Sharks PostGame Semi-Final Review: Roosters vs Sharks 2026

[00:00:01] The Royal Motor Yacht Club Port Hacking is a hidden gem of the Shire, situated on the banks of the beautiful Port Hacking. It's a great place to catch up with friends, celebrate your birthday or any special occasion, and they always show the NRL live on the big screens. The RMYC Port Hacking, proud sponsors of this podcast and big supporters of the Cronulla Sharks. Check out their website rmycph.com.au

[00:00:26] They've got a Facebook page, or you can go old school and call them on 029523 9300 Hey there, welcome to SharkCast, part of a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world. Not tonight of course, but still I maintain the greatest club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks.

[00:00:53] Post-game, bit of a review. It's very early in the morning, just made my way back home. And apologies that there is no post-game live show. We're going to do that in the next 24, so stay tuned for that. But obviously I wanted to drop a note audibly for all of our beautiful listeners. And this is going to be very much unedited. I'm just going to chuck it up. Very raw, won't be too long I don't think.

[00:01:23] But Sharks lose 46-10. Kind of unthinkable the way it all went down. Massive crowd out at Allianz Stadium, 40,000 people. You've got to think, close to half of that was Cronulla fans. Really did us proud with how loud we were, the colours, the whole thing. So super happy that we turned up and represented it. Unfortunately, things weren't pretty pear-shaped early on, as we all know, with Nico Hines.

[00:01:50] And from there, it wasn't looking good. They hung tight for a while. Hiroti goes off and the rest is history. Sharks, mercifully, the season is over. Decent season, one we're going to talk about all summer long. Love to have your thoughts on that. So make sure you subscribe to us. But just kind of a little chat right now about what went down. Really overall enjoyable day out.

[00:02:18] Went to a pub early to meet with some friends and then made my way to the Captain Cook Hotel, where it was packed. Jam-packed. Well done, everyone going there. And especially Timmy from the Shark Cage, who had a lot to do with hosting that event. I know the queues were a bit long, so apologies about that. But love seeing everyone there. And appreciated the welcome I got. Thanks so much. Made our way down to the stadium. A lot of Shark fans around. It was incredible. And a lot of Shark casters around too.

[00:02:47] So thanks to everyone who high-fived, took some photos, etc. Really lovely stuff. But here to talk about the game. And an hour and a half before it was announced that Mawini Hirati was going to play center instead of Riley Jones. Dave Riccio hinted at it throughout the week. I hinted at it throughout the week. I have to be completely honest, like always, and with you guys and girls, I did not know who was going to play. I just knew that there was a chance that they might flip it. But I definitely didn't know until it was announced.

[00:03:17] Unfortunately for Mar, he got hurt, I believe, controversially from sponsorship signage where he was trying to flick that ball back for a try. I need to confirm all that, but that's pretty bad if that's the case. From then on, losing two backs, one being one of your playmakers in the spine, the other being your replacement center, is really not good mojo. And it all went downhill from there.

[00:03:44] You saw how tired they got, meaning that they had to mess around with their interchange and the whole thing. So some really great performances from guys like Jesse Colquhoun, Adam Fennell Blake, particularly in the forwards. And no surprise, Braden Trindle really led the show with one arm still, has to be pointed out. And I got a lot of thoughts on Trindle right now and they're all positive. They're all really good thoughts about Trindle.

[00:04:10] So well done to him for showing the team that he is the leader and he is the spirit and he would do anything for that club. And you've seen that over the past two weeks. Like he's busted. And yeah, I know he missed some tackles tonight, but no one can be critical of that because he was just giving you everything he had. Pretty bummed, pretty disappointed. Disappointed for all of our fans.

[00:04:36] Disappointed for the retiring players or players leaving the club, I should say. There's a lot of talk out there. I'm sure already I've been tagged in a bunch of things. Uh, no thanks to the smart Alex who've left very derogatory comments on some of our posts, which I've deleted. Uh, some being Roosters fans, some not. Absolutely here all summer long to hear your thoughts and what you want to do and how you want to play moving forward. I know some of you will be critical of the coach and that's totally fine. Happy to talk about that.

