Welcome To The NRLW 2026: Tony Herman/Quincy Dodd Interviews, Sharks NRLW Season Preview with Dan Nichols

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

[00:00:26] They've got a Facebook page, or you could go old school and call them on 0295239300. Hey there, welcome to SharkCast, part of a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the world, the mighty Cronulla Sutherland Sharks. My name is Sam Shinazzi, OG2015. This is the fourth season covering the NRLW.

[00:00:53] I sometimes like to call it NRL dub, but it's with love that I say that. This episode is brought to you by Dyson Logistics, the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Port Hacking, and Jason Hawes at Cripps & Cripps Real Estate. We get our coffee from Mr. Paisley's, and we're super excited about the NRLW season coming up. On this episode, you're going to hear from Coach Tony Herman. You're going to hear from our number nine, the amazing Quincy Dodd, the first ever NRLW shark. She is Shark One.

[00:01:20] And you're going to hear an in-depth conversation between myself and Dan Nichols. I was a guest on his show, Fins Up, and very happy to do that. He's given me the sound bites to throw up on our feed. So it's a bit of a collab, if you will, and you'll hear him introducing the show. And then we're going to talk for about 50 minutes about all things NRLW shark, from player analysis to the draw, more games at Ocean Protect Stadium, bit on the opposition.

[00:01:48] It's one for you to really sink your teeth into. NRLW is here, Thursday night, 7.45. Kick off at Ocean Protect Stadium. And if you hear this and are listening to this after the fact, still a pretty good guide for the season ahead. Hope you enjoy. Talk to you soon. Up, up. And Kiria Ratu waits behind the ruck. It comes to Shantae, Kiria Ratu.

[00:02:22] She knew it as soon as she struck it. And now, the Sharks. Pre-season comes down to tomorrow night. How's everyone looking? Yeah, we're looking good. The girls have had a big pre-season. Started off with our camp. Girls bonded well. Got used to our game model. They've shown some really good football in the pre-season. Some real traits of Sharks footy. And yeah, we're looking forward to tomorrow night. A couple of new recruits to show off as well. Tell us about that. Yeah, yeah. Maddie Ashby, one. You know, she's new to NRLW.

[00:02:51] So, you know, that's going to be her debut there. We're looking forward to seeing what she can do. Coming across from rugby, she was Tasha Gale, I think six or seven years ago. Yeah, no, she's going to bring across some real skills from that. And we're looking forward to seeing what she does. What about Nevada George and China Pallana? Yeah, Nevada is coming from the Cowboys. But this will be her debut for us. She's got a little bit of X factor about her. You know, she's got an offload, some late footwork. And so, yeah, she's going to be really important in those conditions tomorrow night. Quincy Dodd, captain him.

[00:03:21] It's a pretty cool experience for her. Yeah, yeah, looking forward to Quincy. Yeah, it's exciting for her. You know, she tells a really cool story about being a nine-year-old on the hill up there and watching the footy and not thinking that it'd be for her. And here she is as captain of this club. And yeah, it's really, really exciting. And you've got the Knights, fellow preliminary finalists. It's going to be a tough one. Yeah, they're a good footy club. You know, they've been in the finals each year. They've won a couple of premierships. They've got a good middle, good kicking game, some good outside backs, some speed. So yeah, it's a really good matchup for us in round one.

[00:03:51] Yeah, Shantay, Kiri Arantu and Kiri did. Great kicking game matchup there. Yeah, yeah, both can kick a ball, that's for sure. We think though that we could probably go well there. You know, we'll try and turn them around and they'll do the same against us and the conditions will probably suit that. So yeah, it's going to be a real matchup. How have you found Shantay coming back from Origin? A bit extra confidence? Yeah, definitely. You know, those experiences. And we like to think we're a club that, you know, promotes girls into Origin and you come into our program and that's available to them. And so to see Shantay go and shine in that arena, you know,

[00:04:20] she's come back with some more confidence, you know, and communication's improved because she's a quiet girl. But yeah, she'll be good tomorrow night. And yeah, China Pallotta making a club debut for my Queensland player. Pretty good pick-up. Yeah, she's been a great pick-up for us. You know, China approached us and wanted to come down here and, you know, she'll start in the edge back row and her power game is going to be something really important for us this season. Not only just for round one, but for the rest of the season as well. So yeah, no, she's going to be good. Forming a great combination with Georgia Hanamay as well? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Two Queenslanders and they live together

[00:04:50] and they keep telling me how it's building a great connection there. So yeah, they'll be good. Yeah, they'll be good on that edge. How? Quincy, round one opener at home. How excited are you to get back out there with the girls tomorrow night? Yeah, so excited. It's been a little while since we're back out on Shark Park, Ocean Protect Stadium. The girls are really looking exciting.

[00:05:17] I know we've had a really good pre-season and even before pre-season, the girls have been really, really working hard. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to putting on a show tomorrow night and hopefully getting that win as well. And you've had a few new recruits over the off-season. How well have they gelled with the team so far? Yeah, we've had amazing. We've got some debutants tomorrow night in China, Maddie and Nevada and I feel like they're really strong, impactful players and yeah, I can't wait to play with them.

[00:05:45] Obviously, I've played with Maddie before back in the past at Canaar Sharks and that's definitely a memorable time that I've had with her. And yeah, China and Nevada, same as them, they're so strong and they're so athletic on that field. So I can't wait to see them rip in tomorrow night. And a big night for yourself getting to captain the squad. How exciting of an opportunity is it for you to lead them out there? Oh yeah, these opportunities obviously are pretty big for me as well

[00:06:13] but obviously Tiana's our main captain and I feel like I've got big shoes to fill in Tiana being our main captain. But I feel like I can get the job done as well. So I'm really confident in this team. Our prep's been amazing and it's all up to our skills at the end of the night and I can't wait to rip in with them and hopefully lead on that field as I do as I normally do on the field but making sure that I get everything right off the field as well. And your opponents, the Newcastle Knights, it was a nail-biting golden point finish last year.

[00:06:42] Are you expecting a close one again tomorrow? Look, you never know. It's the first game. So I'm really honestly excited for that and I can't wait to see what Cronulla Sharks have and what footy that we do play tomorrow night. But yeah, I feel like it's always a close game between us and Newcastle but I'm really confident in this group and I can't wait to show what the rest of NRW that we have great Sharks footy ahead of us in this season. Teagan Dimmick back in the team as well. The middle is just amazing.

