He charges into contact without hesitation, but even Cameron McInnes isn't completely shielded from the quiet, creeping nerves that come with stepping up to a microphone.

The Cronulla Sharks announced that the co-captain is set to confront a different kind of test on the 17th of April, when he breaks new ground as the first active NRL player to deliver a TEDx Talk at Inaburra School in Bangor. 

McInnes will headline TedxSutherland, the Shire's first event of its kind, alongside two-time world surfing champion Tom Carroll, former NRL coach Matthew Elliott, resilience expert Kate Gladdin, and a lineup of forward-thinking voices.

"I think when I get closer to it, I'll be pretty nervous," McInnes revealed.

"With the TEDx format, you can have slides up, but I'm terrible with technology. I've got a speech written, but I've got to remember it.

"There's no palm cards, and you want it to flow properly. The execution, as much as what you're talking about, is pretty important. I'll see how I go.

"In terms of the practice, it is quite hard ... You're speaking to a few hundred people; you don't really get to practise that. But I've been writing it and – not perfecting, because it's not perfect – but trying to add to it over a few months.

"Now it's just about getting as much of it in ... It's my story, so it's not like I'm talking about something I don't know, but it's just trying to execute it."

Leaning into the theme 'Thrive', McInnes will draw from the lessons and lived experience of a 226-game NRL journey in a talk called The Comparison Trap and How to Avoid It, expected to run for six to seven minutes.

"With what we do in footy, it's competition," the lock forward explained.

"You obviously compete for two points on the weekend, but within that, you're competing for spots in a team, contracts ... It's about trying to give your all and do your best without getting too caught up in what others are doing, which isn't easy.

"I'm trying to relate it to the rest of the world, because I'd argue that's even harder with social media now. I'm using some of my experiences in not only footy, but also life, personal things as well, and then trying to help people in the audience that aren't footy players relate to it ... There are similarities in everybody's life."

Still working his way back from the ACL injury suffered last August, McInnes has found an unexpected outlet in preparing for the talk. 

"My partner (Rachel) was the one that really pushed me to do it," he said.

"She knows what I'm like, and with this rehab process, it's been frustrating. She knew that I probably needed some other things to try and keep my mind off it.

"I'm doing this to push myself. If there's a good message and people like it and think I speak well, then I'll be really humbled by that. But I'm not too arrogant to think that I've got the coolest story in the world and people need to hear it."

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