[00:05:06] Critical of other things. I'm sure there is criticism out there. It's a 46 to 10 loss. The only thing I would say is that things didn't go their way from the start. And part of that is disappointing. Like you think that, okay, one player goes down. It's the seven. He's pretty good. They should be able to bounce back from that where possible. Hiroti goes down. A lot of six agains, penalties, that kind of thing. It just didn't go their way.

[00:05:30] Some bomb tries and against the Roosters who are on fire, that really started to add up. And it was disappointing. No matter what you think of this team over the last five years and this year, they're obviously way better than what that scoreline suggests tonight. You saw it when they came back to within, was it two or four points towards the end of the first half? That great try to Ronaldo after, was it the Talakai break? Or Blake Braley break? They showed some heart there.

[00:06:00] Scoreline suggests they didn't, but I would maintain they did. But nowhere near good enough, that's for sure. So you're not going to hear any sugar coating from me. Even though some of you think I'm a sugar coater, I'm not doing that. Extremely disappointed in the way it ended. And here to talk about it all summer long, as I've stated a few times. Roosters did everything I thought they would. High energy, offloads, never say die attitude.

[00:06:27] And that goes down to Tedesco and well done to the 20,000 fans who are calling him a wanker because he was carry on like one. But he still was one of their best players and he's still a champion player. But the carry on is just ridiculous. That's neither here nor there. They played exactly how I thought they would. And that was a problem and was always going to be a problem. Cherry Evans had a really great game. Obviously scored a try, set up a whole bunch. And just all over the park, we were kind of dominated. I did think our middles did a good job though.

[00:06:55] So, especially under trying conditions. Adam Finner Blake, Chissie Colquhoun in particular, playing big minutes. I've already seen criticism about Cam McInnes. I get it. He was bashed around a lot. It's his last game for the club. There's nothing that guy wouldn't have done for this club. I'm not going to bash him. Happy to talk about his game and be critical where you want.

[00:07:17] But let's just not get too lost in our thoughts in the moment that this guy bled for this club, died for the club pretty much every week. And sure, time to move on. But I still respect the guy quite a lot. Looking at some stats from tonight from our friends at FoxSports.com.au. We scored two tries in quick succession in the 22nd and 24th minute to Katoa and Milatalo. And the comeback was on.

[00:07:46] And then they scored the Cherry Evans try five minutes later than the 28th minute. And we held on to the 51st minute. Then it was kind of over with the Connor Watson try. But there were a lot of great signs in the middle period of the first half and then started the second half, but just couldn't get it done, unfortunately. So we ended up missing around 50 tackles to their 22. They made more post contact meters, more meters, obviously.

[00:08:15] Offloads were pretty even, 10 to 9. They made nine line breaks to three. And that's part of where the game was lost. Two really costly 20 meter restarts in the second half. Seven tackle sets. I was pretty disappointed with that. And our completions weren't too bad. 26 or 32, they were 31 or 38. We didn't have enough of it. We also looked like we completed pretty well. They won the set restarts 6 to 5. Errors were even.

[00:08:43] And we conceded four penalties to three. Will Kennedy tried his butt off, but probably missing the spark he's had when he's been one of our better players. So not a great game from Will Kennedy. I thought aside from Katoa's try, some really costly errors and misjudgments. Didn't stop trying. But against Daniel Tupou, it's always going to be tough. Unhappy with how he finished his Sharks career.

[00:09:12] And disappointed for him. But forever a fan, that's for sure. Hiroti hard to judge because he wasn't on the field for that long. But he did have some misreads and that kind of thing. It wasn't looking great. But he did go off injured to be fair. And he went off injured trying to set up a try. Has to be pointed out. I mean, KL Iro had some good run meters. But boy, some of the misses and misreads were a bit telling.