[00:07:12] Must be so fun playing behind that. Oh, Teagan's a good mate of mine too. So I can't wait to get on the field back with her. She's a workhorse in that middle. She knows how to control that middle and her defence efforts through the middle too are just outstanding. So I can't wait to have her back on my team. You and Maddie Ashby go back to 2018. What were you two and a half back then? Was that right? Yeah, I was actually a half back back then and I think Maddie was either the full back. It was nines back then so it was a little bit different. So she was a bit of a playmaker within myself as well.

[00:07:41] So, so good to have her back. She's just a positive, she's a competitor. She is a leader in her own way as well. But yeah, honestly, I don't know what to see. I can't wait to see what she has tomorrow night and whatever it is, it's going to be bloody good too. Delay on the pass. Biddle trying to take Hufanga with her! And the upset is on here! Brunella lead 10-0. And here we go folks! Hello everyone and welcome to a special edition of the Fins Up podcast

[00:08:09] in conjunction with our great mates at SharkCastPod. This is the NRLW preview, upcoming 40 minutes of NRLW goodness. You have my word. So I'm going to throw to my amazing co-host, Mr. Sam Shinazzi. Mate, how are you doing on the eve of some NRLW football? I'm excited. Thanks for having me Dan and I'm excited it's finally here. I love having both the women's and men's teams same week, double the action. I really love it. Like it really fulfills me.

[00:08:38] It gives me more things to do, more things to watch. But ultimately as a fan, I get to just support this club twice a week and follow what's going on. And we just saw in the last hour, the NRLW Sharks have released an amazing website. It's kind of interactive. It's based around superheroes. And there's also I think a few video campaigns and that kind of thing. So we urge you to get behind that. Really great initiative.

[00:09:02] And I can tell you firsthand Dan that from my limited involvement with the club week to week, they're all in on NRLW. It's not an afterthought. It's as important as the men and take that how you will. Definitely. It looks like it. I just visited that website before we came on here and it is worldly, like nothing I've ever seen before. So huge wraps to the team. I'll do some more investigation.

[00:09:29] I like reading stuff and the pictures are really pretty. So it works for my small mind, mate. But let's get straight into it. We're going to do the gains, the losses. We're going to talk about the team, et cetera, et cetera. But beforehand, let's talk about the players that will be unavailable for either most of the season or all of the season. Unfortunately, you have to lead with the marquee signing, Emma Verran, who will miss the season for a very good reason. She's due to give birth what looks like any day now, but I hear in the next month or two.

[00:09:58] How big a loss is a superstar slash mum to be? It's very significant. I cannot downplay it. I don't want to downplay it. She's done a lot for our club. She's played at all levels of a few different sports and that can't be replaced. I have faith that there are people coming through, people already there that can fill the hole, can't be replaced. But I think the Sharks are in a good spot where they've had time to plan for it.

[00:10:28] We've also seen that she signed with the Dastly Dragons for the future. So they've obviously made a decision in a number of ways. She's made her decision. They've made theirs. It's all very amicable. She still loves the club. She's still involved with the club this year. But I think it's a tough one, Dan, because I thought she was one of our best players last year when she had ball in hand. I was genuinely excited.

[00:10:52] I do think, for example, this week's halves, which we'll get to later on, but this week's halves, for example, are really good halves. I don't know if I would have Emma necessarily straight in over one of these two halves in current form. And I can tell you that our personal favorite, Jada Taylor, is my fullback. There's no one else playing fullback. So there it gets a little bit, well, what are you going to do with your superstar elite player? I would love to keep her around.

[00:11:23] You know, good luck to her and her family. She's starting a family. It's awesome. And then she's going to the Dragons next year on onwards. I would love to still have her here, Dan. But I think it's not as a disaster as what some people might think. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It is undoubtedly a huge out. But she's been our best player across the brief history, the best signing. Just an absolute weapon in every regard on and off the field. It's been amazing.

[00:11:53] When I found out she was pregnant, obviously like, ah, rats. But also yay for her. More yay than rats. Looking at our halves though, yeah, they're both played for Queensland. And we'll discuss them more later. But it's a shame she can't play center this week, selfishly. Sure. Because we're missing a couple. But I think the club's looking to the future and they've got a young Haas pairing that's going to go far. It's a real shame. But yeah, I mean, I wish her all the best. Hopefully she's there to cheer us on in the grand final.

[00:12:22] And then what happens at the Dragons? I don't particularly care. But other players that will miss the season for the same reason as Taylor King, who played off the bench mainly last year. I think she slotted in at seven once or twice. Should be a big loss. But Tali Holmes, mate. Yeah. I found out she had the baby via the photos the other night that the Sharks account posted. Now, Mila Olaro has been, she's a former sevens player. More on her in a minute. She's been signed until round nine as a pregnancy replacement playoff.

[00:12:52] Doing some sums. Does that mean Tali Holmes will probably be available around nine or 10, I suppose? I guess people like you and I don't have that kind of information, especially when it comes to the health of these athletes. She's a very fit human. We know that. Very durable. And I would not be surprised if she's back around that time. I personally wouldn't have been able to put a timeframe on it.

[00:13:18] But now you say that, it kind of, to my very, you know, thin brain, I go, oh yeah, that makes sense. That sounds about right. Yeah. So hopefully, because I think she is quite a big loss just with her motor and with her skills and her experience and her sort of never give up attitude. I think she's going to be missing in those first 10 weeks. Yeah. Big time. It's a big out. But look, I'm not going to pretend to know when people can come back from pregnancy. No.

[00:13:48] That's not my area of expertise. It's just purely I'm putting two and two together based on one signed for nine weeks. But if you're, Hanisi injured her ACL in round one last year, I believe she's still listed as unavailable. I don't know her status. And you mentioned Gracie Lee Weeks. I remember she did an injury either late last season or in the off season. She wasn't named this week, which caught me off guard a little bit. Have you got any more on that? Yeah, I'm led to believe it's quite serious.

