The Cronulla Sharks 2026 NRL season is over after they came up well short against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium in a Saturday night semi-final.
It wasn't a great start for the Sharks, who lost Nicho Hynes to a concussion in giving up a try, and Mawene Hiroti not long after.
With just 15 men, the Sharks were brave, but quite clearly checked out in the final minutes to concede a number of tries to a Roosters side who ran riot.
The tri-colours weren't perfect, but did more than enough to claim the win in an encounter that sets them on a collision path with the Dolphins next weekend for a spot in the grand final.
Here are the big talking points out of the game.
Craig Fitzgibbon has half a season to prove he can coach
Craig Fitzgibbon is not a rookie coach anymore.
That should be alarm bells for the Sharks, who made the decision to re-sign him earlier this year despite having no pressure to do so.
He is locked in long-term to the Sharks, but as has been proven time and time again, contracts in this sport aren't worth the paper they are written on.
Which could be a good thing for the Sharks, because Fitzgibbon needs to prove he can actually coach.
Even at this stage of his development, the bench rotation still hasn't become right, his management of tactics is off, and maybe more worryingly, he refuses to pick the youngsters.
The Sharks may not have had the talk publically that other clubs like the Dragons have over their juniors, but they have an excellent crop on the way through, and barely any of them have seen game time.
That, despite Newtown absolutely flying.
Fitzgibbon should have made a grand final, and probably won a competition with the squad he has.
He hasn't, and the first half of next year will be enormous for his prospects.
Roosters experience gives them a premiership chance
The signing of Daly Cherry-Evans might have raised eyebrows in the pre-season for the Roosters, but he has come seriously good when it matters at the back-end of the season.
The halfback was excellent last week despite the loss to Penrith, and was in the top couple on the park against the Sharks.
His control in a team missing regular halfback Sam Walker has been phenomenal, and right now, between he and James Tedesco, you'd argue experience, and the leaders, are the reason the Roosters are in the mix for the Provan-Summons trophy at all.
The big question will be whether they can go with the speed of the Dolphins.
If they can, then the Roosters will have the edge late in that game in a fortnight's time.
Braydon Trindall must be Cronulla's halfback. Nicho Hynes can either be a five-eighth, or find a new job
Braydon Trindall is the Sharks halfback. It's that simple.
On Saturday evening, he played with one shoulder, for most of the game without Nicho Hynes alongside him, and was the Sharks best by a country mile.
That's not to say others didn't stand up, but Trindall was the only serious spark and force for the Shire-based side.
That has been the case for much of the year, in all seriousness, with Trindall picking up 30 try assists across the course of the season.
He must start at seven next year, with a serious redefinition of Nicho Hynes' role. He is a five-eighth, and needs to play like one.
If he doesn't, won't, or can't, he needs to be moved on.
Naufahu Whyte's form and minutes
Naufahu Whyte has been one of the eyebrow raising issues over the opening two weeks of the finals, with Trent Robinson now needing to get the best out of him over the next, potentially at least, fortnight.
At the end of the regular season, Whyte finished fourth in Zero Tackle's NRL MVP, and by whichever metric you wanted to go by, was one of the best for the Bondi-based outfit.
The forward has since turned in a stinker of a performance against the Panthers, and played just one stint against the Sharks.
It could have been put down to the fact Robinson saw no reason to put him back on the park, but his form should have alarm bells ringing.
The Roosters can not win the competition if Whyte isn't firing.
Cronulla need more speed in the forwards
This probably won't be a surprise to anyone, but the Sharks need more speed in the middle of the park.
They will make moves in that department this off-season with the departure of Cameron McInnes among others, and if Fitzgibbon can look to the future, the promotion of some serious junior talent.
But even then, question marks will remain.
How much do the likely to be re-signed Toby Rudolf and Tom Hazelton fit into the plans?
How many minutes is Jesse Colquhoun expected to play?
And maybe more importantly, what if Fitzgibbon continues to refuse promotion for his young talent?
If the Sharks can't get faster in the middle given the state of the modern game, nothing will change in the Shire next year.
