Barba in, Fifita withdraws
While Ben Barba is an almost certain starter for the Indigenous Team for the 2015 All Stars match his Sharks teammate Andrew Fifita has been forced to withdraw from the team and the All Stars voting process.
Barba is firmly entrenched inside the top 10 on the voting list, as was Fifita before being ruled out with injury as he continues his rehabilitation from off-season arm and thumb surgeries.
The Sharks are more than hopeful that Fifita will be fit and available for the teams round one match against the Canberra Raiders at Remondis Stadium.
Ironically David Fifita, who has also polled strongly in the All Star voting, could be one player to benefit from his brother’s absence, however he too is under an injury cloud as he recovers from stress fractures in his foot.
As yet his status for the February 13 All Stars game in uncertain.
The Indigenous All Stars voting process has less than 48 hours remaining.
To place a vote go to www.nrl.com/allstars or to read more on Barba and the potential Indigenous team see the article on the Sharks website – CLICK HERE
Happy Birthday to the Jets
The Newtown Jets, the Sharks partners in the VB Cup competition in 2015, celebrate their 107th birthday today.
Formed on January 8, 1908, at an overflow public meeting in the Newtown Town Hall, from the very beginning Newtown became known for its gritty, never-say-die spirit, and the ability to make the best of limited financial resources.
Newtown’s first Premiership in the NSW Rugby League competition was in 1910, the Bluebags, as they were known from 1908-1972, were runners-up in 1913, 1914 and 1929, before winning a second Premiership title in 1933.
The Bluebags then won their third premiership in 1943 with a team captained by the famous Frank “Bumper” Farrell, arguably the club’s most famous and colourful identity.
The 2015 season now sees the Sharks and Jets embark on a new major development as they commence a partnership in the VB NSW Cup competition.
The Jets and the Sharks had a productive one-year partnership back in 2005 in what was a forerunner competition to the NSW Cup.
Similar to the Sharks the Jets have been hard at work in the off-season and the Newtown coaching staff have been impressed by the application and discipline shown by their pre-season hopefuls.
The Jets staged a successful in-house trial match on the 18th December, and those players who have been invited to remain in the Jets pre-season squad reconvened this Tuesday. Once the season commences, those Newtown players will be joined by Sharks contracted players, making for a more than competitive outfit.
Newtown’s first NSWRL VB NSW Cup competition game for 2015 will be against Wests Tigers at Henson Park on Saturday, 7th March, kicking off at 3.00pm.
Happy Birthday to the Jets from all at the Sharks. We obviously wish the team every success in 2015 and look forward to working in tandem to produce many victories.
Trans Tasman Touch Clinic
While the elite under 18 and under 20 men and women from Australia and New Zealand will do battle for the Youth Trans Tasman Touch Football title at Remondis Stadium on January 17, 5-12 year olds with an interest in Touch Footy should take advantage of a special clinic being held the day prior to the event.
For a cost of just $45, the clinic will run from 8.30am-12.30pm and feature plenty of touch footy fun in an event hosted and run by Touch Football Australia, the NSW Touch Association, NRL Development and Sharks staff.
A couple of Sharks NRL players will also come along as special guests, with the cost of the day including a Junior Touch Kit featuring a bag, shirt, hat, drink bottle and a number of other items.
For more information on the Youth Trans Tasman event CLICK HERE.
To register for the touch clinic on Friday, January 16, CLICK HERE.
2015 Season Countdown - 60 days to go
The Sharks 2015 season is sneaking up on us, now just 60 days away, with the Sharks first game scheduled for March 8 at Remondis Stadium.
The boys enjoyed a well-earned day off today but it will be back to work tomorrow, followed by another session Saturday morning, as preparations ramp up for the kick off to 2015.
In what is shaping as a year to remember, get your Sharks membership now or just make sure you have the date of the round one clash clearly marked in the diary.
60 days away - Sharks v Raiders, Remondis Stadium, Sunday, March 8 – kick off at 6.30pm.
