'Find out who I am': Smale embracing new challenge

Cronulla Sharks recruit Sharni Smale is ready to embrace the challenge of stepping out of her comfort zone as she prepares for her NRLW debut. 

The 36-year-old is set to come off the bench in Sunday's clash against the Knights at PointsBet Stadium, her first match of elite rugby league after 13 years in the Australian rugby sevens program. 

While she was initially expected to transition back to XVs rugby after retiring from sevens following the Paris Olympics, Smale said a desire to forge her own path was the trigger for the code switch.

"I'm at that part of my career where I want to find out who I am," Smale said. "Not just as a rugby player but as a person. When you're under pressure, out of your comfort zone, that's where you find out who you are and how you perform. 

"I thought it would be out in the real world but I'm back in another rugby team and it's exciting. I'm excited to fail, which is pretty crazy because there's a lot of people out there that don't ever want to fail. 

"This new Sharni is like 'let's go fail, see what you're capable of. See whether you can pick yourself up or other people can pick you up'."

Smale has spent 16 years playing elite rugby union after making her Wallaroos debut in 2008. Since then she has played in four XVs World Cups and won the biggest trophies on offer in the sevens circuit.

The versatile athlete won an Olympic gold medal in Rio, Commonwealth Games Gold, a Sevens World Cup and the overall sevens World Series. 

It's a wealth of experience that Smale hopes will hold her in good stead throughout the NRLW season. 

It also made the decision to join rugby league an even tougher one and it was not easy to inform rugby union officials of her move. 

"It was extremely tough," she said. "The Wallaroos were about to go away on a long camp off to South Africa for their WXV2. It's a crucial time for them, we need to make the World Cup, so not being able to add value there is tough. 

"At the same time, I've said I've got to look after me and my mental health. Coming off the back of not getting a medal [in Paris] and having that hope, you can't take away that I'm a three-time Olympian but there's also that little bit of hurt that still sits there. 

"This is something exciting to come to, to rediscover who I am. Putting my best foot forward is only going to make me better."

Smale will become the fourth player who featured at the Paris Olympics to line up in this year's NRLW season and she joins a host of former sevens stars at the Sharks. 

Cronulla skipper Tiana Penitani and injured five-eighth Emma Tonegato are part of a group of eight women Smale has played sevens with previously.

It's a reflection of both the appeal of the NRLW for female athletes and the opportunities on offer to play in an elite competition on a weekly basis. 

For Sharks coach Tony Herman, it's also a direct reflection of the program the club has built over the past two years. 

"We've got a great program and the girls put so much into the program," Herman said. "It helps attract players of Sharni's quality from other codes.

"To get them to come across and want to play with us speaks volumes to the program, the recruitment and what the girls put in and what they do."

The Sharks are riding high on top of the table with three wins from three matches but they know this weekend will prove an even bigger challenge. 

Cronulla will host Newcastle in the first match of a double-header with the men's teams at PointsBet Stadium.