Cronulla’s premiership campaign is threatening to collapse before the finals have even begun, with a furious Craig Fitzgibbon punching a monitor as the Sharks surrendered their top-four opportunity against Parramatta.
The Sharks entered the closing month of the season on a five-match winning streak and appeared capable of challenging for the minor premiership.
Their favourable draw contained no top-eight opponents across the final five rounds, giving Cronulla an extraordinary opportunity to secure a home qualifying final.
Instead, shock defeats to the Dragons, Raiders and Eels—combined with an unconvincing victory over the struggling Titans—have locked the Sharks into fifth position.
“They seem to have fallen off a cliff,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
Fitzgibbon Punches Monitor During Eels Disaster
Cronulla’s frustrations erupted during a damaging 38-18 defeat to Parramatta at CommBank Stadium.
The Eels entered the match outside finals contention but scored four first-half tries to establish a 26-8 lead at the break.
Cronulla briefly threatened a comeback through rapid tries to Blayke Brailey and Sione Katoa, reducing the margin to eight points with approximately 16 minutes remaining.
Any hope disappeared when Tom Hazelton was sent to the sin bin for a hip-drop tackle on Ronald Volkman.
Television cameras then captured Fitzgibbon punching and knocking over a monitor inside the coaches’ box.
The outburst was especially striking because the Cronulla coach rarely displays such visible emotion.
Fitzgibbon later accepted that his reaction was inappropriate but revealed his frustration with the 7-1 penalty count.
“You’d hit the screen if you were down 7-1 on penalties as well,” he said.
“When everyone’s livelihoods are on the line and you’re down 7-1 … yeah, you’d get frustrated.
“I shouldn’t have done it, to be fair.”
Penalty Count Does Not Excuse Sharks’ Performance
Fitzgibbon was entitled to question the enormous penalty disparity.
Cronulla had several players placed on report and lost Hazelton to the sin bin, while the officiating undoubtedly contributed to the coach’s frustration.
However, the penalty count does not explain why the Sharks allowed the 13th-placed Eels to score 26 points before halftime.
Parramatta played with greater speed, energy and commitment through the middle. Cronulla missed tackles, conceded field position and appeared unable to match an opponent with considerably less at stake.
Fitzgibbon acknowledged that his team had been “out-enthused and outperformed”.
That admission matters more than the penalties.
The Sharks were fighting for a top-four position and a second opportunity during the finals. Parramatta was playing only for pride.
Cronulla still looked like the less desperate side.
“Are They Choking?”
The defeat inevitably revived one of the most damaging accusations in rugby league.
“They’re capitulating again,” journalist Dean Ritchie said.
“Do we say the choke word? Which is a horrible word to say in rugby league terms. Are they choking?”
The description is deliberately provocative, but the evidence supporting it is becoming difficult to ignore.
Cronulla did not simply lose one difficult game.
The Sharks were defeated by the last-placed Dragons, then lost Braydon Trindall and another crucial match against Canberra before producing an unconvincing response against Gold Coast.
The Eels defeat completed the collapse of their top-four push.
Cronulla could have entered the finals with two opportunities and a realistic pathway towards hosting a preliminary final.
Instead, the Sharks will host North Queensland in an elimination final where one poor performance will end their season.
That does not prove they will fail again in September, but it means the consequences of their late-season decline are already substantial.
Trindall Injury Has Exposed Cronulla’s Dependence
The dislocated shoulder suffered by Trindall against Canberra has become the defining injury of Cronulla’s run home.
Trindall wears the No.6 jersey, but he frequently performs the organisational role normally associated with a halfback.
His kicking, direction and ability to straighten the attack allow Nicho Hynes to move between both sides of the field and attack opportunities rather than controlling every possession.
“It’s ridiculous how much this footy team misses Braydon Trindall at the moment,” Brent Read said.
“They just need him back.”
Trindall remains a week-to-week proposition and has not been guaranteed to return for the beginning of the finals.