[00:14:16] And let's wait for the club to come out and say it. But I feel like it's a season ending injury essentially. Now, I saw her at the launch last week and she was hobbling around and I thought, oh, that's not a good look. I didn't think much of it after that. But then I was speaking to someone within the club who said, no, it's not looking good. Now, I don't have the official diagnosis. So I don't want to go off and say what I think it might be.

[00:14:46] But the last thing I heard was potentially, potentially season ending. So watch this space. Bugger. That is not good. Let's move on to the losses as I'm just getting flagged here, but it looks like double thumbs up. It's all good. Leaving the club is Nakia Davis-Walsh, who played a lot of wing for us, especially last year and did exceptionally well.

[00:15:09] And a former favorite of mine, because I can't support the Dragons, Brooke Anderson, our big hitting number 13, who was a huge loss. You can't. I mean, she's a dragon at heart. Unfortunately, I think Davis-Walsh came to us from the night. So I can't begrudge either for leaving. Look, Brooke's a big one. And she's already been instilled as their captain. They knew what they were getting when they signed her.

[00:15:36] And I think she's the other massive loss that we're going to have, potentially the biggest loss of this season and moving forward because she can play a number of positions. She's one of the toughest NRLW players. She has the experience. And I'm a huge fan of what she does. So I'm pretty gutted by that one. We've had some time to get used to it. And even now, I'm sort of like getting to the point where I see her in Dragons gear and I hover over the like button, not quite hitting it.

[00:16:05] But yeah, huge loss. Huge loss. Yeah, definitely. There's some good players coming in. So we've gained Tegan Dimmick's come back via the Bulldogs. She's a prop for those that don't remember. She's a huge in, I think she's playing lock this weekend, which is great. China Pallotta in the back row from the Cowboys was a sneaky signing that I absolutely love. Madison Ashby. Now, she's a seven superstar. They recently won everything and she was the co-captain.

[00:16:35] I haven't watched much Rugby Seven since it left whatever it was, ESPN or BN Sport left Fox Sports a couple of years ago, which is a real shame. But all the raps on her are humongous. Anyone there stand out? China Pallotta, Tegan Dimmick, Madison Ashby. I like all three. I mean, Tegan's a solid hard worker. She has been a shark before. She's going to fit straight back into the system. Comes from a good rugby league family, obviously, and a good sized human. So I think we need that.

[00:17:03] Well, it doesn't hurt to have more like that in what is one of, I think we've got one of the best packs in the NRLW. China, I've seen play, but having seen her last week at the launch, she's going to be a handful for opposition. So, yeah, some good people coming in and there's also some depth players as well. We're talking about Harv's depth before. We've got the coach's daughter, Olivia. Actually, you know what? That's pretty rude.

[00:17:34] Olivia Herman, who happens to be the coach's daughter as well, coming through in development. She's a really good player. She's played in the grade below and worked her way in. Legitimately a really good player. So there's more depth there in the Harv's. And overall, Dan, from what I can tell, there's depth that we didn't necessarily have last year, even with a few sort of casualties already this year and other players who aren't available. No, it's a good shout. I'm really excited.

[00:18:00] So Madison Higgins-Ashby is her name on the Shark website, but on the NRL it's Madison Asby. Sure. So don't run at me if you're in the comments, but she looks an absolutely wonderful player. She played a lot of rugby league for the Sharks. She won, I think it was Tasha Gale, player of the year, a couple of years ago before she went and toured the world and won everything with the sevens. She's an Olympic gold medalist. I mean, it doesn't come with a much better resume than that. No.

[00:18:25] So she played with Quincy in the lower grades and they've got a good combination, good friendship. She knows a bunch of the girls, a bunch of the women, and she's quick. There's not much of her, but tough. And again, given the experience she's had around the world, big stage, the whole thing, it's pretty handy. It's pretty handy. It is.

[00:18:49] With the sevens, women too, it's kind of, they all play their positions, but there's seven players. You get the ball, you run fast. Yeah. And all her highlights were pretty exciting. Again, it's a different kind of game, but it's something, it's a signing I certainly didn't see coming, but one I'm absolutely stoked about. So Milla Alaro, or El Alaro, yep, I think I, if I butchered that, apologies. She's a replacement player through round nine, but obviously if Tala Holmes is unfortunate to come back, we can extend her. But I checked and she had some exciting highlights too.

[00:19:19] She's another sevens player, not as high profile, not many are. It is Ashby. Again, she's the vice captain of a very, very good team. Don't know too much about her, but she looks like she can cover a few positions. She's been named on the extended bench, which I really like. And the other player that's come is Nijera to George. And again, I apologize if I butchered that. She's a prop. She played six games for the Kiwis. I think she's from the Cowboys last year. I didn't see as many NRLW games outside of the Sharks last year as I would have liked.

[00:19:47] My daughter's a teenager and loves, almost, and loves attention. Mid-afternoon games probably didn't work. But she's got a bit of size, which you mentioned Teagan Dimmick obviously before. Probably the one thing we lacked last year was a bit of size outside the two main starters. Yeah. Yeah, good point. Because that's when I backtracked before saying, well, we didn't have size. We did have two of the biggest players, obviously, two of the elite players, possibly the two best props, which we do again.

[00:20:15] But outside of them, it got a little bit smaller bodied. But this year round, there's two or three at least more that we're going to go. So I know we might go through it a bit later on, but you've still got phenomenal young players like Stephanie Faulkner, who's on the bench, who is a tough body, skillful. And the depth is there. The only issue would be, and it's the same for any team, is if they all fall over. Last year, they all legitimately fell over and it was a bit of a problem.

[00:20:45] And we still did pretty good. I'm guessing it won't be the same this year. They'll have a bit better luck. And I think the depth will hold out. And one of the things that the coach, Tony Herman said at the launch was they signed players in NRLW Sharks with the intention of them playing first grade, playing the top grade. They don't sign them as fringe squad members. Now, there's a few exceptions, obviously, and a few younger players.

[00:21:11] But for example, Jacinta Carter, who I think is just a phenomenal big prop, she can't make a 17 this week at the moment. She may get a late start. But she's there and they know she can start if needed. And it's the same with a bunch of the players listed from 14 and below down to 30 or whatever you got. That's his intention within reason.

