Sense of community: Tiana's Sharks ready to fire for the Shire

After securing their spot in the NRLW grand final in just their second season, Cronulla captain Tiana Penitani is aiming to give the Shire something to celebrate after the hard work that went into joining the competition.

The Sharks have ridden an emotional rollercoaster during the past month, losing three straight after starting the season 6-0, before rebounding with a stunning upset of the Broncos in the semi-final.

Now Penitani says they have their sights on delivering a second premiership to Cronulla's loyal fan base, eight years after the men's team broke its 50-year drought.

“The club was pretty disappointed not getting a licence in the inaugural NRLW season back in 2018 and we worked so hard over the years to eventually get us in there,” Penitani said.

“To be able to run out for the first time ever for the club last year was a really special moment and to be in a grand final in our second season, I'm not surprised by it because we always had our strong ambitions to be there, but it means the world to be able to give back to the club and the Shire community.”

Penitani’s illustrious sporting career began as a rugby league junior before she made the switch to rugby union where she captained the Australian team to a gold medal in the 2014 Youth Olympics.

At the age of 17, she became the code’s youngest Australian representative within the rugby union system before an ACL injury crushed her dreams of participating at the Rio Olympics.

Ultimately however, that pushed her into reigniting her rugby league career in 2019.

After making her Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership debut for the Sharks, Penitani went on to represent the NSW Sky Blues before making her NRLW debut for the Dragons.

Since then, she has played for the Jillaroos, before captaining Tonga in 2023.

This year, Penitani has been recognised for her outstanding club performances by winning both Dally M Centre of the Year and Captain of the Year awards.

While Sunday’s decider won’t be her first grand final appearance – having come off second best when playing for the Dragons in 2019 and again with the Eels in 2022 – Penitani said she would look to utilise the lessons learnt from those disappointments to go one better.

“It means the world [to make the grand final], we have set our sights on a grand final like everyone else since our inaugural season last year,” Penitani said.

“We had a plan, and you can have a plan, but you need to execute, and I think the biggest thing that stood out for me this year, off the back of disappointment last year is just the self-belief in not only the girls as individuals, but as a collective.

“We've never doubted what we've been capable of.”

Sharks coach Tony Herman has instilled huge belief in his squad, with Penitani full of praise for what he’s brought out of the players this year.

Sharks coach Tony Herman was nominated for Dally M Coach of the Year and has instilled huge belief in his squad, with Penitani full of praise for what he’s brought out of the players this year.

“He's the smartest coach I've ever played under, and I know I can speak on behalf of all the girls in saying that he teaches us how to read the game so well,” Penitani said.

“Having young halves, he's taught them so much about the game, and it's been really nice to see the girls develop over the last couple of years.

“We played under him in the Harvey Norman comp as well for a few years and I can easily say that he's taught me so much over the years about the game and how to read the game and when to take your opportunities and whatnot.

“The girls really want to play for him.”

While there is still work to be done with a grand final decider and representative duties on the horizon, Penitani has taken a moment to reflect her season so far and acknowledged the highs and lows that got her team to this position.

“I've had a lot of fun this season,” Penitani said.

“We knew that it was going to be tough, but we always had our sights on the GF, and we knew that we just had to keep our eyes on just each week at a time.

“We've got a mentality that when you walk through the door on a Monday, you shouldn't be able to tell whether we won or lost that weekend, and the girls are really stuck to that.

“All I can ever ask of us as a group is to leave it all out there and do the best that we can, and if that means success, then that'll be success.

“If we get outplayed by better teams, then so be it.

“I've loved playing alongside the girls this year, and one more game to go.”