[00:09:38] And certainly this year was not one of his better ones. And I think next year we're looking to see him get back to his better form. Because, yeah, tonight was not good for KL Iro. Ronaldo Milotaro had his good moments. Had some other moments as well that weren't as good. Kick defense especially. And just defensively, because they were missing both Hines and Hiroti throughout the game. It was really scattered defense.

[00:10:07] Weird reads. You'd see the center of winger come in. And times when they weren't supposed to come in. It was a bit frustrating. And in attack it was a little bit clunky as well. Trindle was awesome. Not as great as last week. But he tried his guts out. And he was our only real attacking spark. Generally speaking. I can't fault the guy just because of the effort he put in. Nico Hines obviously can't be judged. Pretty much out in the first set. Not a great attempt at tackle. But to be fair, he was trying to make it.

[00:10:37] And trying to go in hard. And it went wrong unfortunately. It didn't look great at the end of the game. Walking around shaking people's hands. So hopefully he pulls up okay. For Noah Blake I thought was really good. Big minutes and did the best he could. Blake Braley had a mixed game. I thought he could have ran the ball a few more times than what he did. And I really think that when Nico went down. It was his time to sort of step up as a leader.

[00:11:05] And if he did, it wasn't enough. He out of all the players at the end of the game. All the players. Looked the most peed off. That's for sure. And angry. And I kind of like that. Jessica O'Hoon was terrific. Close to man of the match from the start to finish. Big minutes from him. Britton Nikara, not a great game. Did the line running and tried to get the hole running happening. But yeah, just not a great game from Britton Nikara. Teague Wharton I thought tried really hard.

[00:11:35] It was noticeable how he was trying. Again, probably not where we need him to be. But I thought he tried hard as well. When the Sharks were in a hole at certain points, it looked like he was the one trying to step up. And I completely respect that. Cam McInnes got bashed around a lot. And a few errors, that kind of thing. He didn't stop trying. And I felt desperately for him. But not a great game tonight from our co-skipper. So, Talakai was terrific.

[00:12:04] Mostly set up that try and made good meters. And did his absolute best to spark that team. At the end of the game, really beautiful touch. He had... I'm not sure what the definition is or the name of what he was doing. But basically, his heritage, necklaces he was handing out to all the players. And I thought it was a really nice touch. Really nice touch, actually, from a really good club guy. And we're going to miss him immensely.

[00:12:32] And I personally would not let him go. And that's where I differ with the coach there. And more on that in a sec. Billy Burns, largely ineffective tonight. Playing that role. Didn't stop trying. But... Yeah, it didn't quite have the impact we wanted. Tom Halesden, I thought, was decent. Again, another middle that did his best to get us going forward. And Nephi Puru came on for Niko very early.

[00:12:59] One of the criticisms this year was the coach didn't carry a half. But tonight he did. Nephi, I think, was largely not effective. He'll be off to the Perth Bears next year. Tough circumstance if he will enter a game. Sudden death. Therefore, Oregon Kofusi and Riley Jones did not get on the field. Now, on those matters, I think that... And it could be hindsight. But I did say it before the game as well.

[00:13:26] I would have started Riley Jones over Mawini Hirati. I think he's just a bit more agile. And probably got a bit more game time in him of late. And I would have had Riley Pollard on the bench instead of Nephi Puru. Just because I believe in him greater. I have no doubt in my mind next year it'll be Pollard. And I believe you'll be getting a signing soon of his little mate. Who plays in similar positions including fullback as well. But yeah, I would have played Pollard. I would have played Jones. That's where I differ with the coach.

[00:13:57] I'm sure he had his reasons. His press conference explained a few things about how the team went. Which I thought was interesting. Certainly not laying blame anywhere. But also understanding of why things happen. Anyway, Sharks lose 46-10. And the season is over. And we're all quite sad about that. I can see what's not over in that Shark Cast pod. We'll keep going throughout summer for you. It'll all be very natural. None of it will be forced.

