‘Not far away’: Coach’s surprise claim after another Sharks exit
Craig Fitzgibbon believes the Cronulla Sharks are “not far off” being genuine premiership contenders, despite another NRL finals exit on Saturday. September 20, 2026 - 3.09am Craig Fitzgibbon believes the Sharks are “not far off” being genuine premiership contenders, despite another NRL finals exit on Saturday night. Having lost halfback Nicho Hynes in just the second minute, Cronulla were always going to be facing an uphill battle against the Roosters. But the heavy 46-10 loss to the Roosters was still another disappointing end. Post-match, Fitzgibbon said anything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. Since the club’s maiden 2016 premiership, the Sharks have missed the finals only once, but have not made it beyond the prelims. The loss to the Roosters was the last Sharks game for several players, including Sione Katoa, Jesse Ramine, Siosifa Talakai and captain Cameron McInnes. “When it’s your night, it’s your night. It wasn’t our night,” Fitzgibbon said. ‘Relentless’ Walker eyes stunning return for Dolphins showdown “But I’m really grateful, thankful, we’ve been up for five years now with same group of guys and a portion of those are leaving. “I’m forever grateful for their service. They’ve been punching above their weight for a long time now. “Everyone thinks we need a reset, rebuild, no. We’ll just keep going. We’ve got some guys ready to go.
Read the original report: nine.com.au →
- Region
- Queensland, Australia
- Published
- 20 Sep 2026
- Languages
- English
- Trending
- nrl
