Welcome to the CEO Update for August, following a month where our NRL team has worked its way into second position on the ladder, setting up a crucial last round match against the Knights, before an exciting Finals series to follow.
In this monthly update, our department heads will again detail what has taken place during August, while in addition, I will touch on two very important issues currently impacting members, fans, the Cronulla Sharks and the local community.
Whether or not we were to be eligible for a home final should results fall in our favour, plus the high-level negotiations between the Club, the NRL and the NSW State Government taking place around the funding of suburban stadiums, are two issues somewhat related, both having certainly been in the news of late and worthy of a detailed explanation.
I will also provide another brief update on the Woolooware Bay development project, then turn the CEO Update over to Justin from Sharks at Kareela and our managers from the Commercial, Membership, Merchandise and Community departments, as well as to our General Manager of Football Darren Mooney, with all having plenty to communicate in relation to some of the behind-the-scenes activity as we approach an exciting end to the 2022 season.
On a sad note, on behalf of everyone at the Sharks, again I offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Paul Green following his passing earlier this month. He was highly thought of in the rugby league community and certainly here at the Sharks where he played 95 first grade matches between 1994 and 1998, while making many friends during his time at the Club.
Once more thank you for your ongoing support and as I do each month, I encourage you to patronise and enjoy the first-class service and facilities offered at Sharks at Kareela.
Please take the opportunity to read this August instalment of the CEO Update and we look to see you in the stands supporting the Sharks during the upcoming Finals series.
Home Final
Much work and negotiation went on behind the scenes with the NRL to allow the Sharks to host a home semi during Week 1 of the Finals series if the team earns the right by finishing in second position at the end of the 25 rounds.
Should we get a positive result in Newcastle on Sunday, the dream of a home Final will become a reality, however for a number of reasons it was a difficult decision to make.
With our restricted capacity at PointsBet Stadium this year and an expected demand which will exceed the 12,000 we can accommodate, there was an argument to take the game to a larger venue.
Weighing against this is the fact that should we finish second, the team will have earned the right to play at home and the advantage of playing such as important game on home turf, where a win would take us to a preliminary final, is too attractive to pass up. The last round is yet to be played, however should we get a win on Sunday, we will embrace the opportunity to host a Finals match at home at PointsBet, where the NRL team have won nine of 10 games this season.
Were the game to be scheduled for PointsBet, ticketing and corporate hospitality will to an extent be out of our hands, with the NRL to take control. In saying that, our members and corporate partners will have priority windows to secure tickets to the game, with our membership and commercial teams to make contact with all the necessary information.
Good luck to our team this weekend and we hope to see you one more time at PointsBet Stadium in 2022.
Stadium upgrade funding
Much has been spoken about and written in recent months regarding the NSW State Government backflip concerning funding for suburban stadiums.
We have been in constant discussions with the NRL, who have been extremely supportive of our request for Centre of Excellence and PointsBet Stadium upgrade funding, however unfortunately that support hasn’t been reciprocated by our local NSW State Government member. The status of the potential funding remains unknown.
PointsBet Stadium is a community asset, not only is it home to the Sharks, our NRL, Junior Rep and pathways teams, it is also a venue utilised by junior league, that can and is regularly accessed by other sporting codes and community organisations.
Next year we will have a team competing in the NRLW competition, putting further strain on our facilities and on a stadium which is in desperate need of a significant uplift.
Only for the NRL granting some concessions in giving us the go ahead to host a Finals match if we are able to finish in second position on the ladder, has a home Final become an option. This is in contrast to every other club in the NRL, who have stadiums or home grounds around which there are no concerns in relation to hosting a Finals match should they earn that right.
Alongside Peter V’landys and the NRL we will continue to fight the good fight in the hope of soon being able to provide the facilities at PointsBet Stadium Sharks members, fans and our local community, very much deserves.
Woolooware Bay
The new Sharks Leagues Club and Woolooware Bay Town Centre now well on the way as our development partners Aoyuan and their construction contractors work towards the mid-2023 completion date.
The structural steel works are 95% completed, high level services rough in works to the club are nearing completion on Level 1 as plans for the new club are now being finalised.
In relation to the Woolooware Bay Town Centre, Aoyuan provided the following information as to the current status of the construction.
· High Level services and Blockwork have advanced through on ground floor and level 1 including under slab insulation works.
· High level services rough-in has also commenced to Level 2.
· Building A level 6 transfer slab has been poured and currently forming Level 7.
· Building B has been poured to Level 5
· Building C has been poured to Level 4.