[00:14:26] We'll still do Kieran episodes. We'll do regular Sharks episodes. And Benny and I will finish off the 2016 year in review. With a look at each game. Watch alongs which we're up to probably, I don't know, round 12 maybe. Coming up. We'll do that next week for you. So, we're not going anywhere. And make sure you're subscribed to Shark Cast pod and all the channels. And you won't miss a thing.

[00:14:52] Now again, no post-game live show game night tonight. So, basically the game was over at 9.45. I hung around a bit for a while. And thanks to my friend Jack for the great company. I'm just telling you because I'm just... It's early in the morning. I'm being emotional. And my mate Brooksy, who some of you know, was at the ground. He rang me. He's a great, great friend. And he said, Hey man, I know you're hurting. Let's go get some drinks. And I was like, you know what?

[00:15:21] I can't resist that. So, Brooksy and I went and had a couple of quiet whiskies. And did a lot of talking. And then shared a car ride back to our respective homes. And by that point, it was quite a lot later than what it was last week. And I just thought, I could go live here. But it's just... I don't know. Probably better if I prolong that. Let everyone tune in who wants to tune in, etc.

[00:15:49] But I did want to jump on now and just do this audio pod for you guys and girls. Just to sort of catch up on what my thoughts are. But yeah, when it's a one man operation, it's a bit hard to sort of go live. If you're at the game and you're not in the right environment. Like tonight, I didn't have many rights to do anything. So, it was never going to happen from the ground. Although, you know, I can pursue that next year maybe. But different scenario for away games. And that's just how it is. But season's over.

[00:16:17] However, it's disappointing we didn't get to week three and a grand final. As most of you listening know, I'm a big believer in this current squad. A lot of talk over summer about what we're going to do. So, let me know. Sharkcastpod.gmail.com Drop us a line on the DMs. Many of you already have. Please keep it coming. I'll get to all of it. The coach in the press conference said it's not really a rebuild. So, don't use that word. And he was talking to the media not to use that word. I hear what he's saying.

[00:16:45] Like, we're losing some guys and guys are going to come through. And we're keeping some guys and they're going to stick around. And I think this team at the moment definitely has the capability to get to where they are again next year. I don't know what the run's going to look like. Whether they start slow and finish fast or I'm not sure. But, yes, different team next year. But, no, not a crazy rebuild.

[00:17:10] And I personally think we're close enough to doing something special. Am I tinkering a bit? Absolutely. Absolutely, I am. But we're here all summer long. Spring long as well to talk about what we're going to do. I'd love to talk all night on this. But I've got to, I don't know, lie down or something. It's been a long day. It's been a long year. A good year though. It's always a good year on Shark Cast Pod. And I appreciate each and every one of you. You know that.

[00:17:40] And if you want to stick to the socials, we'll try and let you know about the next live show. Which I'm hoping will be in the next 24 hours. And we can have you on our show and talk about your thoughts and feelings. It'll give me time to sort of watch the game back as well and get all the news and the goss. So, disappointing end to the season. Especially that scoreline is not flattering. I'm glad they didn't crack the 50. I'm sure the questions will be asked in the media, which will be a lot heavier than the questions you've got for me.

[00:18:08] But we're in for a bit of a hiding here. But I do think if we keep the same coach and a lot of the players with some new young guys coming through, I think it's going to improve overall long-term things. It might be a slow, painful wait, but it'll get there is what I'm trying to say. Alright.

[00:18:32] SharkCast Pod reporting after the very sad loss to the Roosters. 46 points to 10. I don't know what really well else to say right now, but I'll cover it all in the next show. Disappointing results. Definitely moments of disappointing performances out there. But also some bravery and also some circumstance, which just sucks. It absolutely sucks.

[00:19:02] I look forward to corresponding to you guys over the next day or so. Up up Cronulla. Stick with us. We're not going anywhere. Let's go.