Cronulla Sharks 2025 NRL season scouting report: Best 17, every player’s contract status, rookie watch
The signing of Addin Fonua-Blake could be the key that unlocks Cronulla’s run to a grand final in 2025. DAVID RICCIO analyses the Sharks’ best 17, where they need to improve, rookies to watch and more.
Can a prop be the single difference between a preliminary final and a grand final?
It’s exactly what Craig Fitzgibbon and the Sharks are hoping for after adding Addin Fonua-Blake to basically the same side that went within 80 minutes of a decider last season.
The dynamic front-rower may just be the key that unlocks another runaround with a spine that got a career season out of Braydon Trindall.
David Riccio dives into where else the Sharks need to improve to take that next step.
Free agency wrap & rating
The Sharks are in the midst of their most intriguing roster decisions in years with an initial 12 players entering the open market on November 1. Cronulla did well to fend off rivals for three of the most important signings with the extension of deals for Braydon Trindall (2028), Briton Nikora (2027) and Cameron McInnes (2026). The negotiations will play through right up until beyond round one of the season, with fullback Will Kennedy’s future certain to be a major talking point.
RATING: B
Coach status & safety rating
Coach Craig Fitzgibbon is contracted at the Sharks until the end of 2027. His ability to coach the best out of a side that is inferior by representative standards to the Panthers and Storm has been outstanding. Key to his safety at the Sharks is the current player retention drive at the club, which is all shaped around Fitzgibbon being the head coach into the future.
RATING: A
Likely debutant(s)
Talented centre Chris Vailea only needs an injury in the Sharks centre position to earn his NRL debut in 2025. Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon rates the athletic and powerful 21-year-old highly.
A teammate of Vailea in NSW Cup, 22-year-old halfback Niwhai Puru will cover any loss in the Sharks starting halves in 2025. An organising halfback with a quality kicking game, the rookie only needs an NRL start to show what he’s got.
Who takes the next step
Outside of Nicho Hynes, the one player who will benefit the most from the arrival of prop Addin Fonua-Blake is dummy-half Blayke Brailey.
Brailey’s already dangerous run threat should grow ten-fold on the back of AFB’s power game.
The three burning issues
TRICK OR TREAT
Braydon Trindall can no longer hide in the shadow of his higher-profile teammates with the halfback earning a major pay rise and contract extension following his breakout 2024 season. Trindall must now prove he’s a week-to-week NRL playmaker – both on and off the field. The playmaker’s combination with Nicho Hynes is everything to the Sharks, and equally everything to Hynes, who benefited greatly at the back-end of the 2024 season, when Trindall played conductor, with Hynes being able to freewheel, which is when he’s at his most potent.
BACK FENCE BLAKE
Addin Fonua-Blake is on the podium as the best prop in the game, but there’s no denying he has the ability to beat to his own drum and at-times ruffle the feathers of his teammates and coaches. How he settles into the disciplined Sharks environment will be key. The Sharks are AFB’s third club in six years after previous stints at the Sea Eagles and Warriors. Undeniably though, he is the enforcer the Sharks have been lacking up front across the past three seasons.
THE NEXT STEP
It’s all about belief for Cronulla – that they can take the next step after getting to within 80-minutes of the 2024 grand final, both as a team and individually. Devoid of representative stars, they must sap as much out of their spine as possible. It has to be led by Nicho Hynes, who now has a halves partner in Trindall to split the Sharks creative juices. Fullback Will Kennedy needs to advance from rock solid to superb, which could prove career-defining.
Crystal ball
The arrival of Addin Fonua-Blake is huge for the Sharks. He is the first destructive forward the Sharks have boasted since Andrew Fifita retired – and we all know how that fairytale unfolded. Cronulla have a team and the coach to make the 2025 grand final.
2025 odds
Winners: $13
Minor premiership: $10
Top 4: $2.60
Top 8: $1.50
Most losses: $51
*Odds courtesy of TAB
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