They work a high-risk job, but three workers from Appin Mine got the fright of their lives during a spot of fishing recently.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On their boat a few kilometres off Shellharbour last Friday, the trio were shocked when a 4.5m long great white shark tried to come aboard.
"My mate had just put his line in off the back, when all of a sudden a great white tried to jump in the boat," Jason Dunn said.
"It came out of nowhere - he had to sprint to the front of the boat.
"It then slid back into the water, and we could feel it go under the boat - we could feel it bumping it.
"Then it came round to the driver's side where I was and started pushing it sideways and then took a bite out of the boat.
"You can see the serrated teeth marks where it's been gouged."
The Woonona resident and keen fisher said while it was a scary experience, it won't stop him getting back out there once his boat's fixed.
"I'm glad my boat wasn't any smaller though - it would have tipped us in the water," he said.
"We immediately started the boat and headed off - and it even followed us in the wake for a bit.
"It wasn't happy."