There are few teams with as many decisions to make as the Cronulla Sharks heading into the 2026 NRL recruitment period.
Despite making the preliminary finals in 2024, there is a real feeling the Sharks are a few very good players short of being able to start pushing for the premiership.
Granted, the 2024 season was Melbourne and Penrith followed by daylight to everybody else, but Cronulla has the nucleus of a squad that can challenge the top guns if only they could add some more key parts.
2026 shapes as the time they will be really able to do that, although it'll be quite intriguing to see how they improve with Addin Fonua-Blake added to the forward pack following his release from the New Zealand Warriors.
Whether he is enough to flip the script remains to be seen, but they will likely need more to continue their push upwards into 2026.
We will run the rule over all 17 clubs on Zero Tackle in the lead-up to November 1 to determine who their top targets are. Today, the Sharks.
Current 2026 Cronulla Sharks squad
Blayke Brailey, Jesse Colquhoun, Addin Fonua-Blake, Michael Gabrael, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Nicho Hynes, Kayal Iro, Sione Katoa, Jesse Ramien, Toby Rudolf, Siosifa Talakai
Off-contract at end of 2025
Daniel Atkinson, Kade Dykes, Tuku Hau Tapuha, Thomas Hazelton, Oregon Kaufusi, William Kennedy, Cameron McInnes, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Briton Nikora, Sam Stonestreet, Braydon Trindall, Teig Wilton
Current best 17 for 2026
1. No player signed
2. Sione Katoa
3. Jesse Ramien
4. Kayal Iro
5. Michael Gabrael
6. No player signed
7. Nicho Hynes
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Blayke Brailey
10. Braden Hamlin-Uele
11. No player signed
12. Siosifa Talakai
13. Toby Rudolf
Interchange
14. Jesse Colquhoun
15. No player signed
16. No player signed
17. No player signed
2026 really could make or break on the recruitment front for the Sharks.
They only have 11 players signed as it stands, and while that much squad transformation in a single go is never a fantastic idea, it could be that they have a heavy switch heading into 2026.
It's fair to say they will want to re-sign some of their younger talent - Thomas Hazelton, Kade Dykes and Sam Stonestreet leading the charge, but there will also be plenty of interest in them, as well as the likes of Braydon Trindall and Briton Nikora.
There are also questions like whether to re-sign Daniel Atkinson and, more importantly, fullback William Kennedy.
Is Kennedy a premiership-winning fullback? He could be a player Cronulla sit on until they understand whether they can sign a star from another club.
1. Option 1: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (New Zealand Warriors)
While we are talking about Kennedy, we might as well start with who on the open market could potentially replace him.
Make no mistake: Nicoll-Klokstad is not the absolute best fullback available. James Tedesco and Ryan Papenhuyzen take that mantle.
But it's also about being realistic.
Cronulla will undoubtedly be out-muscled if they try to go for either player, given the enormous cash already tied up in Nicho Hynes and Addin Fonua-Blake.
So Nicoll-Klokstad would make sense. He runs the ball hard, knows how to lay on a try assist, and would seem an upgrade on Kennedy.
