{"id":506407,"date":"2026-02-27T00:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506407\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T00:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:15:09","slug":"sharks-to-face-major-contract-challenges-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506407\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharks to face major contract challenges – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cronulla Sharks<\/a> are bracing for a significant reshuffle, with 16 players currently unsigned beyond 2026 and big exits looming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s going to be inevitable, we won’t be able to keep everyone,\u201d Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta shared at Cronulla’s season launch this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just won’t work. And I think as a message for the younger boys coming through, they need to know that they’re going to have their chance as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club’s current roster is anchored by a handful of long-term contracts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blayke Brailey<\/a> is signed until 2030, while Nicho Hynes<\/a> and Kayal Iro have deals through 2029. Braydon Trindall<\/a>, Ronald Mulitalo, and Adin Fonua-Blake are secured until 2028, and head coach Craig Fitzgibbons’ contract extends until 2027.<\/p>\n

However, a wave of key players will see their contracts expire in 2026, representing a combined total of 1,042 NRL<\/a> games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The list includes Cameron McInnes<\/a>, Will Kennedy, Jesse Ramien<\/a>, Sione Katoa<\/a>, Siosifa Talakai<\/a>, Toby Rudolf<\/a>, and Braden Hamlin-Uele, among others.<\/p>\n

Mezzatesta highlighted the challenge of retaining older players while bringing through emerging talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it is probably time that we start looking at who’s coming through the ranks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut our intent would be we’ll try and get as many [contract extensions] done as possible \u2026 for some of these guys that are at the end of their career when they’ve still got maybe a contract worth two or three years, it’s going to be hard to compete just on the money terms alone, let alone wanting us to keep everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think we’re realists as well. We’re not going to be able to fit everyone in the roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those under particular pressure is fullback Will Kennedy, who struggled with form towards the end of last season.<\/p>\n

Kennedy faces competition from rookie fullback Liam Ison<\/a>, whose contract runs through to 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sharks are seemingly keen to lock in the promising youngster as a cornerstone for the future.<\/p>\n

Contract and club change whispers have also begun to circulate amongst the group of off-contract players.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talakai is reportedly weighing a proposed three-year deal with the Perth Bears<\/a> starting in 2027, while Ramien has attracted interest from the Gold Coast Titans<\/a> and North Queensland Cowboys<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Rudolf and McInnes have also shared their interest in joining the PNG Chiefs<\/a> as franchise players from 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s going to be unfortunate if we can’t make it work mathematically,\u201d Mezzatesta said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery player, their number one priority would be to stay with the club. But it’s going to be unfortunate if we can’t make it work mathematically.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks’ list of players off contract reduces significantly by 2027, with Briton Nikora<\/a>, Liam Ison<\/a>, Oregon Kaufusi<\/a>, Teig Wilton<\/a>, and Michael Gabreal among those remaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the club, the coming seasons will be a delicate balancing act between honouring veteran commitments and investing in the next generation of talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think honesty and transparency are really important at this stage, and in particular for them at this point in their career,\u201d Mezzatesta told The Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\n

\u201cToby Rudolf<\/a> has been very vocal about getting out there to suggest he wants to look for a [rival offer] … but clearly, before he’s done that, he’s had a conversation with us as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think you’ll find there’ll be a couple of other conversations along similar sort of lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is something out there for you which is going to give you tenure and a lot more money, then we’re certainly not going to stand in your way.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a mix of veteran exits looming and emerging talent ready to step up, the Sharks are entering a period of transition that could redefine the club’s roster for years to come.<\/p>\n

Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Tackle 2026 NRL Season Guide!<\/a> Packed with 130+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 NRL Season Guide<\/a> is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cronulla Sharks are bracing for a significant reshuffle, with 16 players currently unsigned beyond 2026 and big…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-506407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}