Welcome to the CEO Update for the month of May, which recaps the most recent period of the 2022 season, both on the field and in relation to the work being done by our dedicated staff behind the scenes.
On the football front, it has been something of an up and down month in terms of our NRL results. Without offering excuses, suspensions and injuries have thrown up a few challenges, however sitting inside the top eight and looking forward to the return of some of our senior players, we are confident Craig Fitzgibbon and his team can continue their push for a spot in top four over the back end of the year.
I’ll take this opportunity to thank those who have attended our PointsBet Stadium home games and helped to create an electric atmosphere. After some issues with a capacity crowd way back in round two we put a lot of time and effort into improving the game day experience and hope you have noticed and appreciated the subtle changes we have made. Ensuring you enjoy your game day at PointsBet is priority for us and we will continue to work towards improving the experience, both while working around the ongoing construction of the Woolooware Bay development and into the future.
Last month we farewelled our Sharks at Kareela General Manager and welcomed his successor and we are pleased to say it has been a seamless transition. If you haven’t visited Sharks at Kareela, I’m sure you would be pleasantly surprised with the food, beverage and entertainment options and if you are a regular, please continue to patronise our second home base in the Sutherland Shire.
As you read on you will see the commercial, merchandise, community and membership departments have all been busy and the Woolooware Bay development continues to progress ahead of a mid-2023 completion.
It is exciting times and again we thank you for your ongoing interest and support.
Sharks at Kareela
A new-look What’s On guide will be out soon (pick up one from the club when you’re in next), detailing the upcoming events and member specials for the winter months, with this update something of a snapshot of what will be included and what to look forward to through June and July.
The main bar area remains a great place to take in all the major sporting events, live and loud on the big screen, starting with the big Kambosos-Haney title fight this weekend. George is a local Kareela resident, so get along to the Club and give him some support on Sunday. Also cheer on our mighty NSW Blues in their bid to retain the State of Origin trophy, with $5 schooners and 1kg of wings for just $12 on Origin nights.
Be sure to visit the Club on Thursday and Sunday nights for our new Fast $50’s promotion where Members can win their share of the thousands of dollars in cash. Members can also take advantage of our new monthly specials including the Coffee and Cake or the Mexican-themed pulled pork nachos and margarita deals.
Added to that, we are excited to announce Poker returns every Wednesday night, commencing 15 June, the new tournament to feature a guaranteed $500 cash prize for first place. Our food special on a Wednesday’s is our amazing pizzas for just $16 each…Poker and Pizza? And you can’t miss our new Mega Meat & Seafood raffle on the last Wednesday in June and again in July, with 80 lucky winners to share in over $5,000 in meat and seafood trays over the two nights.
After receiving the ClubsNSW Perfect plate award in 2021 as Winners of the Southern Metropolitan area with a delicious slow roasted Moroccan lamb dish, Cove Bar and Grill are looking to back it up in 2022.
My Kitchen Rules’ Manu Feildel caught up with owner Gina in The Cove during May, was very impressed with her Gochujang Soft Shell Crab offering and immediately urged friends to come and sample the special dish. Make sure you get to Cove Bar and Grill and try the 2022 Perfect Plate dish that left Manu raving.
Last but certainly not least, with the rain to hopefully ease and the greenkeeping staff having the opportunity to get to work on the course, no doubt it will soon be back to the excellent condition we became used to prior to the big wet of recent months. Golfers, come and have a game at Kareela during the month of June.
Pay us a visit us at Sharks at Kareela, Justin and his staff look forward to seeing you.
Woolooware Bay
The Woolooware Bay development works continued to forge ahead during the month of May, despite combating the multiple days of rain fall during the month.
Our development partner Aoyuan have communicated that concrete slabs are being poured across the site on multiple levels, including hotel building level 4, retail carpark level 4 and the final portion of the Woolworths tenancy slab on level 1 to the eastern portion of the site, as the team generally schedules working in a west to east pattern.
Within the lower-level retail and common areas, essential and non-essential services continue to be installed, along with the shells of the tenancies starting to take place as block walls are installed.
Not only has the rain been a challenge for golf courses, playing fields and for the councils and groundsmen who look after them, similarly it has had a major impact on the construction industry, with extensive delays incurred due to the inclement weather. Aoyuan, Parkview and everyone involved with the project continued to work diligently in trying to meet construction deadlines where possible.
Once again see the latest drone shots of the Woolooware Bay precinct, as supplied by our development partners Aoyuan.
Commercial
Our home game in Coffs Harbour, at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium is getting ever closer, with our commercial team hard at it in trying to deliver a similar, if not even better, game day experience to what took place last year.
