The Cronulla Sharks have advanced to the NRL semi-finals with a topsy-turvy win over the North Queensland Cowboys at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
It was a game that took a while to get going, but the Sharks always seemed to hold the upper hand in the contest, eventually putting the Cowboys away despite a late rally from the visitors.
Here is how we ranked every one of the 33 players who took to the field, with Todd Payten deciding not to activate a fourth substitute.
1. Siosifa Talakai (Cronulla Sharks) - Talakai was called in to the game early after a head injury assessment was required for Sione Katoa. Absolutely phenomenal for Cronulla as he prepares to move to the Bears next year.
2. Ronaldo Mulitalo (Cronulla Sharks) - Mulitalo is often rocks and diamonds, but there were more diamonds than rocks on Saturday evening. Ran the ball brilliantly, excellent in the air, and made some cracking tackles, including one in the final minutes as the Cowboys built their late charge.
3. Braydon Trindall (Cronulla Sharks) - Back from a shoulder injury, Trindall looked like he was nursing the injury at times, but still played a staring role for his side. The Sharks look a totally different team with Trindall on the park.
4. Tom Dearden (North Queensland Cowboys) - The Cowboys best. Never stopped trying in attack, and came up with some great plays in defence too.
5. Addin Fonua-Blake (Cronulla Sharks) - Led the way in the middle, as he has done for most of the season. Averaged more than ten metres per run.
6. KL Iro (Cronulla Sharks) - Almost scored a try early, had some great runs, came up with some big plays in defence. Pretty typical sort of performance from Iro.
7. John Bateman (North Queensland Cowboys) - Promoted to the starting team late and was the Cowboys' best forward. Ran the ball hard on the edge.
8. Blayke Brailey (Cronulla Sharks) - Brailey continues to cement his position as one of the game's elite hookers. Ran strongly, was pretty crafty out of hooker and defended well again.
9. William Kennedy (Cronulla Sharks) - Kennedy had a slightly slow start to the contest, but was excellent during the second half. Scored once, threatened the line a few other times.
10. Sione Katoa (Cronulla Sharks) - A runaway try for Katoa, and another in the corner. Did plenty of hard work, and was equal to the task in defence.
11. Tom Chester (North Queensland Cowboys) - A tough night for the Cowboys, but Chester continued to show he belongs at NRL level. Came up with plenty of important runs.
12. Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys) - Led the way in the middle again. Cracked the 100-metre barrier, but a bit quieter than his best performances throughout the regular season.
13. Thomas Hazelton (Cronulla Sharks) - Made a strong impression through the middle of the contest, holding down the middle third for Cronulla at both ends of the park.
14. Nicho Hynes (Cronulla Sharks) - Hynes played his best game for six weeks, not a surprise with Trindall back in the side. Had some nice moments, but still improvement needed if Cronulla are to hang with the big guns.
15. Scott Drinkwater (North Queensland Cowboys) - A rocks and diamonds night for Drinkwater. Dreadful under the high ball, but made two try assists. Gave away a shocking intercept for a long range Sharks try.
16. Teig Wilton (Cronulla Sharks) - A quuieter game for Wilton, but came up with some big defensive plays towards the back-end.
17. Jaxon Purdue (North Queensland Cowboys) - Quiet game for Purdue, but came up with a try that kept the Cowboys in it late.
18. Braidon Burns (North Queensland Cowboys) - Plenty of runs for Burns, and was in contention for the top ten before he made multiple errors late.
19. Reed Mahoney (North Queensland Cowboys) - Big defensive night for Mahoney who cracked 40 tackles, but not a whole lot else to his game.
20. Reuben Cotter (North Queensland Cowboys) - Solid again from Cotter, but missed five tackles in the middle after beating the judiciary on Tuesday.
21. Jesse Colquhoun (Cronulla Sharks) - Colquhoun had a very busy start to the game. Tailed off after that, and didn't look like adding a whole lot, but did a job.
22. Heilum Luki (North Queensland Cowboys) - Luki made 48 tackles without a miss, and put in a big working performance for the Cowboys. Will be even better with a full pre-season.
23. Jeremiah Nanai (North Queensland Cowboys) - An attacking threat as always coming off the bench, but couldn't capitalise on it across his 11 runs.
24. Cameron McInnes (Cronulla Sharks) - Heading towards the end of his NRL career, McInnes had another workmanlike performance. Couple of mistakes, but very solid.
25. Jake Clifford (North Queensland Cowboys) - Looked to get involved with the Cowboys attack, but had very little influence over the game. Did kick well though.
26. Briton Nikora (Cronulla Sharks) - Nikora's involvement was stunted by the Cowboys. Had just six runs across his time on the park.
makes with the ball during the round seven NRL match between Newcastle Knights and Cronulla Sharks at McDonald Jones Stadium, on April 20, 2025, in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
27. Billy Burns (Cronulla Sharks) - Played over half an hour from the bench, and came up with some solid carried of the footy.
28. Zac Laybutt (North Queensland Cowboys) - Some errors in defence and positioning from Laybutt don't help his cause. Did make plenty of metres though.
29. Riley Jones (Cronulla Sharks) - Playing his second game for the Sharks, Jones was serviceable, but pretty quiet.
30. Oregon Kaufusi (Cronulla Sharks) - Had just four runs of the footy. They all had impact, but only was afforded 15 minutes of game time.
31. Griffin Neame (North Queensland Cowboys) - A pretty quiet game for Neame. Just eight carries of the footy, and none of them all that captivating.
32. Sam McIntyre (North Queensland Cowboys) - Came into the game very late. Missed a critcal tackle leading to a try, but had five runs.
33. Coen Hess (North Queensland Cowboys) - Solid start for the Cowboys, but taken out of the game on the half hour mark with a concussion.
34. Soni Luke (North Queensland Cowboys) - Afforded 14 minutes at the back-end of the game. Not a whole lot of impact, but a couple of runs of he footy.
