NRL Round 20: Cronulla Sharks win 31-18 over Sydney Roosters

Cronulla star Blayke Brailey has once again shown why he is the form player of the NRL competition, as the Sharks ripped the Roosters apart to secure a crucial win.

James Tedesco has been the NRL’s best player this year. But Blayke Brailey has been the form player of the competition.

The two took to the field on Friday night where the Sharks beat the Roosters 31-18. While Tedesco was again among the Roosters’ best players it was Brailey who turned the game in Cronulla’s favour.

He has always been one of the best passes out of dummy half but his added running threat in the second half of the season has now made him the complete package.

While Melbourne ace Harry Grant has a mortgage on the Australian No.9 jumper, Brailey is quickly closing the gap and if Cronulla can go deep into this competition it will be on the back of Brailey. That will him into Ashes squad selection for Australia at the end of the year.

Blayke Brailey has been the form player of the competition this year. Picture: Getty Images

Brailey never tires. His acceleration to start the game stays consistent throughout the 80 minutes. Coupled with his great vision and feel for the game which has now seen him become one of the game’s elite.

Brailey was at his game-breaking best in perhaps the best 40 minutes of his career in the opening half.

He laid on two tries directly and had a hand in another. He was the only player to crack 100 running metres in the first half – unheard of from a dummy half.

An incredible run from Blayke Brailey! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QpFRdsf6ak

— NRL (@NRL) July 18, 2025

Those high figures usually belong to a back three player who benefit from kick returns.

But Brailey twice caught the Roosters markers lazy which resulted in a try to Will Kennedy after six minutes before he produced a run away effort for Nicho Hynes to cross.

His running threat was matched by what he does on the other side of the ball. Brailey made the second most tackles of any Shark (46) and missed just one.

SHARKS FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT AS HORROR RUN LOOMS FOR ROOSTERS

—Martin Gabor

Some Blayke Brailey brilliance and a burrowing Billy Burns helped the Sharks pick up two crucial competition points against a Roosters side that will finish the round outside the top eight with a horror draw on the horizon.

Cronulla’s path to the finals now looks secure after they survived some second-half wobbles to clinch a 31-18 victory at home over a team that started round 20 ahead of them on points differential.

But they’ve now jumped into the top eight and don’t play another team above them on the ladder until the final round when they take on the Bulldogs.

Billy Burns celebrates after scoring a try that helped secure a crucial win for the Sharks. Picture: Getty Images

It’s a dream run home for a team that produced its best 40 minutes in attack in the first half with Brailey causing all sorts of problems for the Roosters through the middle.

“He has been our player of the year for the past two years, so we feel like he’s been consistent,” Craig Fitzgibbon said.

“It’s nice that he’s getting some acknowledgement. The most important thing is what he’s doing for our halves.”

The Sharks hooker continued his scorching form when he popped a late offload for Will Kennedy to open the scoring and was at it again when he sliced through from his own side of halfway and linked up with Nicho Hynes for another try.

They tried their best to throw it away with a string of sloppy errors coming out of trouble, but Burns steadied the ship when he broke through from close range before rookie Chris Vea’ila capped off a dream debut with a powerful solo try.

“We saw the energy that put through the team, and I thought that was a really important moment,” Fitzgibbon said.

FINAL FRONTIER

The Roosters have done a great job to be in the finals hunt after a brutal start to the season, but they face a hellish end to the year as they try to clinch a spot in the top eight.

They face the Storm twice in the coming weeks, travel to Brookvale, head to Brisbane to take on the red-hot Dolphins and host the Bulldogs.

Their best footy will see them win enough games to make it, but coach Trent Robinson will want to see more consistency from his key men after a patchy performance on Friday.

The Roosters face a brutal run home as they fight to stay in the top-eight. Picture: Getty Images

Sam Walker had some great moments with a kick for Daniel Tupou who flew high to score, but he also threw a couple of forward passes deep in attack.

He played a key role in James Tedesco’s long-range stunner late in the first half but wasn’t able to link up with the returning Chad Townsend who got through a mountain of work in defence but didn’t produce much in attack.

Naufahu Whyte was huge and Blake Steep came up with a superb try-saving tackle on Braydon Trindall, but they completed just 50 per cent of their second-half sets as the Sharks five-eighth punished an error with a late field goal.

“We got beaten physically,” Robinson said.

“We lacked the physical presence and then lacked the cohesion to go and nail the points needed.

“I thought our skill was poor tonight and I thought our catch was poor. We’re a pretty flowing team when it comes to our movement, but it was really stop-start and the skill level cost us a lot in a lot of areas.”

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Both teams will be without key men next week after Briton Nikora and Billy Smith failed head injury assessments in the first half of Friday’s clash.

Nikora copped a blow to the head from Whyte as the Roosters prop reached high to reel in a pass, while Smith stumbled after he was whacked into the turf by a Brailey lifting tackle that saw him placed on report.

Both incidents were deemed category twos, with the Roosters enjoying plenty of success down their left as they attacked Cronulla’s inexperienced edge.

ROLL CALL

The NRL has sent a clear message to players that incorrect play the balls will not be tolerated in the run to the finals.

The tone was set on Thursday night and continued in the Shire with both teams earning the ire of the referee in the opening 11 minutes.

Originally published as NRL Round 20: Cronulla Sharks win 31-18 over Sydney Roosters