Cronulla can point to his absence as a legitimate explanation for its attacking decline.
It cannot use one injury as a complete excuse.
Premiership teams must survive periods without important players, particularly against opponents sitting near the bottom of the ladder.
Cronulla’s attack should still possess enough talent through Hynes, Will Kennedy, Blayke Brailey and its dangerous outside backs to defeat the Dragons and Eels.
Hynes Fails Million-Dollar Test
Trindall’s absence should have created an opportunity for Hynes to take complete control.
Instead, the former Dally M Medal winner produced another subdued display when Cronulla needed its highest-paid player to dominate.
The Sharks enjoyed attacking possession while attempting their second-half comeback, but Hynes did not consistently demand the ball or impose himself upon Parramatta’s defence.
“Do they need more out of Nicho Hynes when a key player is out?” Anasta asked.
Ritchie was considerably more direct.
“The Sharks need Nicho as their million-dollar man more than ever right now,” he said.
“They’re down a key playmaker and they’re a week out from the finals, and Nicho’s performance last week against Parramatta was substandard—and that’s being very kind to Nicho.”
Hynes is regularly judged more harshly than other playmakers because of his contract, Dally M victory and Cronulla’s finals record.
Some criticism becomes excessive and ignores the structural importance of Trindall.
This occasion was different.
Cronulla needed its senior halfback to seize control against a team outside finals contention. Hynes did not do enough.
Cronulla’s Finals Record Requires Context
The Sharks’ September record under Fitzgibbon is poor, but some reporting has exaggerated the numbers.
Cronulla has won three finals and lost six since Fitzgibbon became coach in 2022—not nine.
The Sharks lost both finals in 2022 and were eliminated immediately in 2023. They then broke their seven-match finals losing streak in 2024 before losing to Penrith in the preliminary final.
Cronulla again reached the final four in 2025, eventually suffering a 22-14 preliminary-final defeat to Melbourne.
Reaching consecutive preliminary finals is not evidence of a hopeless team.
It proves Cronulla has been consistently close to the competition’s leading clubs.
The problem is what happens when the Sharks encounter those clubs at the decisive stage.
Penrith and Melbourne possessed the elite spine players capable of taking control when the pressure increased. Cronulla competed but could not produce an equivalent match-winner.
That is why the current form of Hynes and the fitness of Trindall matter so much.
Finals Label Will Only Disappear Through Results
Cronulla cannot talk its way out of the choking debate.
The Sharks have been among the NRL’s most consistent teams since Fitzgibbon arrived, recording a winning percentage above 60 and reaching the finals every season.
That sustained performance deserves recognition.
However, regular-season consistency creates expectations.
Cronulla has assembled an experienced roster containing representative forwards, an elite hooker, a Dally M-winning halfback and dangerous outside backs. Repeatedly reaching September is no longer sufficient.
The Sharks must demonstrate that they can defeat the NRL’s best teams when elimination is possible.
Falling from a potential minor premiership challenge to fifth place after facing several bottom-eight opponents increases the pressure enormously.
Cowboys Final Is Now Dangerously Unforgiving
Cronulla will host North Queensland in an elimination final regardless of its closing-round result against Melbourne.
The Cowboys represent a dangerous opponent because they possess several attacking players capable of exploiting a nervous defence.
Tom Dearden provides the speed and direct running Cronulla has struggled to contain, while Scott Drinkwater can create opportunities from broken play.
The Sharks should still enter as favourites, particularly if Trindall returns.
But another slow beginning like the one against Parramatta could end their season before halftime.
Fitzgibbon’s monitor punch should not become the defining image of Cronulla’s year. Coaches experience frustration, and one emotional reaction does not mean he has lost control.
It does show the pressure inside the club has become impossible to hide.
The Sharks have not choked yet because their premiership campaign remains alive.
They have, however, thrown away their safest path through the finals and created the exact pressure they have repeatedly struggled to overcome.
Only a strong September performance can change that story now.
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