[00:21:36] There's a couple of, you know, 18 year olds who are probably not ready, but his intention is to have players ready to go when needed next person up. So if it comes to that, which hopefully it doesn't, but if it does, I've got faith that they can still do a number. Yeah, the score looks deeper this year. And again, that's not a crack on last year. I thought our top 17 was probably outside the two cheat codes, probably the strongest. This year, the Warriors have gone very good and we're the fourth betting favorite.

[00:22:06] I had us as third, which is, you know, third and fourth. There's not much difference. There's a clear one and two. But we, I mean, made a grand final two years ago. And last year, we almost had the roosters. Whether we would have been any match for the Broncos is another story. But that's, that's what I had this year in the grand final. I had the Sharks beating the roosters because I'm an eternal optimist. But I feel like just looking at the team, like we're missing some serious cattle. Like our, probably our best player, our captain, Penitani Gray's missing this week. Yeah.

[00:22:36] Okay. That's, that's a huge out for any squad considering she walked into the New South Wales and Australian sides. But you still look, I think we're the first third best team in the competition without putting too much pressure on. Yeah, I agree. I agree. And you're talking about Philomena Henisi, who did her, I think her knee in the first game, which was just heartbreaking. That was a year ago. And she's walking around. I believe she's in full training. So she hasn't been named this week. I don't believe.

[00:23:03] But I, again, you know, we're not telling you what's going to happen. But if you did the math a year after an ACL, you're kind of good to go. So if she can come back within the first five weeks, for example, that middle is looking super strong. Yeah, massive. Yeah. Speaking of middles and additions, she's not officially an addition, but she certainly feels like it.

[00:23:28] And that's Caitlin Johnson Green, who came back post-pregnancy last year in record time. No one thought she'd be ready to go, except she's like, no, screw it. I'm going to do it. Look pretty good. Definitely not herself. And that's not a crack because she's was playing for New South Wales in Australia and at her very best. I think she's arguably second best prop at worst. Ellie Johnson might have something to say about that. So we'll say equal second for now. She's coming in.

[00:23:58] She looks slimmer as she's had an entire off season without having or without the gift of giving birth. Again, I'm not going to claim to be an expert, but I've got to imagine that's pretty hard on the body. Watching her training and especially standing next to Ellie Johnston, getting a little bit excited about our prop rotation up front, mate. She looks like she's ready to go. Yeah.

[00:24:22] And I felt for her after that first game comeback because the hype and the media onslaught, mainly from outside of the club. In fact, I'd say specifically outside of the club, not within the club, was huge. It was almost headline news, front and back, page of the paper, et cetera. And I think I'm correct in saying her first touch of the ball was a drop or something happened. And then, and she was fine. She played well. It was great to have her there. The experience, the whole thing was great.

[00:24:52] But you're right. This year, I think she'll go up a notch, step back in time a little bit and be the dominant elite prop that she was before she had the break, you know? And again, it's like what you said last year when she played, she was good. There wasn't, there's no doubting about it. It was a bonus having her there. But as you say this year, it's almost like having a new player because of the off season, the body recuperating the whole thing.

[00:25:22] And yeah, she looks fit and ready to go. So it's, it's an exciting middle. And the other thing that I love is we've got Quincy Dodd, who I, I believe even with all of her achievements, she's still underrated in the NRLW world, in my opinion. And I could be wrong. I don't know. That's the vibe I get. I think she's elite. I think she's superstar. But say, for example, she can't play or she needs a rest. There are things you can do. There are players you can throw in.

[00:25:53] You could have Georgia Hannaway pop up there like she did last year and be elite and then have someone else play six if you need it. There are, there are plans in place, but I do love that front row of Johnston, Johnson and Dodd. Like that is as good as it gets. Yeah, that, that's the definite advantage. I mean, the Broncos and the Roosters are going to have the best in almost every position.

[00:26:20] So putting them to side, yeah, you couldn't get me to swap with anyone. She, she looks fantastic. I'm glad you mentioned Quincy Dodd. She was, I believe our first signing been incredible just with Johnson green. Sorry, just quickly. She, I'm almost certain had a knee injury before she got pregnant. So she had two, almost two full seasons or a season and a half, whatever it equates to a lot of footy. Yeah, her first game last year was pretty, it wasn't great. She missed a few tackles you'd expect that I make.

[00:26:48] But you asked me to come in off an 18 month break at work. I'm going to be rusty. So I'm willing to cut her a little bit of slack and I'm glad you mentioned it came from outside the club. On my point before about the drop ball or whatever it was, it's the same when AFB got the ball in Vegas and we all got up out of our seats and you got up off the lounge and then he threw the ball five meters backwards. It was the same thing. That's it. Yeah, that's all I'm getting at. Just a little bit. Just, just get it out of your system early.

[00:27:14] But we've named, we've named our round one team against Newcastle who are very, very good despite losing their half back and wizard Jesse Southwell. So team's pretty good. It wasn't what I expected, but I forgot, I didn't know Grace Lee Weeks was injured and I thought Panatani Gray might be pushing for a spot. But we'll go through it. We'll stop at each player because for anyone new to it, please Thursday night, if you can get down there, I'll 90% sure I'll be there. Just weather reliant because I'm a wuss and I'm old now.

[00:27:43] But Jada Taylor, our fullback, we've seen signs that this, this young lady and she's still young is ready to go into the next strategy. 22. Yeah, it's, it's ridiculous. She's, she's had so many seasons and so many highlights, which is why we call it Jada Highlight on the Vinsome podcast. But Jada Taylor, mate, I'm willing to say right now, this is her breakout season. I think she's going to win our player of the year. No pressure. I hope so.

[00:28:07] A terrific human on and off the field, exciting, skillful, plays above her size and the world's at her feet, man. Like she can do whatever she wants. And the fact she's a shark, and I'll probably say this about a bunch of the players we're going to talk about. But the fact she's a shark makes me proud as a fan. Like it just, just makes me feel good. Absolutely. She's a brilliant story.

[00:28:34] And she's quickly becoming the face of the, the female part of the club. Put it that way. Cassie Staples on the wing who cops a little bit of a, she had a rough grand final a couple of years ago. Like it was, it was real bad. Like there's no sugar coating that last year. She was, she was pretty good. Always scores a load of tries. She's a former seven star. I think she'll have the spot as long as, as long as she wants it. Although there's some players later we'll mention that can certainly, certainly go, but I think it's time to cut her a fresh slate and start again. I'm excited to see what she can do.

