{"id":154395,"date":"2025-11-26T09:20:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/154395\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T09:20:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:20:08","slug":"fitzgibbon-hints-at-future-changes-amid-salary-squeeze-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/154395\/","title":{"rendered":"Fitzgibbon hints at future changes amid salary squeeze – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cronulla Sharks<\/a> exceeded expectations in 2025, but it wasn’t enough for Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbon has revealed that this year’s preliminary final exit against the Melbourne Storm<\/a> \u201churt more than any other\u201d during his four-season tenure, and has challenged his squad to prove their worth ahead of a major roster test in 2026.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the unveiling of the Sharks’ new home-ground naming rights deal, Ocean Protect Stadium, Fitzgibbon admitted the late-season surge made the loss sting even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe showed what we were capable of at the back end of the year and it really stung not to go on with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Sharks will roll into next year with almost the same squad, banking on continuity to deliver another title run.<\/p>\n

However, with a large crop of players coming off contract after 2026, Fitzgibbon urged his side to earn their futures, or risk being overtaken by the club’s next generation.<\/p>\n

\"NRLTOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 17: Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon speaks after winning the round 25 NRL match between North Queensland Cowboys and Cronulla Sharks at Qld Country Bank Stadium on August 17, 2023 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

A host of names including Cameron McInnes<\/a>, Billy Burns<\/a>, Jesse Colquhoun<\/a>, Braden Hamlin-Uele<\/a>, Sione Katoa<\/a>, Will Kennedy and Jesse Ramien<\/a> are all unsigned beyond 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t keep everyone, that’s the reality of professional sport,\u201d Fitzgibbon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them are hungry to stay, but we’ve got some exciting youngsters coming through as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes Michael Gabrael<\/a>, Niwai Puru and Penrith Panthers<\/a> recruit Harry Hassett, all pushing for a crack at first grade.<\/p>\n

One player who won’t feature is winger Ronaldo Mulitalo<\/a>, who will miss the entire 2026 season after suffering an ACL injury while playing for New Zealand<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really hard, that one,\u201d Fitzgibbon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always want our players to play rep footy, it’s so important for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

His absence opens the door for Sam Stonestreet<\/a> and Mawene Hiroti<\/a> to stake their claims, with both also off contract next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cronulla Sharks exceeded expectations in 2025, but it wasn’t enough for Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon. Fitzgibbon has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-154395","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}