We host the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday, June 18 and the NRL team will be in town for the entire week of the game, with school and community visits, a JRL clinic and various other activations planned. As they did when we were last in town, our major partner Aramex will also support the community visits, this time around by supplying and handing out 2022 team posters.
Tickets to the game are still available but going fast, while corporate hospitality has sold out.
Closer to home during May, we thank one of our major partners in Pilot for instigating the ‘mullet challenge’ at the Warriors game early in the month in support of men’s mental health. Zambrero also continues to hand out free burrito vouchers at our home matches, so please support those who support the Sharks and get down to their Cronulla store and enjoy Zambrero’s healthy and tasty food offerings.
Finally in touching on Magic Round, despite the disappointing on-field result, the weekend was a success, with those corporate partners and members joining us in Brisbane enjoying the experience.
Community
A big month for Sharks Have Heart and our Community involvement, especially most recently in embracing Indigenous Round, where Indigenous players and their cultures are celebrated, with several activities conducted leading into the Roosters game last Saturday night.
Prior to game week we kicked off with Royce Hunt joining School to Work students on a visit to the Chau Chak Wing Museum at Sydney University where three surviving Kamay Spears of the 40 taken by Captain James Cook more than 250 years ago are now on display.
On the Monday of the NRL Indigenous Round, Sharks at Kareela kicked off the week with a special plaque unveiling event attended by local Elder Aunty Deanna Schreiber and Sharks Indigenous star Will Kennedy, along with Sharks Have Heart and Sharks at Kareela staff. The plaque shows our respect for the Gweagal, the fire clan of the Dharawal Nation and will take pride of place towards the entrance of the club in displaying our commitment to driving reconciliation, not just during the week of the NRL’s Indigenous Round, but throughout the year.
CLICK HERE to read more on the special plaque and the Sharks at Kareela unveiling event.
Tuesday saw the NRL playing group, coaching, football, administration and Sharks at Kareela staff, along with Board members and our Chairman Steve Mace, spend the morning on Gweagal Land at Kurnell with Aunty Deanna at a cultural immersion event, listening and learning about first contact from an Aboriginal Perspective.
CLICK HERE to see our Sharks Media video presentation from the event.
Then in continuing our commitment to support the local Clontarf Academy, Sharks NRL squad members Jesse Ramien and Ryan Rivett dropped by Endeavour Sports High School to emphasise to the students the importance of education, a healthy lifestyle and to making ‘Deadly Choices’.
Again, CLICK HERE to see our Sharks media video presentation from the Clontarf visit.
While on Thursday, the NRL squad participated in an Aboriginal dance performance, with the session led by an Indigenous dance group from Queensland.
Coupled with match day, where Indigenous performer Col Hardy sang at half time of the main game, former player Jonathan Wright represented as our Indigenous ambassador (CLICK HERE for a Sharks Media interview with Wright) and Aunty Deanna delivered the Welcome to Country, and it was a huge week in celebrating Indigenous culture and our Indigenous players.
Next month we look forward to engaging with the Coffs Harbour community through our school visits and JRL clinic prior to the Titans game on June 18.
Membership
Following on from my welcome, again I thank our loyal members for their enthusiastic support at our PointsBet Stadium games so far this season. Until our stumble last weekend, the boys had a perfect winning record at home, due in no small part to the atmosphere created by our members and fans.
We have four PointsBet Stadium games remaining on the schedule and with the Roosters, Eels and Tigers matches all selling out quickly, the message is to secure your tickets well ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
Flexi 3 memberships are still on sale, where you can choose the three out of four remaining matches you wish to attend, while single game tickets for all 2022 home matches are now on sale.
The local derby against the Dragons, a crucial match up with the Rabbitohs, our intense rivalry with the Storm continues in round 17 and the Bulldogs come to PointsBet just two weeks out from the Finals, all huge games on our schedule, and sure to attract big crowds. So don’t delay, become a Flexi 3 member or purchase your tickets well in advance.
CLICK HERE for ticketing and membership information.
CLICK HERE for ticketing SHARKS POINTSBET MATCHES:
And further to our Coffs Harbour game mid-June, there are tickets still available, but again be quick to purchase with a sell-out crowd predicted.
CLICK HERE for Coffs Harbour ticketing info.
Merchandise
Certainly noticeable at Sharks games this year, especially at home, has been the overwhelming number of members and fans sporting the colours, wearing the jersey and proudly showing your support.
You have endorsed our merchandise range, with jerseys and other items selling out almost as quickly as we can stock them.