[00:29:05] Great finisher. Experienced. Great club person. We can talk about her weakness. We're not getting trouble for talking about a weakness. She has a weakness under the high ball. It doesn't mean she drops every single one of them. I've seen her catch high balls. I've seen her drop some high balls. Uh, I would imagine that's something she's continually working on. I'm sure she's going to get targeted. Uh, but I think overall a pretty solid winger for the Sharks. Definitely. On the other wing is Georgia Raddix. Who's one of my favorites. She is, and I don't mean this in a bad way.

[00:29:34] She's a monster. She's, she's tall. She's quick. She would rather run over someone and step around them, which I love another great finisher. She was named in the extended squad for Queensland once or twice this past couple of weeks ago. So that really excites me. I think she's going to have a top season and I'm going to predict that she's our top scorer this year. Okay. I like it. I, I've already thought about someone else who would be that person. We'll get to that person very shortly.

[00:30:03] Uh, but I like the fact that Staples and Ravix, um, we know what we're getting. They're solid and they're there every week. Like, I don't know if they've missed too many games between them. If they have, I apologize. I like that. Regularity in my team. And I think Ravix is a little bit underrated too.

[00:30:25] Um, not in the way I was talking about someone else being underrated before, but just think that I think some fans may not appreciate what they've got in Georgia Ravix. I, I, she's strong and she can score tries. She's, she's good. Yep. To be fair. So the centers this week are Rhiannon Byers, who is a backer old by trade and very obviously filling in. I'm not sure how she go. I guess there's only one way to find out.

[00:30:51] And the other one is a Nessa Biddle who is every bit the next superstar of this competition. Yeah, that's my top try scorer is an S a Biddle and she's a great story. And I would not be surprised to see her just grab headlines. Most weeks she's physically tough. She's skillful. Um, giving you a bit of insight, uh, behind the curtain.

[00:31:20] As I've said before, I was lucky enough to go to the launch last week via the club, very intimate, small launch blessed to be there. And an S a Biddle is part of the leadership group. And so she had to get up on stage with, you know, four of them and have a chat. And I would go as far as saying painfully shy, uh, hesitant to talk on the mic, not like happy to do so, but there wasn't much coming out, but what came out was really beautiful.

[00:31:49] And her teammates were saying that's what she's like when it comes to that kind of thing. You see her do these incredible things on the field, in the sheds, out in the community. She's a quiet person, family orientated, but when she speaks, they listen. And I just think she's going to be a really good story to watch over the next few years. And good luck trying to stop her from 10 meters out. Like, good luck.

[00:32:15] Rhiannon Byers is an awesome Sharks player. Great edge back rower. I think against a team like Newcastle, you'll get away with her playing in the centers. I'm not sure about against the, uh, the top two teams we often speak about. I don't know if you get away with it then, but against Newcastle, who historically have been slightly, I guess, like the Sharks, a bit slower, a bit more playing in the middle. I think you might get away with it.

[00:32:44] Hopefully I'm right on that in that case. Uh, and again, a terrific person off the field. You would have seen some Fox promos that she's done, uh, out in the community. I think she's from regional, I'm guessing New South Wales, but a great community worker, but on the field. Yeah. Really good worker. She had a lot of injuries in the past couple of years, unfortunately. So hopefully it's a clean slate and we get to see the best of Rhiannon Byers. Big time. Agree with that. Now, Haas combination, Georgia Hannaway, who played for Queensland last year.

[00:33:12] Is joined by Shante Kiriratu, who played all three games for Queensland this year. Those that didn't see the NRLW state of origin. I don't like comparing players, but think Matt Burton boot. She's Kiriratu. This is she's so tall when she was hugging props. She was towering over them. I had no idea she was this tall. And I mean, I've, I've been at games that she's played and you just think, oh yeah, she's pretty tall. She's real tall.

[00:33:41] She's got the biggest boot in the NRLW. I'm so excited about this Haas combination. Georgia Hannaway in that grand final a couple of years ago. So again, I don't like comparing players, but a lot of people are coming in blind. Matt Moylan, eat your heart out. That cutout ball is beautiful. I, this, this just screams, here we go. And it's not a short term thing either. This is, we've re-signed Kiriratu long term. She's going to play a lot of rep footy. This is where it happens for us.

[00:34:11] So Hannaway great attacking player, but can defend. She's a tough athlete. She can defend. She played hooker, as I said last year. So she's a good defender, good all rounder, a good kicker of the ball. And I believe relatively young as is Shantae. And I would say Shantae is one of the most improved players in the NRLW of the past sort of the biggest thing because we saw her come in from another club, but still pretty green

[00:34:40] in a lot of ways. But she found her feet to the point where she played origin, was one of our main key players last year and will be this year for sure. She is a big body. She's tall. She would be six foot something. I'm not sure what. And great, great kicking game. But I think every aspect of her game is improving, which is what you want. And that gives us a lot of hope.

[00:35:09] But I really like these two together. They're different players, which is fine, which is probably good. And as a combo, yeah, I think you can watch them grow up. I think it's a smart move. I like it. Yeah, me too. And there's a definite six and seven here. We know we've heard negativity about the men's side. They've definitely got their roles. Yeah. They're different, as you said, and I'm really excited. Of course, we've got the aforementioned Ellie Johnston and Caitlin Johnston Green up front.

[00:35:40] Quincy Dodd, who's a magician out of Hooker, she was in the origin set up. I actually thought Ellie Johnson was our best across the three games for New South Wales. Very, very biased, but whatever. Come fight me. She was so good. I think she is, whereas Caitlin probably arrived as the second best prop in the game. I think Ellie Johnston might have something to say about that. These three are going to be where we win the majority of our games, I believe.

[00:36:05] Yeah, they'll do the dirty work for you, but then inside the opposition 20, particularly Ellie will get you some points. Quincy will set them up. And Caitlin's just a very physically tough woman who just plays, you know, straight up rugby league. Like she plays footy. Ellie can be a bit more fancy, a bit more of a dancer sometimes, even though she's a bigger body.

