MAX Bradbury never felt like a pawn in a chess game.
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He wasn't tapped on the shoulder and asked to leave the Knights to enable Lachlan Miller's recruitment.
The 20-year-old prop, a Wangi Warriors junior, felt no pressure whatsoever to exit Newcastle for the Sharks.
"My management let me know that the Sharkies were interested and I was keen on it, really," Bradbury told the Newcastle Herald.
"My management and parents thought it would be a good idea, so I jumped at it. It wasn't like the Knights were getting rid of me, it more felt like an opportunity for me."
A NSW under-19s representative who trained with Newcastle's NRL squad over summer but is yet to debut, Bradbury formed part of a player-swap this week which allowed the Knights to sign Miller - the 28-year-old fullback they had sought for months to shore up Kalyn Ponga's move to five-eighth.
"When it did come down to it needing to be a trade, it made sense," Bradbury said.
"It was a shock when I found it was going to be me, but knowing it was having to be a trade didn't shock me all that much. We needed a fullback, everyone knew that."
Bradbury met with Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon and football manager Darren Mooney, who was previously at the Knights, and the duo sold him a vision of the club.
"They showed me around and what the club is about," he said. "Fitzy was just saying 'there's no bad blokes at this club, we're all good people, we stand tall and we're all proud to be a Shark'.
"He was just saying the culture is so close and that brought me in. It excited me."
Bradbury accepted the offer of a three-year deal, starting as a development player.
"It all definitely happened very quickly," he said.
"It's a big opportunity for me to start fresh, learn a different perspective on footy. A different coach who I know is very defence-oriented, so it will be good to learn under that and improve my game."
Cronulla's forward pack was another big appeal for Bradbury and he has been heartened by the guidance of Dale Finucane this week.
"That's also what pulled me in, being able to learn off some really highly rated middles," he said. "I'm under a lot of smart heads and am just taking it all in. Dale has sort of taken me under his wing, he's been really good."
Bradbury will move to the Shire with his girlfriend and be somewhat closer to his dad, an electrician who lives in western Sydney but further from his mum, who is a teacher at Newcastle High.
Having risen through the junior ranks, including winning a Harold Matthews title in 2019, Bradbury did find leaving the Knights difficult, telling the playing group of his decision on Monday.
"It will be tough and I'll miss Newcastle, I love it there and always will," he said.
"But I've switched to Cronulla for however long. I'm a Shark now, and I love it."
Should his career progress, Bradbury certainly hasn't ruled out one day returning to the Knights.
"It is hard leaving Newcastle and my family, I was a junior there and it hasn't really sunk in yet," he said.
"I'll see where the road takes me. I'll start my career here and see how I go.
"I could fall in love with it here and never leave the Sharks. But Newcastle will always have a spot in my heart."
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