Where are the Sharks, REALLY, under Craig Fitzgibbon?

As is tradition whenever a fan's rugby league side loses, I am here to both panic and overreact.

Drop everyone! Sack everyone! Fold the club!

Those were just some of the feelings sitting and watching the heavily favoured Cronulla Sharks snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the final moments on Thursday night.

Just as an aside, how good was that try from Canberra? Green Machine-esque!

As I type this, 12 hours have passed since Sebastian Kris capped off one of the tries of the season to consign the Sharks to a second straight "shock" loss.

Over those 12 hours I have replied to literally hundreds of social media tags. Some positive but mostly negative. For good reason too.

It got me thinking, as a Sharks fan. Where do the Sharks realistically sit here in the fourth season under coach Craig Fitzgibbon?

Before I dive in, I must come clean. I am (unfortunately) a Sharks fan. A passionate one at that. One prone to overreaction, overhype and hyperbole. So in short, an everyday rugby league fan.

I have multiple podcasts, and have even dubbed our coach Craig Fitzgibbon as "Sir Fitz". Please take that admitted bias into account when continuing on.

80+ games into the tenure of the first-club coach, the Sharks have enjoyed three finals campaigns, including two that saw them finish in the top four.

They've signed players of the ilk of Nicho Hynes, who went on to win the Dally M medal in his first season, and Addin Fonua-Blake, one of the game's elite middle forwards.

They entered the season as the fourth shortest-priced team to win the 2025 NRL premiership.

On paper, the Sharks are the envy of the league for any fanbase other than those based at the foot of the mountains in Penrith of those wearing the purple of Melbourne.

In reality, though, it's not quite so rosy.

One finals win, despite a string of home games, including two games at Shark Park, suggests the Sharks struggle when the going gets tough.

A preliminary final sure looks good on paper, but other than a brief moment when Sione Katoa scored out wide, the Sharks never looked like they were toppling the mighty Panthers.

In there lies, perhaps, the biggest negative of the Sharks under Fitzgibbon; that they're flat track bullies.

Now, as a fan, there are many things worse. Cronulla have won many more games than they've lost since Fitzgibbon took charge. Some massive, highlight reel wins have had the Shire rocking!

Meanwhile, the club's depth is better than any other team across the competition.

The Newtown Jets, Cronulla's feeder club, are NSW Cup Champions while the Jersey Flegg side made the Grand Final last year. Even the NRLW team made the decider in their second season.

Again, on paper, there is very little to complain about the recent past at the club. At any level.

What about the future though?

Right now the Sharks are tied to a million-dollar halfback who just cannot overcome the noise from outside. The club seem unwilling to move from a fullback who is equal parts brilliant and diabolical, seemingly at random.

They boast an engine room of Addin Fonua-Blake, Cameron McInnes and ... more Fonua-Blake.

Fitzgibbon needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into making any changes or signing any players.

He's on record as saying stability is key. That good men make good rugby league players. I'll leave that second statement for another time.

The Sharks have re-signed the large majority of their players for many years to come.

Nicho Hynes, AFB, Braydon Trindall, Briton Nikora, Ronaldo Mulitalo. All on monster deals, long-term. All good news and rightfully celebrated.

Doesn't leave much room for needed changes though.

Fitzgibbon ignored the NSW Cup player of the year, Kayal Iro, for 18 months. He insisted on playing a second rower out of position in Sifa Talakai.

Yes, it certainly had its moments, but almost everyone could see that Kayal Iro was the future. It would also allow Talakai to return to the forwards where his lack of speed (comparable to centres) couldn't be exploited.

It is a miracle that Iro wasn't snapped up whilst wasting away in reserve grade. I'd argue he has been the Sharks best thus far in 2025 and you'd have to fight to prove there are five better centres in the game than Iro.

Braydon Trindall was held back, for many months, despite Matt Moylan being held together by sticky tape.

There are countless other examples of hot hands being held back too long to continue the status quo. To a point I get it, but the true elite coaches see these moments and make the tough calls.

Fitzgibbon's insistence on standing by Oregon Kaufusi, even re-signing him despite no other team in the market making a move, is head scratching to say the least.

Braden Hamlin-Uele was re-signed to a massive contract despite a long run of underwhelming performances.

There just seems to be an air of this is the squad he has and rain, hail or shine, this is the squad he'll live or die by.

Addin Fonua-Blake was seen as the final piece of the Sharks' puzzle. It's still early and he has been better than advertised, but he kind of fell into the Sharks' lap.

Early on Fitzgibbon signed Nicho Hynes and Dale Finucane. Unfortunately, Dale's body let him down but his signing can't be seen as anything other than a huge win.

Hynes won a Dally M and was the Prince of the Shire for two seasons. Opinion has turned but I'm backing Hynes to turn it back.

Fitzgibbon is going to need to take a risk, make a statement, or heaven forbid show some emotion!

A last-minute loss would have sent many coaches around the bend. Not Fitzgibbon. He sat and offered the same, seemingly rehearsed, statement of weeks gone by.

"Effort was there, didn't compete, happy".

The effort most certainly was not there. They didn't compete. Try selling happiness to the fans who travelled six hours return on a Thursday night.

I am still an unashamed fan of Fitzgibbon. I still believe the Sharks will turn it around and play Finals footy in 2025.

That said, any talks of a Premiership are an absolute pipe dream while Nicho Hynes is jogging into the line, middle forwards are running for less than 50 metres a game, wingers are flying out to AFL-style mark the ball 20 metres out from the line ...

The Sharks, and Craig Fitzgibbon, have to change something up over the next week weeks or face yet another season of a Finals finish and quick, and quiet exit.

Given the pre-season hype and the marquee signing of Fonua-Blake, that outcome in 2025 would be an absolute disaster!