· Building D is currently formed to Level 6 and partially poured
· Building E is currently formed to Level 8. Level 2 and 3 internal and external framing and façade has commenced.
See following the latest drone photos of the Woolooware Bay precinct, and Town Centre.
CEO - Dino Mezzatesta
The NRL season is reaching an exciting climax and Sharks at Kareela is certainly getting on board.
In support of the Sharks and for fans from all NRL clubs involved in the Finals series, all matches will be shown live and loud, with additional TVs being installed around the Club. So wherever you are you won’t miss any of the action, but most importantly, it means more viewing areas to cheer on our Sharks.
Ahead of the NRL Finals, this Sunday is Father’s Day, with the club and The Cove prepared for a busy day. Lunch in The Cove is already booked out, with only limited spots remaining for dinner.
And don’t miss our Father’s Day raffle with $2,000 worth of prizes and meat trays up for grabs.
The Melbourne Cup is just around the corner and our Sharks at Kareela event is selling fast. Always a great occasion, make sure you book before tickets sell out. Tickets are $80 for Members, which includes a two-course meal, sparkling wine on arrival and prizes for the best dressed. Plus catch all the action of the race on our big screens.
Out on the golf course, the improved weather of late has coincided with a considerable improvement in the condition of the course. Currently going through the annual coring and greens renovations, we look forward to the course being at its very best in the weeks ahead.
Thanks again to all our members and their guests for your continued support of Sharks at Kareela.
It is very pleasing to be coming to our Members once again after another sell-out match last weekend. Thank you to our 2022 Members for your support and attendance throughout the year.
As we progress through the remainder of the season and leading into the Membership renewal period, vital finals ticketing information will be regularly sent to Members by email.
A recent on-sale alert email for Grand Final tickets included the following link which provided an AAN code - https://aanredemption.nrl.com/, with Members encouraged to ensure they keep a record of this link or your code, which is needed to purchase tickets for all finals matches. Make sure you continue to check your inbox for further communications.
We are reaching the final stages of our 2023 Membership planning and are excited to share the new and improved benefits with you when we launch, including the ability to create your own personalised Member benefit pack on the Mber+ store.
All 2022 Members will automatically receive notification when Membership launches for 2023. If you are not a member this year, go to the following link - https://www.sharks.com.au/membership/ to register your interest and receive access to an exclusive pre-sale window.
With 6 out of 10 home games at PointsBet Stadium sold out this year, it has never been more important to become a member and guarantee your entry for next season.
Some provisional dates for Members to pencil into the diary are:
• October 17: 2023 Membership auto-renewal notification sent
• October 31: 2023 Membership Renewals on sale and auto-renew memberships processed
• November 11: 2023 Membership Renewal same seat deadline (Closes 5pm AEDT).
• November 14: Exclusive 2023 Membership expression of interest pre-sale window
• November 15: 2023 Membership general public on-sale
• Late November: Mber+ store open to design and fulfil your own 2023 Sharks Member pack
Again, a busy month for Sharks Have Heart with our community involvement and engagement, culminating in our dedicated community round match against the Bulldogs.
While w finished with the NRL game on the Saturday night, played in a specially designed Sharks Have Heart Community jersey, a series of events and initiatives led up to the game, with more activities conducted in and around match day.
From heartfelt moments delivered to young people in our community experiencing difficult times, to staff involvement in a beach clean-up, to a hugely successful Mega Jaws clinic, and our Sharks Have Heart team enjoyed highlighting and celebrating our community partnerships and relationships.
The match worn community jerseys were also auctioned to raise funds to allow Sharks Have Heart to continue to have an impact in the community and in partnership with Sharks at Kareela we were able to offer grants to three extremely significant organisations as a part of the ClubGRANTS program.
CLICK HERE for more on ClubGRANTS and the programs supported by Sharks Have Heart.
And for a complete wrap of our Sharks Have Heart community round activities CLICK HERE to see the website article.
Also during the month of August our Junior League Blitz saw the NRL playing group visit all 13 local JRL clubs (CLICK HERE to view a website gallery from the blitz), while the Club hosted 18 volunteers representing eight Cronulla Junior Rugby League clubs as well as Sharks Waterpolo, Sharks Swimming and Kareela Golf at a Mental Health First Aid Course.
The community focused Mental Health First Aid Course was generously supported by Sharks Have Heart sponsor Woolooware Bay.
While there are still some unknowns ahead of the last round of the season, we are working through various scenarios for the NRL Finals, however it must be kept in mind that the NRL run all Finals Series games and control ticketing and corporate hospitality at all venues.
