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, Riley Pollard (dev.)
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. Riley Pollard
15. No player signed
16. Jesse Colquhoun
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.
4. Option 4: Shaun Lane (Parramatta Eels)
The Sharks need more depth at second-row.
Whether they can afford a player like Shaun Lane - who does have a mutual option with Parramatta for 2026 - remains to be seen and could well hinge on whether they manage to re-sign their off-contract second-row duo of Teig Wilton and Briton Nikora.
But even if they do, finding the money for Lane could prove important. If either Wilton or Nikora cop an injury, the Sharks cupboard is a little bare right now in terms of backup players on the edge.
Lane, an excellent ball runner thanks to his height and leg power, would be a serious weapon playing on the outside of Nicho Hynes.
Some imaginative ideas there, Scott.
One thing that didn’t come out clearly in your analysis is that – from all accounts – William Kennedy is paid poorly by the standards on full-backs.
This is a reflection of Cronulla’s (relatively) poor salary cap management. The Storm are renowned for paying top dollar for their spine, and for a few others, and fund that by paying really low for guys who are prepared to take unders to come and play for a club that is always in the hunt.
Cronulla pays more its “middle ranked” players and can manage that only by skimping on its spine. Nicho is on big money, but Kennedy is on peanuts, and you never hear “Trindall” or “Brayley” in any sentence that contains “well-paid”.
So, I can’t see Sharks going out for an expensive fullback like Nicoll Clokstad. I think they will give Dykes one final season to see if he can put in a solid season in NSW Cup without breaking down, and renew Kennedy on a bit more money (unless they get outbid). If Dykes is a bust and Kennedy is signed elsewhere, then for 2026 I can see them trying Iro or Atkinson at 1.
Neither is on huge money, so they would not be forced into breaking the bank.
Will Price would be a genuine option, for the same reasons, but definitely not CNK, in my opinion.