It will be a Sharks team short on experience but high on enthusiasm for their first trial match hit out of the 2022 season.
A Sharks side featuring just five regular NRL players from 2021, tackles the defending premiers the Panthers at CommBank Stadium, with coach Craig Fitzgibbon content with the young squad he has selected and keen to see the team take their pre-season form into Sunday’s game.
“We’ve got enough experience to know what we’re doing and I’m just really excited for the young players who have done the whole pre-season,” Fitzgibbon told Sharks Media.
“Some of those boys haven’t missed a session since we started, they’re game prepped and physically ready, so it’s important for them to be rewarded with some trial time.”
Two players singled out for mention by Fitzgibbon who both fit what he alluded to in regard to impressing him and his staff throughout the summer, were young lock Jesse Colquhoun and local outside back Sam Stonestreet, with the pair named in the starting side this weekend.
“Jesse hasn’t missed a session and neither has Sam out on the wing. It’s remarkably durable for young guys to get through the entirety of a pre-season and not brake down.”
From Wollongong, Colquhoun, who is still eligible to play in the under-21 Jersey Flegg team in 2022, joined the Sharks as a trialist for SG Ball some three years ago and now finds himself running out with the NRL team, however Fitzgibbon has no doubt he is up to the task.
“He’s earnt it through his training and preparation and the players really trust him,” Fitzgibbon added.
Amongst the regulars to turn out for the Sharks will be Braden Hamlin-Uele, with the hard running prop to take on the responsibility of trial match captain.
“Braden will lead us out. It’s a big thrill for him, he’s been at the Sharks for a number of years, so he’s excited,” Fitzgibbon added.
Hamlin-Uele will be joined on Sunday by 2021 teammates Royce Hunt and Braydon Trindall, who both saw some game time in last week’s All Stars match, along with back rowers Siosifa Talakai and Teig Wilton.
Kade Dykes, the 19-year-old son of former Sharks star Adam, gets his opportunity at fullback, while a handful of Newtown Jets contracted players will bolster the team list and get a chance at the NRL level once Fitzgibbon has seen enough of his first-string side.
Similar to the Sharks, the Panthers have rested the majority of their NRL team, with Grand Final heroes such as Nathan Clearly, Jerome Luai, James Fisher-Harris, Brian To’o and Isaah Yeo watching on from the sidelines.
The Sharks v Panthers trial match is the first of a double header at CommBank Stadium, kicking off at 4.00pm, with the Dragons to play the Eels later in the evening.
