As touched on in the accompanying video, see following an update from CEO Dino Mezzatesta on business carried out during the month of April, with reports from the various departments.
Sharks at Kareela
You may have noticed a new face at the helm at Sharks at Kareela in recent weeks with Justin Coulton taking over as General Manager.
Justin has a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked at the Panthers, Sky City Casino in Adelaide, as well as in senior roles at various other venues and you can expect the high level of customer service to remain under his tenure. Members are encouraged to please make yourself known to Justin next time you see him at Sharks at Kareela.
As it is annually, Anzac Day was a great occasion, with Dawn Services well attended throughout the Shire in giving the day the respect it deserves. Sharks at Kareela was well patronized on the day, with the Cove Bar and Grill and the main bar extremely busy, with many staying on for the two big NRL Anzac Day games shown on multiple screens throughout the Club. We also thank those who came to play Two-Up for doing so in a respectful manner. It was a wonderful day all round.
And talking of big occasions, next Sunday is Mother’s Day. If looking to take mum somewhere special, why not the Cove Bar and Grill, with Gina and her crew offering an outstanding Mother’s Day menu. Lunch is already fully booked, with limited spots available for dinner.
On the golfing front, it is good to see the Kareela Golf course back operating after months of consistent rain. With that it is also great to welcome the golf members back, not only onto the course but also into the club to enjoying and utilise the facilities. Lets hope for more sunshine and plenty of golf in the weeks ahead.
Woolooware Bay
Not only has the rain been a challenge for the golf course and the green staff who look after it, similarly it has had a major impact on the construction industry, with extensive delays incurred due to the inclement weather.
Not a great deal to add to the Woolooware Bay update, only to say our development and construction partners are forging ahead as best they can.
However, in offering brief detail, they are now forming slabs to level 5 under building B and have completed the final concrete pours to the ground level slabs. Services installation continues to progress internally where possible.
Once again see the latest drone shots of the Woolooware Bay precinct, as supplied by our development partners Aoyuan.
Commercial
I was joined on a visit to Coffs Harbour by Rebecca Hughes, head of our commercial team, Jess Ciccia from our digital media staff, along with Sharks ambassador Luke Lewis to launch the ticketing release and to promote our upcoming game.
We met with local dignitaries, conducted media with Coffs Harbour outlets, encouraging footy fans in the region to again support the game which is against the Gold Coast Titans on June 18.
The 2021 match was a huge occasion and we are anticipating this year’s event to be even bigger and better.
Corporate hospitality on sale but selling fast, CLICK HERE to book or find out more. All Coffs Harbour corporate hospitality bookings must go through Ticketek and not the Sharks corporate team.
Similarly, contact our commercial team for Magic Round corporate opportunities. It’s a huge event at Suncorp in Brisbane, and its less than two weeks away, so don’t delay. The NRL control all the bookings for Magic Round, go to https://www.nrl.com/hospitality/magic-round/ to find out more.
As reported previously, home game corporate hospitality areas are sold out for the entire season and no longer taking any bookings. We do have an expressions of interest list for last minute replacements in case a large group of people pull out with COVID. To register your interest please go to https://www.sharks.com.au/hospitality/. Thanks to our major partners, along with our corporate hospitality partners for their continued support.
And in the Football report below more detail will be provided on the outstanding season enjoyed by our Matthews Cup team, but I will take this opportunity to thank their sponsors. They support our junior reps, women’s teams and the pathways program without receiving excessive branding exposure in return. Their input is certainly appreciated.
Thanks to Sue Ryan from John Ryan Freight Management, Michael Anderson from Elite Legal and John Salmon at SBA for their support of the boys teams and our major partner Aramex for extending their commitment to include the Tarsha Gale and Harvey Norman Women’s teams, joining Shore Hire (Luke Geelan), Minespec Parts (Simon Ross) and AFS Group (Matt Harrison).
Community
In addition to the formalities and ticketing promotions in Coffs Harbour, we took the opportunity to drop by the community OOSH Centre in Woolgoolga, interacting with the families in attendance and also pledging a $2,500 donation to assist with flood relief efforts. Our visit was another display of our commitment to engage with the Coffs Community, not to just in and around an annual NRL match, but to try to make a difference when and wherever we can.
In other community matters, we thank those who supported our Anzac jersey auction in raising funds for our former player Nathan Stapleton who suffered a serious spinal injury playing rugby union for Boroowa.
Nathan will need ongoing support, which the Sharks will certainly offer, however in raising close to $30,000 from the jersey auction this was certainly a good start. The Boroowa Rugby Union Club, along with his family, have also set up a gofundme page to help with what will be considerable costs involved with his ongoing medical and rehabilitation costs. CLICK HERE to make a donation.
