Lifelong Sharks supporter Blayke Brailey will get the chance to lead his beloved club in 2025 after Cronulla announced the star hooker and veteran Cameron McInnes would serve as co-captains this season.<\/p>\n
McInnes has captained the side for the past two years but will miss a chunk of the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his knee that he suffered just before the 2025 finals series.<\/p>\n
As a result, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has gone back to the co-captaincy model he employed in 2024 when McInnes and hard man Dale Finucane shared the role.<\/p>\n
Brailey stepped into the role while McInnes was out injured as the Sharks reached the preliminary final and was the logical choice given he\u2019d signed until 2030 and never seemed to miss any footy. <\/p>\n
He has often spoken about how much the club means to him after he and his brothers spent much of their childhood on the hill watching legends like Paul Gallen and Wade Graham fearlessly lead Cronulla into battle. <\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, I saw some of the great captains of this club in Gal and Wade,\u201d Brailey said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow, to have Fitzy put his trust in me and to stand beside Cam is a really special feeling. I\u2019m extremely grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
McInnes is unsure when he\u2019ll be back from the serious knee injury but has backed Brailey to lead in his stead. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always a huge honour,\u201d McInnes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a special group and I feel like we\u2019re really on the verge of something happening. To be able to have a part in leading the group is a huge privilege.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way Blayke goes about it in his own way brings such a calmness to the group. The ability to be yourself and influence the group, that\u2019s what leadership is.\u201d<\/p>\n
McInnes, 32, is off contract at the end of the year and is realistic that he may have to leave the club if there isn\u2019t enough salary cap space to keep him and another club can offer him something more substantial.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m off contract and am getting older, so if I\u2019m linked to any club then I guess that\u2019s a good thing because I just want to play footy,\u201d McInnes told the NewsWire at the NRL season launch earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to stay at the Sharks, but there are a lot of guys off contract and a lot of young guys that have earned some new deals. That\u2019s the reality of footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just got to get back and play footy and then hope for the best. I don\u2019t really have any expectations of where I want to end up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to stay at the Sharks, but I\u2019m also aware that it might not be possible so I\u2019ll have to see what I can get.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing off a second ACL, I imagine any team would probably want to see what I can do before they make a commitment. I suppose that\u2019s what I have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n