{"id":549654,"date":"2026-03-19T02:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549654\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T02:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:50:19","slug":"sharks-forward-confirms-immediate-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549654\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharks forward confirms immediate future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cronulla Sharks<\/a> forward Billy Burns<\/a> has secured his future in the NRL<\/a> after weeks of uncertainty.<\/p>\n

After joining the Sharks in 2024, Burns was off-contract heading into next season with some believing he was on the radar of the Perth Bears<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, the 27-year-old has instead signed a two-year contract extension that will see him remain at the club until the end of the 2028 season.<\/p>\n

“The club took a chance on me a couple of years ago and to be able to repay that has definitely made me feel happy and grateful for the opportunity,” Burns told the club’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I’m keen to see where we can go in the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

“I feel proud, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the people in the building. The coaching staff especially, they’ve been really good driving me, and then I have a great bunch of guys around to push me and learn off.<\/p>\n

“I’ve got one of the best back-rowers in Briton Nikora<\/a> and an up-and-comer in Teig Wilton<\/a>, which has been massive for my development. To be able to graft away with them the next couple of years is just so good.”<\/p>\n

\"NRLSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 18: Billy Burns of the Sharks scores a try during the round 20 NRL match between Cronulla Sharks and Sydney Roosters at Sharks Stadium, on July 18, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

After cementing his place in the squad, Burns has featured regularly for the Sharks, making a career high 17 appearances last season.<\/p>\n

Sharks General Manager of Football Darren Mooney was delighted to keep Burns at the club, but also spoke on how it is a reflection of his work ethic.<\/p>\n

“This deal is testament to Billy’s unwavering work ethic and his constant desire to improve his game,” Mooney said.<\/p>\n

“He was determined to make the most of his opportunity at the Sharks and has worked his way up to being a regular presence in our squad.<\/p>\n

“With the ability to play on an edge and in the middle, he brings great versatility.”<\/p>\n

It is expected the Sharks will now turn their attention to re-signing other off contract talent such as Sam Stonestreet<\/a> and Blake Hosking<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cronulla Sharks forward Billy Burns has secured his future in the NRL after weeks of uncertainty. After joining…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-549654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}