Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys Preview & Prediction | 2026 NRL | Elimination Final
by Alex Sarwar ·
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
Cronulla Sharks have the benefit of taking on the eighth seed, but North Queensland Cowboys will be sniffing out an elimination final upset.
Start date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / Australia – Channel 9 / USA – Some matches are televised live on Fox Sports
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go & Watch NRL / Australia – 9Now / USA – Watch NRL, and if the match is televised in the USA it can also be streamed live on Fox Sports platforms
Cronulla Sharks team news
After giving plenty of his squad a rest, Craig Fitzgibbon brings back all those players and they are joined by both Braydon Trindall and Tom Hazleton, who return from injury and suspension respectively.
Squad: William Kennedy, Sione Katoa, Riley Jones, KL Iro, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Braydon Trindall, Nicho Hynes, Addin Fonua-Blake, Blayke Brailey, Jesse Colquhoun, Briton Nikora, Teig Wilton, Cameron McInnes, Siosifa Talakai, Billy Burns, Oregon Kaufusi, Thomas Hazelton, Hohepa Puru, Toby Rudolf, Niwhai Puru, Samuel Stonestreet, Mawene Hiroti
North Queensland Cowboys team news
North Queensland Cowboys will have captain Reuben Cotter available for this crunch encounter, while the trio of Jeremiah Nanai, Griffin Neame and Zac Laybutt are all back from injury.
Squad: Scott Drinkwater, Braidon Burns, Jaxon Purdue, Tom Chester, Zac Laybutt, Jake Clifford, Tom Dearden, Griffin Neame, Reed Mahoney, Jason Taumalolo, Heilum Luki, Jeremiah Nanai, Reuben Cotter, Soni Luke, John Bateman, Thomas Mikaele, Coen Hess, Kaiden Lahrs, Ethan King, Kai O'Donnell, Sam McIntyre, Liam Sutton
Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys prediction
North Queensland Cowboys will be challenging themselves to shock the NRL here and really throw this set of elimination finals up in the air. They finished eighth-place come the end of the regular season, just sneaking into the post-season and they are effectively playing with house money when considering the stakes.
Only one win separated the pair in the regular season and the Cowboys defeated Cronulla when they collided back in late April. That was a high-scoring encounter and it wouldn’t be a shock if we saw something similar this time around with both of these offences being very strong. Therefore, consider backing over 47.5 points to be recorded.
Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys tip: Over 47.5 total points
