type of unnecessary talk on the body.

[01:04:52] They're totally understand that from a club's perspective but I also totally get it from a fan from a player perspective as well and some of these examples that you've just given there.

[01:05:03] They mean a lot to the players who are playing in these tournaments they're obviously not there for the money. They're not on a huge like you not when you go and play in some of these tournaments that we're talking about.

[01:05:16] You're not there because there's an enormous paycheck waiting for you at the end of that experience you're there because of what it means to your identity you're there because of culturally what it says about you what it says about your commitment to that particular community so.

[01:05:34] I see it from both sides I can understand why clubs would be a bit nervous about it I can understand why players would want to participate in it if you were to ask me which of those two vantage points I probably gravitate towards myself.

[01:05:48] It would maybe be the players I probably come from the school of thought where individuality means a lot to me and the ability to express yourself in any way that you feel allows you to do that.

[01:06:04] And for some of these people who are participating in in these tournaments like that's what it is it's an expression of identity.

[01:06:11] It's connectivity to things better bigger than the game and a little bit closer to home so that's how I feel about that so totally get it totally understand why it would be a controversial thing to do why a manager or an agent or a coach of a very highly paid asset.

[01:06:34] Would be nervous about players participating in that.

[01:06:37] But I think that's life I mean that can happen injuries there or or not just injuries but like circumstances events that happen there I would probably allow for I would want myself as a coach to be able to put myself in those in their shoes and understand why they want to be there and be okay with doing that and then just cross my fingers that everything goes okay that would be my view.

[01:07:01] What about yours. I'm looking for a compromise I think and and completely agree with everything you say if I'm owner of this team. I'm looking at ways to win the comp every year and I'm really nervous when they go play origin.

[01:07:19] I'm really nervous when they go play for Australia or any other country and I'm really nervous when they go play in local comps like like the curry cup for example there are other ones but for example curry cup.

[01:07:28] I'm looking for compromise I'm looking for how about superstars of the game go out there and support it like some of them do like Nick was up there for a day or two but you know meet and greets donations sponsoring the the cup getting it better television rights like do something that provides what ultimately the players want to do which is represent their culture and their people.

[01:07:54] But ultimately if I'm like the badass rich owner of this club I'm just staying up late worrying about Jesse Ramium to his ACL now he can do that crossing the road so there is the argument there.

[01:08:09] My ultimate thing if I had any power at all would be would be a very sympathetic is there another way around this and if there wasn't I understand and I would move on and I would certainly with caution for those of you know who are in the club.

[01:08:24] I don't know if there's reasons say get go do it but I just think in this day and age the professionals and we're at it's all about those 25 games you play every year they play so much footy they play too much footy.

[01:08:37] I'm not a huge fan of it I'm a fan of things like the curry cup I love it I watch it.

[01:08:43] I support it it's awesome but my personal thing is the Cronelle sharks and maybe if I had a stake in the game from a cultural point of view and don't get me wrong I'm completely supportive of everything indigenous and I you know disclosure I voted yes like I'm all for everything to support indigenous rights and the whole works and I historically I'm not a fan of it.

[01:09:07] I historically have been there's proof everywhere but when it comes down to my Cronelle sharks players.

[01:09:12] I just worry about them that's the bottom line does your viewpoint on that Sam extend to representative football it does well so origin yes it's got nothing to do with the curry cup it's got nothing to do with the curry cup yeah that's what I mean that's why I introduce other things like.

[01:09:27] I'm glad you did yeah you're saying that you feel the same way about origins like we please don't hurt them while they're away.

[01:09:33] You know some of you know I'm a big NFL fan these guys are barely allowed to train let alone play in another competition it's all about the hour and a half slash three hours every week and that's it that's what you paid for so.

[01:09:50] So that's where my thought comes from but it's interesting debate I mean as I said it's a bit hypocritical because I enjoyed watching the players and everything but every time they hit up I was holding my breath and.

[01:10:01] And ultimately obviously it's a great thing that they do they donate their time I would imagine mostly for free Jardin and I do it's definitely supported I just thought it was good thing we can have a chat about.