And also from a Community standpoint, two of our supported programs have been nominated for prestigious Clubs NSW Awards. The awards night takes place on May 26, with Mega Jaws and the Sharks Deadly Choices program in line for what would be well-deserved recognition, for not only the work they do, but also for Sharks Have Heart and the work they carry out in support of community programs and initiatives.
Membership
With the departure of Ben Ross, we welcome James Peters as our Ticketing and Membership Manager. James has extensive experience in the membership space and we are confident the high levels of service and member engagement will continue.
We thank you our members for your continued support, your attendance so far in 2022 and for your enthusiasm at our PointsBet Stadium games. The atmosphere at PointsBet Stadium has been tremendous and we look forward to you again being loud in your support at our Members Round match against the Warriors this Sunday.
Thanks also to LCI Partners who will be game day partners this weekend, with a number of exclusive member experiences and activations planned to show our true appreciation.
It's not too late to become a member. Flexi 3 Memberships are on sale, allowing you to gain access to three of the remaining PointsBet home games of your choice and much more. CLICK HERE to go to the Sharks website for details.
Merchandise
You will have seen us play in the Anzac Jersey against Manly and will agree it was a striking design, using a photograph at the 100-year centenary Dawn Service taken by respected local photographer John Veage. Retail stock sold out prior to the Anzac Round game and we have a small run of additional jerseys coming next month.
Similarly, the Heritage Jersey has been extremely popular. The first drop sold out and has been delivered, the second order also sold out within three hours and is due to arrive in early May, with a third drop with also due in the next few weeks. This will be available through the Sharks Store as soon as it arrives.
The Sharks will play in the Heritage jersey in Magic Round which is round 10.
Our Indigenous Jersey is also soon to be released and it shapes as arguably the best we have produced. Stay tuned for the release.
In general, merchandise sales have been exceptional and we thank you for your support and for proudly showing the colours. Some shortages of stock are unavoidable with issues around shipping and Covid but we continue to do our best to keep the shelves fully stocked.
Football
Now a third of the way through our season, there is plenty going on, not only surrounding our NRL team but for all teams under the Sharks umbrella.
The under-17 Matthews Cup Sharks had an excellent season, culminating in an appearance in the Grand Final at CommBank Stadium last Saturday. Unfortunately things didn’t fall their way and they were beaten by the Wests Magpies, however a number of stars of the future have been unearthed and we look forward to seeing their continued development in the years to come.
CLICK HERE to read the Grand Final match report or CLICK HERE to see an editorial around Andrew Fifita and NRL coach Craig Fitzgibbon attending the final training session and conducting a special jersey presentation.
The Harvey Norman Women’s team is off to a winning start, with two impressive wins from their opening two matches, and many will be aware we have submitted a proposal to enter the NRLW competition in 2023.
While we completed the formal part of the application process in putting together a thorough 50-plus page submission, to show just how serious we are a bus load from our senior women’s team, along with Tarsha Gale and junior league pathways girls, helped to personally deliver the proposal to Andrew Abdo at NRL headquarters. I’m sure we made quite an impression and left no doubt as to our commitment to Women’s rugby league and to having a team in the NRLW competition in the future.
You may have also noticed we delivered our proposal in style, in our new Sharks bus. It looks great on the outside, is comfortable on the inside and will be used by our NRL team, it transported the Matthews Cup squad to their Grand Final and will be utilised by other Sharks teams throughout the season.
Back to the NRL and despite a disappointing trip to Brisbane, it has been a positive start for Craig Fitzgibbon and our team. We won the Steve Rogers Cup with a win over Manly, which adds to the Monty Porter and Johnny Mannah Cups won earlier in the year, with all three trophies to be on display at Sharks at Kareela.
Also during the last month we celebrated the 300 game milestone for Aiden Tolman who has been an outstanding ambassador for the NRL, and over the past two years for our Club, both on and off the field.
Will Kennedy and Siosifa Talakai have been other Sharks players to celebrate milestones, the pair playing 50 NRL games, with many more to come.
AGM – Board
Further to the Chairman’s Address which was published yesterday on our website, thanks to those who attended the recent AGM and endorsed the re-election of our Board of Directors.
An extremely strong group with a diverse skill set, they will continue to serve the Sharks in looking after the best interests of our Club and its members.
In relation to extending my tenue for a further three years, I have thoroughly enjoyed the role since starting in March of 2020, we have an exciting future ahead and I have great confidence in the direction the board is taking your Club.
It is an honour to lead the Sharks and I look forward to further success, in terms of our results on the field, while also working hard to ensure a strong and sustainable future for the years ahead.
In closing
We are four from four at home and back at PointsBet this weekend. Indications are it will be close to a capacity crowd once again to support the team as they look to bounce back from the Broncos loss and improve their position inside the top eight. We hope to see you there on Sunday, which is Mother’s Day. For those mums coming to the game, and others watching at home, we offer our best wishes and hope we can help you celebrate the day with a big Sharks win.
Thanks for your support as always.
Dino Mezzatesta
CEO