[00:36:30] She can get around, move around, but it's an extremely impressive front row. Like it's as good as it gets. Certainly is. Now in the back row, we've got the aforementioned Chyna Palotta, who I'm super excited to see. She's joined by Tucker Patolo, who I thought was one of our standouts last year. Played a lot of prop with obviously Caitlin missing the majority of the season. Played a bit of 13, I think, when Brooke went to nine, et cetera, et cetera. She's a big body.

[00:36:59] Not sure how she'll go out wide, but she's not slow by any stretch. Pretty big back row. This looks like a big, and Teagan Dimick at 13, this is a much bigger side than we posted last year. Yeah, and Manalita definitely played edge as well. So don't be too concerned there. It's going to be interesting with the bench.

[00:37:22] I know you're someone who obsesses over interchange benches pretty much in your daily life, because I'm looking at that. I'm looking at the back three. I'm thinking at least one of those is going to have to come off, if not more. And then you have on the bench, you have Faulkner, without spoiling the rest of your story, Faulkner, George, and Tafua. So it's interesting to see how they do it, because obviously you've got your props there as well.

[00:37:49] But I feel like maybe, I mean, I don't know, does Chyna Palotta, does she play 70 minutes? I'm not sure. It looked like it last year. Yeah, okay. Her stats were pretty high, like her numbers were pretty high. Well then maybe it will be fine, because I know Manalita can go a long distance if she needs to. Yeah, it's a bigger back row. Teagan, I think we mostly saw play prop, but obviously in this day and age, it's not a world away.

[00:38:19] And her form of the dogs was decent, so I'm happy she's back. I know she's a popular member of the squad. So not necessarily, yeah, is it going to be our starting back row moving forward, do you think? Are we missing anyone there? Well, Byers is going to come in. Byers, yeah. She'll probably shift with Palotta. I think Taka Patola will probably push back to the bench, which makes it a weaponry. Yeah.

[00:38:49] It depends. Tale Holmes on talent would get there, but is she going to be able to? Of course, that's who I was missing. And again, that's not a crack. So, look, probably for the next two weeks, I think we're looking at Penitani Gray coming back in round two or three. Yep. But I mean, if that's our second best back row, that's a damn good place to be in. It's tough. It's a physical back row. So I'm looking forward to that one. And to be fair, their opposition's pretty physical as well. So they're going to need to be. But it's, yeah, it's good.

[00:39:18] And I think you'll see someone like Tegan Dimmick really have a new lease on her rugby league life because where she was last year, it wasn't the greatest on field success story. But I think coming home in inverted commas to the Sharks. Yeah, she's going to go right. Certainly one that when she re-signed, I was like, oh, your beauty. And I'm an unabashed fan of Tucker Patola and I love the Pilatus signing.

[00:39:48] So big wraps there. We mentioned it before, Madison, we'll call it Higgins-Ashby because that's what she is on on the Sharks website. So she's known as a half or a flanker or whatever they call it in the other game. Looking at that, Quincy Dodd very rarely goes the full stint. I think you might see Hannaway go to nine and maybe Ashby slits in at six beside Kiriratu is the way I look at it.

[00:40:14] Unless Rhiannon Byers can't go eight or 70 at center, which of course, you know, we're probably not expecting her. She probably goes in at center there and she defends a lot for a seven-person game in the other code. Is there a chance she goes to hook up for 15 minutes? Yeah, very much. She's just, it's hard to find a spot for these seven players because they can do so much. Yeah. Like if you give me any of those options, I'm like, sweet, works for me. Yeah. We've had sevens players come in before and some have worked, some haven't.

[00:40:44] But I mean, Emma Vering can play one through seven, nine. And if you told her to play back row, she could. She's obviously a rare talent, but. I'll say this about Madison. She's a smaller body from what I can tell. So I'm guessing physically she could handle hooker, but she's, I would say, a smaller body than Quincy, for example. So not sure. That'll be a fascinating one to watch on Thursday night. See where she fits in. Big time. I was a little bit situationally very good.

[00:41:14] But when Taylor King got ruled out, I was like, oh, rats, that, that covers a lot of spots. I dare say she fits in seamlessly. One you mentioned before and a big fan of both the podcasts here. Steph Faulkner. Yeah. Can consider herself a little bit unlucky. She didn't get the 13, but I think her endemic will pretty much share 35 each. Yeah. And she's someone who was elevated from the Harvey Norman comp pretty quickly, both because she was needed, but also her form was terrific.

[00:41:44] Like she was scoring tries. She was setting up tries. She's very physical player, a local junior. And, and she's for a young athlete. She's just not phased by anything. And I think she's a real part of this, you know, 17 players week in week out. And it would not surprise me to see her start at some point. Like you said, she might share that role with, with Dimmick. We'll see how long Dimmick can play for.

[00:42:12] But yeah, I'm a big fan of Stephanie Faulkner. She's, she's the real deal. Yeah. The only negative I have on Faulkner is that she ran out of try celebrations because she kept scoring so many during try July last year. She's, she's a real favorite. Uh, we mentioned George before and Jedika Tafua again, I probably, I'm sorry. Yeah. Those two both look for George's big body. She's a prop. Like I said, six games for the Kiwis, just a little bit of research.

[00:42:42] One of my mates for the Cowboys, I messaged him. He said, yeah, I didn't want to see her go. That makes me feel good. That's as good as you want. And Tafua last year played a bit of back road, bit of middle. She can sort of fit in anywhere. That bench is pretty, it's big, it's athletic and it can cover four or five positions. I really liked the side and hindsight that he's named. Um, big and athletic describes Jedika Tafua. Like she is tall, strong, um, but athletic.

[00:43:12] And I think that she as well will benefit from a good off season. I believe she's pretty young and I don't know. Was it her first year last year? I can't quite remember if she debuted before that, but I wouldn't say she should have played years and years and years of footy. So I think the more she plays, the better she'll be. And I really like what she did last year. So I think having her on the bench, it also covers a bit of, you know, if you need a front row, she could do it.

[00:43:42] She probably more of an edge lock type player, but she could play prop, you know? Throw in. Why not? I like it. The fact that we've named Kiriratu and Jacinta Carter, who can consider herself very unlucky to not be in that squad says it all because I don't think at any time last year, we named a 17 with that quality sitting on the extended bench. That's huge props to the recruitment team, the retention team and the quality of player.