The most recent piece that was snapped up was the striking 2022 Indigenous jersey, with men’s sizes having sold out and only limited stocks of women’s and kid’s sizes still available.
We do have more stock of winter gear arriving in the weeks to come, including jackets, hoodies and jerseys.
While still on jerseys, production issues in China have resulted in a four-week delay on the special edition Sharks Have Heart Charity Jersey. The NRL team will play in the unique strip in round 25, with the jerseys to be delivered late June/early July, well in advance of the game in Newcastle. We apologise, however unfortunately the factors causing the delay are beyond our control.
And for our fans and country members in Coffs Harbour or those in and around the NSW North Coast, our merchandise van will be in town from Thursday ahead of the Titans game. Information as to where the merch van will be located will be communicated through our media channels. We also have two outlets operating at the stadium on game day.
Football
May turned out to be an up and down month in terms of results for our NRL team, with two wins and two losses as the team currently sit seventh on the ladder. Aside from the Panthers, and to an extent the Storm, the rest of the teams in and around the eight are tightly bunched, with the weeks following our round 13 bye crucial in our push for a top four berth.
Despite the somewhat inconsistent results, there has been a lot to celebrate during the most recent period, highlighted by milestone matches and NRL debuts.
Congratulations to Andrew Fifita in becoming the 10th player in club history to play 200 first grade games for the Sharks. The hero of our 2016 Grand Final triumph, Andrew is already a member of our Team of the Half Century and will no doubt go down as one of the best to have ever worn the jersey.
Andrew conducted a number of media interviews during the week of his 200th, none better than his chat with his skipper from the 2016 decider in Paul Gallen. In case you missed it, be sure to have a look – CLICK HERE.
In addition, we had the milestone of 50 NRL and Sharks games for Ronaldo Mulitalo. A fan favourite, Ronnie gives 100 percent every time he plays and for him there are many more games, honours and accolades ahead of him in the years to come.
During the past month we also had two very special occasions with the NRL debuts of Locky Miller and Tom Hazelton.
Locky came to us from rugby union 7’s, where he represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics, as something of an unknown quantity. Well, we certainly know about his talents now after a spectacular debut performance in our win over the Titans. Well done to Locky, Shark #551, and we hope to see him play many more NRL games in the future.
Similar congratulations are in order for Tom Hazelton, who was presented his debut jersey as Shark #552 by Club Immortal Gavin Miller. From Goulburn, Tom has been in our system for five years, battled lack of opportunity in recent years due to Covid and the cancellation of the NSW Cup competition, and after a considerable amount of hard work thoroughly deserved his chance in the top grade. His was also an extremely promising first up performance and we look forward to seeing a lot more of Tom in the years ahead.
The boys did Sharks Media interviews in the lead up to their debut matches, if you missed them, click the links following to find out more about our two newcomers in Locky and Tom.
Locky Miller interview – CLICK HERE
Tom Hazelton interview – CLICK HERE
Further congratulations to Nicho Hynes, who was named in an extended Blues squad for the first game of the State of Origin series. While he is 18th man, it is great recognition for the way Nicho has played so far this year and should he be needed by NSW in game one, or at any point in the series for that matter, there is no doubt he will be up to the task.
Away from the NRL, our partner club in the NSW Cup the Newtown Jets are cruising along nicely in second position on the ladder, while the Jersey Flegg Sharks have hit a flat spot of late but are inside the top eight and looking to press forward in the weeks to come.
In relation to our Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team, they are four from five to start the year to sit second on the table, while we await the outcome of our application to be a part of the NRLW in 2023.
Our submission was thorough, ticked all boxes and addressed all areas relating to entry into the NRLW from next year and we would embrace the opportunity to be a part of it. There are many girls who aspire to represent the Sharks at the highest levels of the women’s game and we hope to be able to give them that chance in the not-too-distant future.
Further to that, good luck to the Sharks under-17’s girls’ team which will compete in the upcoming Lisa Fiaola Cup Gala Day. This will be the first experience of elite level rugby league for many of these young women who are destined to be the future of our club.
In closing
The NRL boys are now on the road until our round 17 Thursday night match against the Storm but we hope they can count on your support from afar as they look to consolidate their place inside the top eight.
And a final reminder, if you don’t already have a membership or a ticket and intend getting to one of our remaining four home games, the ‘house full’ sign has gone up three times now, we have been forced to turn people away at the gate, so please pre purchase your tickets to avoid disappointment.
Thanks for your support as always.
Dino Mezzatesta
CEO
