NRL 2024: Former Sharks star Dale Finucane opens up on life after footy after forced retirement

Forced into early retirement after repeated head knocks, Dale Finucane is down but he’s not out. The former NRL hardman opens up on life after footy, his coaching aspirations and music career.

Dale Finucane might be down but he’s not out, with the retired rugby league hardman already working on rolling out an entire generation of Rambos at Cronulla.

His NRL career may have been cut short, but the former Sharks captain is ensuring his legacy will be felt for years to come in the Shire.

Possibly even as an NRL coach, croaky voice and all.

TYSON JACKSON caught up with the 32-year-old to chat retirement, coaching and singing.

Retired NRL star Dale Finucane has opened up on life after footy. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

COACHING

It’s been almost four months since Finucane made the emotional decision to announce his immediate retirement from the NRL.

But that hasn’t stopped him from checking in at Woollooware.

“I’m involved with the playing group still,” Finucane said.

“I went into my first session the other day with the Sharks academy and did a little bit of on-field coaching with Russ Aiken, who’s been with the club for a little while now.”

With 251 games in stints at Canterbury, Melbourne, then Cronulla, the two-time premiership winner has plenty of advice for the club’s emerging stars.

Among them are 2024 Australian Schoolboys Nikora Williams and Alex Chanelor.

Dale Finucane is still doing some coaching at Cronulla and working in the club’s pathways set-up, helping inspire the next generation of Sharks. Picture: Getty Images

Through the game’s education program, Finucane was able to obtain a health and movement degree, which he now looks to put into use in his latest venture.

“I have a bit of a hybrid between having played professionally and the ability to implement some of that stuff on the performance side, which would definitely be a benefit,” Finucane said.

“That’s the stuff that interests me, and I want to be around the Sharks doing it.”

While he remains involved with the NRL squad, Finucane admits he’s found some peace working in the club’s pathways set-up.

“I probably feel a little bit more comfortable with the younger guys,” he said.

“I feel like, at the moment, having played with the group, it’d be hard to sort of tell guys, you know, this week you need to do what, you know, we were peers a couple of months ago.”

Finucane is enjoing spending more time with his family. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

LIFE AFTER FOOTY

Coaching isn’t the only option for the former NSW Origin and Kangaroos representative.

While spending more time with his family remains the priority, he has also continued to hone his skills as a musician and experimented with the media.

All options are on the table.

“I’m certainly open to everything at the moment,” Finucane said.

“I got a bit of advice actually, about saying yes to most things, like in retirement. Just to sort of pick and choose and not have any regrets about not giving something a chance.”

Dale Finucane performing at the 2023 Dally M awards alongside singer Michaela Baranov. Picture: Fox Sports

One benefit of not putting his body through the wringer every week is that it has improved his signature husky tone that rugby league audiences would be well-acquainted with.

Retirement has taken the former front-rower to live performances in both NSW and Queensland, with more on the horizon.

“We’ve got to play to a magic crowd, which was pretty cool, working on the side stages outside the stadium, and it was a NSW Origin gig,” he said.

“Definitely something I enjoy doing away from football, and obviously got a little bit more time now to pursue those sorts of things.”

Finucane was forced into early retirement after repeated head knocks. Picture: NRL Photos

CONCUSSION

It’s what stopped him from playing the game he loved. Now, Finucane wants to encourage honesty when it comes to the NRL’s rising epidemic.

It’s only in retirement that Finucane wished he had taken more precautions when dealing with some of his earlier knocks.

While Finucane has noticed the game’s protocols get better over time, the limited definitive knowledge around concussions and how to treat them is still making it a challenging issue.

Now, as one of the victims of brain injury, Finucane is encouraging the game to continue looking to mitigate as much risk as possible for long-term neurological effects.

“Earlier on in my career, I was probably a little bit like, ‘I’m okay,’ talking myself up, whereas I only started to be a little bit more honest in the back end of my career,” he said.

Originally published as NRL 2024: Former Sharks star Dale Finucane opens up on life after footy after forced retirement