[01:10:12] We got a little bit of mail coming through our friend Alan says enjoyed the review podcast with Josh I agree that can make in this has to be captured in 2024. What are your thoughts on that judge.

[01:10:26] I'm not there with that particular piece of feedback although I understand it because I thought can make in this across the whole.

[01:10:32] If we'll haven't gotten injured he might have been my play of the season but given that he did in this fair chunk of time I think my default then at that point went to to camp.

[01:10:42] But I am a little bit strange in how I feel about this and I wouldn't say it applies to all teams but where possible I like to have my captain out on the field as often as I can for people like myself Alan I think Josh who believe that this should happen next year.

[01:10:59] We have him playing 80 minutes at lock. Okay. Okay so if that's the if that's the caveat for that then yeah I don't disagree. I'm okay with it actually no no no sorry sorry I do disagree it's only because I actually do think it that Nico is the captain.

[01:11:21] Okay. I think it's not the point pressure on him. It's not to do any of that stuff but whoever is being followed on the field whoever is being followed off the field where those two things align that's that's who your captain needs to be.

[01:11:41] So you don't think that Nico has like you think he'll be able to handle the extra pressure. Whatever would thrive be. Yep you thrive okay. I think you would I think he would thrive in it. Okay.

[01:11:52] Where the where the expectation has set now there's been some question marks like I'm sure that someone would hear that and say well hang on I can give you some examples of where the pressure was elevated and he definitely didn't thrive in that but slightly say slightly different scenarios there because I think in this instance he would know what he would be stepping into.

[01:12:16] Yeah there is some of the things that we've discussed earlier where I don't think he knew I don't think any of us knew when he was going to see the field in origin for that first time and at outside of one miss tackle I thought he actually had an alright game.

[01:12:29] In the limited time that he had there so that would be my first I would I would definitely have cam up there with him as a co captain at best vice captain at worst but I probably gravitate towards Nico myself.

[01:12:44] Yeah I have no issue with that at all I think that the times he's done it he's been he's been great and no issue with that at all I just thought maybe you would take a little bit of pressure off him.

[01:12:56] But if you say he's going to thrive I'm going to back your charts. Alan also says isn't it time to talk about privatization privatization of the eight privately owned clubs five were in the playoffs.

[01:13:07] I believe he means finals and one was not three made the top four and one was in the GF now I can't clarify all that I'm just going to take your word for it.

[01:13:16] You also say none seem to be in the financial difficulties the sharks seem to have any thoughts on privatization Jardim. I don't know if the results that are being cited here causation or if it's just correlation.

[01:13:29] I'm not too sure if it's because of privatize it's an interesting I actually didn't know that I didn't I've never thought of it in that lens before so shout outs to Alan for for even making me think about it in this regard of all the professional sports teams that I do follow.

[01:13:48] I will say this and of all the professional sports teams that I do follow my wife that I have some affection for or a lot of affection for. I think the Cranola sharks are the only one in that group that are not privately owned.

[01:14:02] Everyone else or all of the other ones are and I love that I do love that there's there's a part of that community spirit and that community ownership that I think is really hard to put back in the bottle if you ever lose it.

[01:14:17] It's really hard to get that back once you lose that so but at the same time privatization tends to be quite a. An easy fix for financial troubles.

[01:14:32] Yeah that goes down because rarely is someone stepping into a scenario of ownership like that without having deep pockets that can cover for some of these challenges that we occasionally hear coming up and we have heard over the last few years.

[01:14:47] The decades long support in the scene of challenges there whatever led to a better investment for the team to better facilities for our NRL and NRLW. I really like I feel strongly about private like where I do gravitate towards privatization.

[01:15:05] I say it more for the benefit of our women's team than I do anything else like that. I would love to see them have their own facilities have their own resources right on par with with everything that our men's team have.

[01:15:21] So very much like women's soccer is starting to see over in England that the level of investment there is creeping up to points where some of the facilities that they have are right up there with men which I think is really hard to get back to.