[00:44:11] Cause Jacinta Carter came from the Knights for an opportunity. Like she didn't come here as a superstar, like Caitlin Johnson Green did. She came for an opportunity, took it to the point where I looked and saw she wasn't there. I thought, oh, she's injured. Wait a minute. She's been named outside the 17. You don't, it's not, it's not good for her obviously, but it's good for us as fans that a player of that quality is sitting at 19. Yeah. She's a really good player. Um, really good club person. Um, you, you probably see around the community a lot.

[00:44:41] I live locally and she's right there. Like she's waiting for someone just to, she's ready. She's waiting for a chance. And when it's her time, she'll take it cause we've seen her do it already. Uh, it's unfortunate for her. I guess maybe youth is not on her side or whatever. You know, she's just sort of, she's still quite young for a footballer, but she's, uh, she's got all the attributes and you know, I don't want to like jinx anything touch wood, but it

[00:45:09] wouldn't surprise me if in a year or two, if that was still the case, someone comes around and says, Hey, when you're off contract, let's have a chat because she's that kind of player. Like she's for me, she's a starter. And I'm not saying that I could find room for her in this team necessarily, unless she played, she played a lock maybe, but that's, but she's a prop. So, um, I'd find room for her in my 17th. I was coached with all respect to coach Herman. I'd, I'd be finding room for her. She's, she's a good player.

[00:45:38] It's good when you sort of sit down and thinking, Oh, who would you move out for? And not, Hey, I can name five players. That's that's absolutely absolutely. Absolutely. Pretty strong squad. A few players to come back in. Obviously the, the headline actors, Tiana Penitani Gray, who walks in any side in the world, literally just quickly. We won't keep you much longer, but a quick look at the draw. So it's five home games, five away games this year. Plus your magic round in Wagga Wagga, which is, which is pretty cool to be honest.

[00:46:04] Unfortunately it poured down the entire magic round in Newcastle last year. Newcastle, yeah. A horror show, but you know, nothing you can do about that. But looking at it quickly, our home games this year, the Knights, the Broncos, the Tigers technically a home game, but it's it in Wagga Wagga. That's just random. Don't put it. Then you've got the Titans, the Eels, and we end with the Dragons. I did a double check and there's no double headers this year before or after the men's, which I actually think is a good thing.

[00:46:31] Because a lot of people go in late for the men's and miss the women's, whereas they probably just didn't realize it was on. So I like this. We open with a couple of Thursday night games. Knights and Broncos. Now, look, there's every chance we'll be 0-2 after two weeks based purely on the strength of opposition. I am poor people not to worry too much if that happens. Sharks are notoriously so starters. I think in everything, including the soccer. It just comes with the name of the Sharks. So don't worry.

[00:46:59] But looking at it, the two games you look at at the Broncos next week at home and the Roosters away, way down the track, the Warriors are the other team. I think that's your top four. Outside that, there's no reason we can't win a majority of those games. I'm not expecting them to go through undefeated, but I'm fairly confident we'll finish top four based on the strength of squad and the way the schedule's worked out. Yeah, I don't think that's unrealistic.

[00:47:27] On the standalone games at Ocean Protect Stadium, it's pros and cons, unfortunately. And it can't be sort of worked out by you and I as the fan as 100% what's right and what's wrong. So standalone is awesome because it's the respect. We're all going there to see this one team. It's twice the Sharks, for example.

[00:47:57] Some weeks you might be out to go and see two home games in one week, etc. The cons are, although people arrive late for NRL, there is that in safety to go, oh, well, the women are playing first. I will try and go earlier, you know. So you'll never kind of have the perfect answer, unfortunately. But I don't mind the fact that they're standalone for a number of reasons. Like I said, you get twice the action down there.

[00:48:24] It's good for the club from a not so much financial point of view, but, you know, they're always trying to get more funding and more interest in fixing up the stadiums. They can say, hey, we've got instead of 10 home games this year, we've got 15 at Sharks, you know. So that's a plus. And I do think that from my experience of going to both competitions, the NRLW is a different crowd when it's standalone.

[00:48:49] It is, for whatever reason, it is more of an energetic crowd. It's more of a vocal crowd. I know that sounds silly because there's probably 8,000 people less or whatever, but people seem more genuinely invested in it. And I'm generalizing. It's a generalization. But I think that ultimately for the game to separate it from the man is pretty good.

[00:49:17] Like I like it. I'm not saying I would have a problem if they're all double headers. That again, like pros and cons, you know. But yeah, standalone five games and it's unfortunate the first two on Thursdays, although next week is school holidays. And this week it's day before last day of school. So you could maybe the kids could twist your arm to go maybe so. Yeah, come on parents. Again, timing. It's all to do with TV.

[00:49:43] Unfortunately, we've got, you know, a couple of Sunday 615 games, which I don't mind personally, but maybe other people do. We've got, I believe a standalone 315 on a Saturday against the Titans in August. You know what I mean? So that again, you could go, that's awesome. Or someone would go, oh yeah, but so you can't please everyone. What are your thoughts? I'm rambling on. What are your thoughts? No, I'm 50-50 split. I like it.

[00:50:11] I like the Thursday night games and the Sunday nights because they're not competing with NRL. Obviously you've got origin affected in the next couple of weeks. So you've got extra buys, extra time slots. I like the early games, the 1245s, the two-clops, whatever they are, because you watch it into the NRL and a lot of it's habit. Like I watch Super Saturday every week. I don't care who's playing. Like it's just, that's the habit. I sit there with my son and my mates and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But you just add the games.

[00:50:40] You just turn on an hour or two early. I really like that. The games that compete are going to be very difficult. Again, it's hard to break habits. I get it. I wish there was one doubleheader just because it would be special. Hey, get down there to the doubleheader. The Dragons are promoting a doubleheader this week in a, I mean, they're dross in both competitions. A score of spade a spade. And when you say doubleheader, you're talking men's and women's. Yeah, men's and women's. So it's something for them to promote.

[00:51:09] Hey guys, get there early. Support the girls. What you mentioned earlier with the energetic crowd, it's a younger crowd and it's a lot of young women. Yeah. And they are loud. And that is a huge positive. The NRLW origin, every time they make a break, the screams are just so loud. And that is just the young girls being excited. I went to a Taylor Swift concert. I hate admitting that on here years ago. Young girls are screaming in my ears the whole time. Not at me, at Taylor. It's just different. And it is really fun to go and see.

