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Sharks lock in home final as NRL top-four equation deepens
Sam Kosack • August 31st, 2025 6:08 pm
The Cronulla Sharks have kept their top-four hopes alive and secured a home final, defeating the Newcastle Knights 40-16.
The win sees the Sharks draw equal with the Broncos and Warriors on 34 total points, with only for and against separating the three teams.
It means the final spot in the top-four will come down to a shootout in Round 27 with the Broncos taking on the Storm, Sharks taking on the Bulldogs, and Warriors taking on the Sea Eagles.
The Sharks and Broncos both take on fellow top-four teams, who may rest players en masse given their positions in the top-four are locked up.
The win puts the Sharks three points ahead of the seventh placed Panthers, meaning they have a home final locked up at Shark Stadium, re-igniting the debate over the venue’s suitability for finals football, given its reduced capacity.
The Sharks will be hoping for no injury issues with five-eighth Braydon Trindall, who limped from the field in the 52nd minute after struggling for several minutes with what appeared to be a rolled ankle. However, despite not returning, his coming off seemed precautionary with finals around the corner.
SEN’s Justin Horo believes that, while the Sharks might not be a leading premiership threat, they could knock out some highly rated teams as they continue to build.
“They're rolling now,” Horo said on SEN League.
“For any of the teams at the back end of the season that can have the bye with about three or four weeks to go, it’s really beneficial, and that's what the Sharks have had now.
“(There’s) no need for them to rest if they don't see fit but in saying that with the injury to Braydon Trindall, the fittest team is gonna win the competition.
“I honestly think the competition is that close, and I probably don't have Sharks as genuine contenders, but they can make it ugly for a team and they can knock out a team that I think is capable of winning the competition.”
The Knights started strong, racing out to a 10-0 lead after 16 minutes, outmuscling and outenthusing the Sharks to open the contest.
With Adam O’Brien this week stepping down from his role as head coach for 2026, it looked as though the Knights could produce an almighty upset, but the classic issues that have plagued their 2025 campaign re-emerged as the Sharks found their groove.
The Knights remain two points off the bottom of the ladder, with a match against the Eels their final game under O’Brien’s tenure.
Addin Fonua-Blake, Siosifa Talakai, and Braden Hamlen-Uele all scored barnstorming tries, running over Newcastle’s middles, with the Sharks’ wingers also getting amongst the fun; Mawene Hiroti crossing once while Ronaldo Mulitalo notched another hat-trick bringing his career total to 99.
Despite his try-scoring heroics, Mulitalo attracted attention again for his lack of temperament, ultimately being penalised late in the picture after yelling in the face of referee Gerard Sutton.
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