Belconnen United Sharks: Season Preview
The Belconnen United Sharks have their sights set on returning to the top four of the Blumers Lawyers Canberra Raiders Cup after missing out on finals for the first time in three years in 2025.
In the Katrina Fanning Shield, after making the Grand Final in their second season the Sharks will be looking to use that experience to go one better in 2026, while the League Tag squad are aiming to build up on a disappointing season last year.
After finishing seventh last year, the Sharks have been bolstered by the signing of Gideon Afemui, who returns to the Blumers Lawyers Canberra Raiders Cup after a stint with the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
Despite playing with Woden Valley in 2024, the damaging center leaned the way of Belconnen United to play with a lifelong friend who will retire at season’s end.
“It was up in air about who I was coming back to, but one of the boys I grew up with and I'm very close with has decided to hang up his boots this year, so I thought no better choice than to do his last year with him,” Afemui said.
Afemui joins a group mixed with experience and young players and is excited about the opportunity to guide them around the park in 2026.
“We have a lot of younger boys coming through, and it's good for the club and what we are trying to build for the future, and we have various players still in our team in the likes of Jordan Williams, with his IQ of footy to be able to guide these young boys.”
Meanwhile, the Katrina Fanning Shield side enter the 2026 season looking to overturn last year’s Grand Final defeat against cross-town rivals in the West Belconnen Warriors.
Although they suffered defeat in last year’s decider, Sharks lock Jayda Danilczak confirmed majority of their 2025 squad will return this year and play an integral part in going one better.
“We’ve got the same core players this year, and we’ve got a few junior players coming through as well,” Danilczak said.
With the largest junior club in the Canberra Region, the Sharks KFS side are experiencing the benefits of female players no longer having to stop their rugby league journey.
“We’re getting a lot of talent through the younger girls, and having that pathway for them to come through KFS just allows them to continue growing in the game and not stop at juniors.”
In the Ladies League Tag, a disappointing season for the Sharks saw them finish bottom of the competition with Kaitlyn Bink putting improvement for the upcoming year down to a mix of confidence and new players.
“I think how we plan to bounce back is with a lot more confidence, we have a lot of new talent this year, and we are excited for this upcoming year,” Bink said.
The key to qualifying for the finals in league tag according to Bink is playing the Sharks style of game which has been tinkered with over the off season.
“How we are going to get there [finals] is just by sticking to the basics… and we've been adding a lot more structure and focusing on our game.”
Belconnen struggled in Reserve Grade last season, finishing third last, with their depth tested with plenty of injures in 2025, with the ability to keep players on the field key in 2026.
In the Under 19s, the Sharks will be bolstered by a promising crop of juniors transitioning into senior footy.