Our corporate partners will have access to tickets prior to the general public on sale and we will keep them informed as soon as the Finals schedule is finalised.
Also coming soon will be some exciting sponsorship announcements relating to our NRLW team, although there are limited player apparel properties still available for interested businesses or brands.
We also we hope to be able to confirm and announce 2023 NRL major partner renewals in the coming week.
Thanks to our major partners and sponsors, as well as our corporate hospitality partners for your support during what has been a successful 2022 to this point and we hope to have plenty more to celebrate with you in the weeks ahead.
On the back of some outstanding results on the field, August was the biggest month of the year in terms of merchandise sales.
Boosting those merch sales were the Player Series tees which were extremely well-received, in particular the Nicho Hynes tee which was the first release. Ronaldo Mulitalo and Toby Rudolf versions of the Players Series tee are now available are being release last week.
Finals Series tees are also due to arrive in the coming days, with presales to be shipped out as a priority and orders expected to be delivered early next week.
Unfortunately, stock on certain 2022 Dynasty lines are close to being sold out, more specifically in men’s sizing’s. In relation to Jerseys, we now only have stock in Men’s available in the Home Jersey, Ladies sizing in the Away strip, while all junior jerseys have sold out. At this point we aren’t expecting more stock, a common theme across all clubs in the NRL at this time of year.
And keep an eye on Sharks media channels for an announcement as we look to extend the store trading hours at Sharks at Kareela during the Finals Series. Sharks merchandise will also be available at all Sydney Finals games, in particular during week one should we earn a home final at PointsBet stadium.
Following what has been a successful year to date, we have a game in Newcastle, then an NRL Final series to now look forward to, with anticipation high as the 2022 season builds to an exciting conclusion.
Craig Fitzgibbon, the coaching and high-performance staff and the playing group have done an exceptional job to this point to have us sitting in second position on the ladder and they will continue to work hard to finish the year on a successful note.
Similarly, the Newtown Jets, our partner club in the NSW Cup competition, have been outstanding throughout the year in claiming their first minor premiership since 1949, which represents an amazing achievement.
We wish the Jets the best of luck in the weeks ahead.
Last Saturday night we farewelled Andrew Fifita and Aiden Tolman, with the pair playing their last home games at PointsBet Stadium. While we are hoping there could be another game to be played at PointsBet in 2022, with the NRL controlling Finals series matches the Bulldogs game presented the perfect opportunity to send two outstanding Clubmen off in style.
Congratulations to both Andrew and Aiden on their NRL careers, their contributions to the NRL and the game of rugby league and to the Cronulla Sharks.
On the same day, while two careers were winding down, Kayal Iro’s was just beginning when he became Shark #555 in making his NRL debut. The son of Kiwi international Kevin, Kayal recently signed a new contract tying him to the Sharks for the 2023 and 2024 seasons and is a player of great promise. We look forward to him developing into a quality NRL player in the years ahead.
We had another debutant during August with local junior Kade Dykes becoming the first, third generation player at the Sharks, following in the footsteps of his dad Adam and grandfather John. Kade also extended his time at the Sharks in signing a new contract and like Kayal we are excited about his future.
Two more contract extensions were also announced, with front rower Royce Hunt and talented hooker Jayden Berrell both signing a one-year deals that will see them remain at the Sharks for the 2023 season.
And in a player milestone, congratulations to Cam McInnes who played his 150th NRL match when we were in Tamworth to play the Tigers. He is an outstanding ambassador for our club and for the NRL and we wish him many more games in the years to come.
We also managed to win two important trophies in celebrating the legacy of our former greats, beating the Dragons to retain the Monty Porter Cup and the Sea Eagles in winning back the Steve Rogers Trophy.
The one disappointment from the last few weeks was the elimination of our Jersey Flegg team from the competition finals. The Sharks Flegg boys finished the year with a big win over the Bulldogs but will be left to regret a loss to Manly in the second to last round. They ended the season in sixth position, just one point shy of qualifying for the five-team Finals series.
Thanks goes out to Coach George Ndaira and his staff for all their hard work throughout the year, and to the players who performed strongly, only to unfortunately stumble slightly with the Finals in sight. While many will remain in the Flegg team next year, for the rest we hope to see a number of you continuing your development and pushing up into senior football from next season onwards.
Finally, I join with Dino in offering our sincere condolences to the family of Paul Green. His passing hit the rugby league community particularly hard, including many here at the Sharks and he will certainly be missed.