[01:15:35] I think would be fantastic for our team. I don't mind it.

[01:15:40] I wouldn't break down if that was to ever be put on the table particularly if you're talking about super deep pockets there who can rebuild this stadium that I am being massively aggressively told not to talk about anymore. But like anything that never happened.

[01:15:56] Historically there's been a few interesting people that have that have tried that have put their hand up and hasn't been. That's successful so we're probably still waiting for that right person or people to come along.

[01:16:11] Steve says can you tell me more about the song you wrote for the sharks to run out to which you spoke of in the podcast with Scott Maxworthy.

[01:16:20] Yes the reason I met Scott Maxworthy and the reason we kind of had shark cast gone TV for a few years was or more than a few years was I approached someone at the club. I don't know who it was.

[01:16:31] It got into Scott Scott Maxworthy's hands but I wrote a song for them to run out to and this would have been 2015.

[01:16:39] I mean people who don't know the sort of music I play it's very kind of I don't know heartland kind of alternative country acoustic kind of folky singer songwriter kind of stuff and if you've ever heard of someone called Steve Earl.

[01:16:53] It was very much in the vein of a Steve Earl song so kind of rockin but kind of acoustic sing along kind of thing and it was just a song I wrote and it was about it wasn't so much about the sharks.

[01:17:04] It's about a local community team what it meant to the crowd. Imagine the crowd would sing along and the sharks were obviously mentioned in the song so I don't know if it ever said a lot of day I'll see if I can find a decent recording of it.

[01:17:15] I don't know if I've got a recording of it but the funny part of the whole thing was I sent it to the sharks and then Scott who was in charge of a whole bunch of stuff down they got in touch with me didn't mention the song but he said I want you.

[01:17:28] I want your podcast to be a TV show and okay so never quite got off the ground but you never say never Steve will see what comes of it. Is it in the same vein Sam like when you described Ivan Hood.

[01:17:40] I'm so glad that this was brought up. Do you see it as kind of like a you'll never walk alone for Liverpool type. More upbeat. Something that the crowd would be singing along with as people are running out. So kind of like that.

[01:17:57] Flores was kind of catchy and kind of beat. Sing you out.

[01:18:01] I mean if anything it was probably like I don't know who to describe it like I'm going to hate to use this comparison because I'm not a massive fan but almost like a Mumford and Sons kind of vibe.

[01:18:10] I think of a band that a mainstream band that a lot of people might know and yeah just I never recorded it properly like with a band I had I've got an acoustic version somewhere in all honesty I don't know where it is but I think Scott Maxx has got it and it's obviously on my computer somewhere but I just record an acoustic version of it which probably wasn't the best thing to do to send someone just an acoustic version of a song.

[01:18:30] But I thought I was that confident in what it was as in like I liked it enough to sort of send it to someone else. I probably should address it up with a big band that kind of stuff probably wouldn't have mattered anyway but that's the story.

[01:18:44] That's the story. Thanks Steve for asking. Jards we're going to wrap. Have you got anything else and when I say wrap not like the start of the show. It's been as enjoyable as ever. You've kept it you've kept it afloat to be honest.

[01:18:57] I know nothing really from from my end other than enjoy the off season to all all the people who are who are still listening and we still need to do our pre Christmas wish our annual our now annual. Yeah we're doing that.

[01:19:13] Days of Christmas episode which I'm looking forward to doing that with with the crew you get a turn up this time. Did I not turn up last time was I remote because of COVID remote.

[01:19:22] Yeah you're going away and you either had it or you didn't want to get it but yeah. That's right everyone else was gathered around the pizza box. Enjoy the holidays for everyone who is there.

[01:19:34] Good luck to everyone who is participating in the Pacific champs and who is just continuing to play rugby league in the off season. And I'm looking forward to chatting again when we get on this one next. All right thanks so much for Jardian.

[01:19:51] We've got some tech issues at the end of the show but we're back as soon as we can with another episode. Sharkas pod up up Cranola. Let's go. Let's go up up Cranola.