Going old school: AFB lets his actions do the talking

As part of the 'old school' brigade who knew their place in the pecking order and rarely spoke until spoken to, Cam McInnes is more than happy for star recruit Addin Fonua-Blake to go about his business quietly as he settles in at Cronulla.

About to enter his 11tth season of first grade, 30-year-old McInnes has fond memories of playing Harold Matthews Cup with Fonua-Blake for the Rabbitohs back in 2010.

Wearing the famous cardinal and myrtle alongside the likes of Dylan Walker and Alex Johnston, the Sharks' prized signing Fonua-Blake crossed the stripe five times to give an early indication of his freakish tryscoring ability for a big man.

Some 15 years later, McInnes and AFB find themselves teaming up again, with the hard-nosed Sharks skipper full of praise for the Tongan powerhouse, who returns to Australia after four seasons with the Warriors.

"He has a presence about him, the No.1 prop in the game the last couple of years, the awards and stats suggest that," McInnes said.

"He's an amazing athlete and an elite prop but we can’t just throw him in and say ‘he’s the missing piece’. We have to help him get up to speed with how we play and we work around his strengths as well.

"He has thrived in the system at the Warriors and at Tonga so we need to make sure we make that we make his talents shine here. It's not for him to fit into us, it's for him to take us to another level and I'm confident he will do that.

"He has a really calm demeanour and he doesn't need to say too much. Back when guys like him and me were coming through you didn’t talk until you had been around for a while. He has come from that old school.

"Some people are different these days and generations change but his actions do all the talking now and then he’ll say more when he gets up to speed."

With 182 NRL games, 17 Test matches and two Dally M Prop of the Year gongs to his name, there's every reason to think Fonua-Blake will be well and truly ready to rumble come the season opener in Las Vegas against premiers Penrith.

The addition of one of the game's premier props to a squad that has played finals in nine of the past 10 seasons ensures the Sharks will again be a force in 2025 as they look to go one step further and progress to a decider.

After finishing the 2024 regular season in fourth spot the Sharks lost to the Storm in week one of the finals and bounced back to beat the Cowboys before bowing out to the Panthers in the preliminary final.

"We can’t shy away from what our goals are - we’re going after nothing but that [a premiership] but we have to start again," McInnes said.

"Just because we made a prelim and we are tracking in that right direction, we still have to earn it.

"The way the comp is you have to start again on day one like everyone else. Some teams will improve and you can’t see the two grand final teams going backwards.

"Playing the Panthers in Vegas is exciting, it's a huge opportunity for the club and for us to start the season against the best team in the world on a big stage like that.

"That preliminary final was the first one for almost everyone in the squad and they have experienced that now and hopefully we get another opportunity and we handle it better and try and get a different result."