NRL Supercoach 2026: Cronulla Sharks squad analysis

The Cronulla Sharks enter the 2026 NRL season as threats to the major contenders in the premiership.



They fell just short of a grand final after a preliminary final loss to Melbourne in 2025, and have little roster turnover for their new campaign.



The likes of Blayke Brailey and KL Iro have emerged as genuine Supercoach guns in their positions – joining Nicho Hynes and Addin Fonua-Blake – making them extremely relevant to start the year.



Let’s take a look at their NRL Supercoach prospects for the 2026 season.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Predicted Round 1 starting team</h2>



1. William Kennedy



2. Sione Katoa



3. Jesse Ramien



4. KL Iro



5. Sam Stonestreet



6. Braydon Trindall



7. Nicho Hynes



8. Addin Fonua-Blake



9. Blayke Brailey



10. Oregan Kaufusi



11. Briton Nikora



12. Teig Wilton



13. Jesse Colquhoun



14. Siosifa Talakai



15. Billy Burns



16. Toby Rudolf



17. Tom Hazelton



Analysis: The Sharks backline picks itself, with Sam Stonestreet to start on the wing in the absence of the injured Ronaldo Mulitalo.



Liam Ison will heap pressure on Will Kennedy at fullback on return from an ACL injury.



Cameron McInnes is returning from an ACL injury of his own and is fighting to feature in round 1, but may need more time.



If he’s unavailable, Jesse Colquhoun is the likely replacement at lock.



Briton Nikora is likely to regain his starting back-row spot, pushing Billy Burns to the bench.



Braden Hamlin-Uele will be in contention for a round 1 bench spot.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fixtures</h2>



Round 1: Titans (H)



Round 2: Panthers (A, Bathurst)



Round 3: Dolphins (H)



Round 4: Raiders (A)



Round 5: Warriors (H)



Byes: (Major bye rounds are 12, 15, 18)



Round 7, 12 and 17&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Verdict: The Sharks have a mixed opening to the season, with fixtures against three top eight teams from last season and a Dolphins outfit with high expectations in 2026.



They also play three of their first five games at home, while the away fixture to Penrith is hosted in Bathurst.



It’s a decent early draw, what is a little inconvenient is two byes in the first 12 rounds.



For potential cash generators this isn’t as much a concern as they’ll likely be gone by round 7 anyway, but for a potential long-term keeper like Nicho Hynes it’s not ideal.



Nonetheless, if you’re keen enough on any of their player long term (Nicho, AFB, Nikora, Brailey) just pull the trigger early.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Start</h2>



Jesse Colquhoun I $332,500 I 2RF-FRF



While currently in starts, Colquhoun could easily be an avoid by round 1.



Plenty hinges on Cameron McInnes’ return date which is currently unclear, but while he’s out the starting spot likely falls to Colquhoun.



The other factor will be the bench, should Fitzy run a utility back it’d help his prospective minutes.



He recently re-signed long-term for the Sharks who reportedly fought off plenty of interest from rivals, signalling their belief in him.



He’s priced on a 34 point average from 31 minutes per game.



In games over 35+ minutes he averaged 46.2 points and an excellent 42.8 in base stats.



An uptick in minutes to say 45+ would see him make some decent money, 50+ would make him one of the better cash cows early on in the season.



Huge pre-season and TLT watch for me.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Consider</h2>



Nicho Hynes I $749,300 I HFB



There’s plenty of different ways to play the HFB position to begin the season which will make for a fascinating opening.



One way of which is going with proven gun Nicho Hynes who is priced on a 77 point average.



He averaged 75 in 2024, 95 in 2023 and 86 in 2022.



Those numbers suggest he has more to offer if he starts the season near his best.



In his first five games last season he averaged 71.8 points, the year prior it was 66 points per game.



I feel there are a few quality halfback options at cheaper prices that could prove nice stepping stones to Nicho who we’ll all eventually want, for now I’m tempted to wait.



KL Iro I $705,900 I CTW



Iro was outstanding in his first full season in 2024, averaging 65 points with a monstrous 41 points in base which is simply elite for a CTW.



While tries came late in the season, he had just one in his first 13 games.



Last season he exploded with a 72 point average with 36 in base, however this time around he scored 10 tries in his first 9 games of the year.



You could look at his Supercoach prospects in two ways, firstly that due to a huge try-scoring strike-rate he’s over-priced to start and should drop in value.



Secondly, he’s a gun that has huge work-rate and scores tries and should be a starter.



The Titans clash first up is particularly enticing for the Sharks entire attacking contingent.



My gut feel is to avoid early and hope for a price drop, but there’s a world that by round 3 we’re also scrambling to get in a genuine Supercoach weapon.



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Addin Fonua-Blake I $638,900 I FRF



AFB is priced on a 65 point average from 54 minutes per game in his first season at the Sharks.



He averaged a whopping 72 and 73 points per game in the two years prior at the Warriors where he played a bigger minute role.



In reduced game time at the Sharks I do feel he is better priced this year and warrants a little more consideration.



In his first five games last season he averaged 70 points per game, sitting above his season average.



He scored just the five tries last season which for any other front-rower would be an elite strike-rate, but for AFB it’s unders.



He’s arguably the best prop in the game when it comes to crossing the stripe.



Without tries I feel he’ll average around his 65 point value to begin, but add a couple of four pointers (or Supercoach 17 pointers) and he could provide genuine value for round 1.



Unlikely for me, but I see the appeal.



Briton Nikora I $570,100 I 2RF



I wasn’t going to include Nikora as he tends to get into his best work as the season progresses, but there were a few factors that I felt were worth mentioning.



Firstly, he’s a genuine gun footballer.



He’s running off Nicho Hynes with the pair forging one of the better combinations in the NRL.



Billy Burns filled his role while injured late last year and held it into the finals, this should light a fire in Nikora who knows he no longer has a mortgage on the 12 jumper.



He averaged just 58 points last season, down on elite output of 70 points per game the two seasons prior.



His Supercoach knock has always been his workrate which tends to increase as the season goes on.



He averaged a decent 62.8 points per game in the first five rounds of 2025, however this included five tries!



Not for me, but a fired up Nikora can be among the best 2RFs in the game.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cheapies</h2>



Liam Ison I $216,800 I FLB



I won’t deep dive into Ison just yet, but he is one to monitor.



Will Kennedy is likely to start at fullback, but should Ison impress in the pre-season and enter the frame we could be looking at the Supercoach fullback (and flex) position very differently to start the 2026 campaign.

NRL Supercoach 2026: Cronulla Sharks squad analysis

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