“What possibly could have went wrong, went wrong”.

That’s how Craig Fitzgibbon summed up a nightmarish night for the Sharks in his post-match press conference after going down to the Roosters 46-10 on Saturday night.

In the process, Cronulla slumped out of the 2026 premiership race and Nicho Hynes’ head knock in the opening stages of the contest shaped as a hammer blow.

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The marquee halfback got his head in an awkward position while attempting to tackle Salesi Foketi, failing his head injury assessment which ended his night.

As his players soaked in their finals exit, Fitzgibbon revealed that Hynes apologised to his teammates and coach post-match.

“He just went out there and went head first for the first collision he could get and (the) timing was wrong, but it’s just a sign of how much he wanted it,” Fitzgibbon said.

“Cost him dearly but he just apologised. He knows that he had a moment that he (had) an opportunity for tonight which was important to him and us.

“Yeah, went wrong, but can handle that when you go in first and you’re that committed for the team and club that that’s important to you.”

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As for how Fitzgibbon summed up his team’s performance, the Sharks coach explained that the loss was the result of the “price of the first half”.

Alongside Hynes, centre Mawene Hiroti also suffered a PCL injury at around the 20-minute mark after colliding with an advertising board while chasing a Braydon Trindall chip.

“What possibly could have went wrong went wrong and then it was like a ‘hang on’ energy for the rest of the game where, you know, six again was the last tackle,” Fitzgibbon explained.

“Just errors from us. Obviously didn’t adjust for losing Nicho and ‘Ma’ very well, you know, like just lost a bit of cohesion and a bit of a planning went astray there.

“Then they were terrific too… they were too strong for us tonight.”

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Meanwhile, Fitzgibbon held his tongue when quizzed on one key moment in the clash — Daly Cherry-Evans’ trip on Teig Wilton.

The Sharks back rower was in the process of charging towards the try line until his run was impeded by the Roosters halfback’s outstretched foot.

A penalty was awarded and the veteran playmaker remained on the field.

“What am I going to possibly say at this point? That’s six weeks straight of… we can’t get it back,” Fitzgibbon said.

Fitzgibbon also mentioned his team have “been up for five years now with the same group of guys” since his arrival as head coach in 2022.

Under his tutelage, the Sharks have been a consistent presence in September without translating their finals appearances into results.

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Cronulla have reached two preliminary finals and have featured post-season in all five years under Fitzgibbon, and he was pressed on whether his team was missing something that could turn them into a contender.

“There’s only been two teams that have won the comp in the last five years,” Fitzgibbon said.

To which the reporter replied: “Well what’s the difference I guess between you guys and them?”

“Yeah, there’s two teams in the whole comp that have won in the last five years. So we’re not that far off, but we haven’t got there,” he explained.

“So that’s a fair criticism and it’s frustrating, but we haven’t got there. So we’ve got to work out how and what we do with what we’ve got to get there.”