[00:51:38] It's, it's easier to take kids because there's plenty of space. You can let them run up and down and no one gets annoyed. You don't have the security standing over you sort of sit where you want. So I implore anyone that can get down there. It's, it's involved in your membership. I believe, I believe. Get down there. There's a code anyways, if you need it, message me. Just get down there. You know, it's going to be fun. Yeah. Thursday night's probably going to be cold and wet, but whatever you put up with it. There's a 1245. Yeah, exactly. We got a 315 against Titans. That's, that's a point of viewing.

[00:52:08] The 145 in the last round against the dragons. Hopefully we've got a top four spot. So enough, we could just go down and party. That's going to be a lot of fun. But I mean, it's not like the NRL where you can look at the draw because you play every team once you play five home, five away and you're neutral at magic ground. Perfect. It's hard to get a perfect, but mate, I mean, you can't sit there and blame the draw in any circumstance. I think, I think it's going to come down to how good we are. And I think we're pretty good. Yeah.

[00:52:34] And on your point about, we could potentially, you know, it's not, it wouldn't be unheard of if we were 0 and 2 because we're playing two pretty good teams to start with. I will say if we're 0 and 2 in any short competition, whether it's this or the NFL, you need to win game three. So let's hope that we're not 0 and 2. Uh, I personally don't think we'll be 0 and 2. I think that we'll be 1 and 2 at worst. And there's a good chance we could be 2 and 0. Does that make sense?

[00:53:03] 1 and 1 or 2 and 0. Sorry about that, people. But it's exciting, man. And on the TV thing, the one thing that does annoy me and I work for them, so I don't want to get in too much trouble, but it's even hard because they have to split up the coverage sometimes. So they want to have it on the main channel, 502. So I'll have the first half of the game at 1245 or whatever, or 130. And then they do have commitments to go to the NRL.

[00:53:32] And so they'll be like, Hey, switch over to 508. And it's not a big deal. Obviously you go click, but just the whole, it's not a disrespect thing. It's more just the inconvenience and that kind of thing of the fact that they're on two different channels. It's the same with scheduling and with grounds and stand alone, not stand alone. I don't think there's a easy way to do it, unfortunately, at the moment.

[00:53:59] And obviously we don't have time for this, but unless you were to run the competition in a different part of the season or year, I should say, you're not going to like, they're doing the best they can, I guess I'm saying. No, no, it's good. And like you said, the more games at Shark Park or Ocean Protected Stadium, the better. Yeah. We had some South O'Sharks, this local soccer team were mentioned, supposed to play games down there. They fell through because the NRL said, no, you chop up the stadium. They were probably right in hindsight, but that would have been nice just to say, Hey, we hosted another game here too. Yeah.

[00:54:29] I'm glad you brought that up. But mate, I'm going to put the pressure on you right now. Where do we finish after round? What is it? 11. I think we finish, I think we finish top four, potentially third. I'm not saying that Broncos and Roosters will be one and two. I just think that maybe we'll be third is a place I'm looking at. I take third. I'm going to lock in third as well.

[00:54:56] I think we get through to the grand final and I don't care who we play. I reckon we win because someone outside those big two has to win a competition. And as the sharks famously said in 2016, why not us? Why not us? Why not us? That was on the banner. Why not us? It certainly was. It was all over in Cronulla and then they just, they just scratched up the shenazzy bit and then put it in other things. So mate, thank you so much for joining us here. Obviously you'll do your intros and the outros and, and drop it on anyone who's new to either show.

[00:55:25] Please check out the other show because we all love the sharks. Any passing words, mate, before we get out of here and we'll see you there on Thursday night. You will see me there. That's for sure. Uh, passing words. I know just thanks for having me on and for helping out with what you're doing here. And, uh, you know, I don't want to get into like a whole tell people what to do, how to think, et cetera. But obviously in RLW it does. There, there are some naysayers out there and I think that's fine.

[00:55:52] Like you don't have to like everything, but I need good reasons for it. You know, if you're a rugby league fan, I need a good reason. I don't need just like, it's not the same or it's not the kind of rugby league. I need more than that. I need a reason why my point being, if you're someone who's on the borderline of watching, not watching, give it a go. Uh, the thing I love about NRLW is it's very pure rugby league. You know, you will get block players, but you're not going to get them every single time. Mm-hmm .

[00:56:22] You're not going to be watching a mini game of NFL. And I love NFL. You know, I love NFL. I love NRL, but there's something very pure about NRLW at the moment. Just athletes going for it. The games are usually tight. Defense is probably more of a, probably more on show than what people would think and more in some cases than the NRL. Like it's becomes a very defensive game, which I like.

[00:56:47] I just think that if you haven't given it enough of a go, um, and you're a big Sharks fan, this is your good chance to jump on board now. Cause it's round one, ball hasn't been kicked or a good team, uh, full of really good players. You could say you were there from the start of the year. I saw every game or I watched every game or I followed the highlights, you know, whatever it is you do. I can give it a chance. Cause I don't think as popular as, as it is, I still don't think it's where it needs to be. So let's help it grow, man.

[00:57:17] Nope. Absolutely agree. Echo everything you said. It's a standalone game this Thursday. It's the Sharks. We are a very good team. I definitely recommend getting on board, but we'll see you down there on Thursday. If you do say more me, I'm not going to speak for Sam. Come say hello. I don't say hello. I just have my head down. We turn away. So yeah, we'll be, we'll be back on the respective shows in the next few days. And until then let's go the girls in the black, white and blue.

[00:57:45] SharkCast is supported by the best and most honest real estate agent in the Sutherland Shire, Jason Hawes from Crips and Crips Real Estate. He's an expert in the Carring Bar region and has his eye all across the Shire. Lifelong Sharks fan and supporter of this podcast. If you're looking to buy or sell in the region, the person you need to be talking to is Jason Hawes from Crips and Crips Real Estate. Call him on 0410 417 450. That's 0410 417 450.

[00:58:14] Jason Hawes, Crips and Crips Real Estate. SharkCast!