Rugby League
2026-09-19 - Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla Sharks
A Sports Betting Pick by Stu
Rugby League : Australia : NRL Finals 2026
Saturday 19th April 2026 - KO 1950 AEST
Sydney Roosters
The Roosters 2026 campaign has been built around a mixture of veteran class and young attacking talent, and that balance becomes particularly important on Saturday night. At the heart of everything is James Tedesco, who continues to provide the Roosters with experience and attacking spark from the back. Outside him, Daniel Tupou remains a huge aerial and finishing threat, while Mark Nawaqanitawase gives Sydney another powerful runner who can turn half-chances into something much more dangerous – just look at his try last weekend, incredible skill.
The biggest storyline, however, is the halves combination. Daly Cherry-Evans and Hugo Savala will again steer the side, and Cherry-Evans has already experienced almost every possible finals scenario during his career. The DCE-Nicho Hynes battle as one of the defining individual contests of the match. The pair have only previously faced each other in a final once, back in 2021.
The Roosters don't necessarily need to play spectacular football. They need Cherry-Evans to control field position, Tedesco to pick the right moments to run, and their forwards to give the halves enough time to operate. And that forward pack is formidable. Naufahu Whyte, Lindsay Collins and Victor Radley will have a major role in trying to blunt the Sharks enormous middle. Reece Robson also brings plenty of aggression around the ruck, while Spencer Leniu is capable of changing the momentum of a game in a short period.
The Roosters have also received a significant boost with Angus Crichton named to return from his foot injury. He was a late withdrawal last week, but has been named on the bench this time around. Salesi Foketi also remains in the team after coming through his HIA.
Cronulla Sharks
Cronulla were pushed into sudden death after finishing fifth in the regular season and then responded impressively against North Queensland, beating the Cowboys 26-16. That victory was important not only because it kept their season alive, but because Cronulla had entered the finals after a difficult finish to the regular season.
Against North Queensland they had to survive a genuine finals battle. Against the Roosters, they will face a side that has already beaten them twice this year and possesses an experienced halfback who knows exactly how to manage a knockout game.
Now they earn another opportunity to prove that their best football is still good enough to beat the competition's heavyweights and there is plenty of quality in the Cronulla side. Nicho Hynes is the obvious starting point. When Hynes is controlling the game, the Sharks can attack from almost anywhere. His kicking game is particularly important against the Roosters because Sydney's defence is unlikely to hand Cronulla many cheap opportunities.
Hynes is joined in the halves by Braydon Trindall, while William Kennedy provides the attacking link from fullback. Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo give the Sharks genuine finishing power out wide. Addin Fonua-Blake is the man Cronulla will want leading the charge. Fonua-Blake Vs Whyte in the middle shapes as another major matchup. If Fonua-Blake can consistently win the early-contact exchanges, Cronulla can give Hynes and Trindall the platform they need.
The Sharks have made just one change from their previous finals victory, with Jayden Berrell recalled onto the bench. Niwhai Peru drops back to the reserves.
Odds
The visiting Cowboys will start as slight favourites, $1.47 to $2.75, the line is 8.5 points and combined points 45.5
The Betting Verdict
There is absolutely no room for error when the Sydney Roosters meet the Cronulla Sharks at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. This is Finals Week Two, and the equation is brutally simple: win and continue the premiership campaign, lose and your season is over. The winner will travel to Brisbane to face the Dolphins in the preliminary final.
It is a particularly intriguing contest because these two sides have already met twice during the 2026 regular season, with the Roosters winning both encounters. Sydney won 22-34 in April and then produced an even more convincing 27-8 5 tries to 2 victory in June. Cronulla therefore have to find a way to overturn a recent head-to-head pattern that has strongly favoured the Roosters.
But finals football changes the equation. The Sharks come into this one having survived a sudden-death clash with North Queensland, while the Roosters have had an extra week to stew over a narrow qualifying-final defeat to Penrith. That combination of desperation, experience and unfinished business makes this one of the most difficult games of the weekend to call.
The Middle Battle - Cronulla have Fonua-Blake, Jesse Colquhoun and Cameron McInnes leading their middle, while the Roosters counter with Whyte, Collins and Radley. The Roosters will want to slow Fonua-Blake's momentum and prevent Cronulla from consistently playing the ball quickly.
Sydney were involved in a heavyweight clash last weekend that was utterly brutal. The Roosters players will be battered and bruised after that one and that sets up very well for Cronulla here to claim a huge scalp and to make next weeks semi-final. The Stats are also heavily against the Roosters after playing Penrith teams have a very high losing rate the week following so I am leaning towards an upset here, at a minimum the points head start of +8.5 is a very decent lead in what should be a very tight contest.
Cronulla know they have been beaten by Sydney twice. They know exactly what went wrong. They will also know that another slow start could make the task almost impossible. For Sydney, the challenge is different. They need to avoid getting caught up in the emotion of a knockout game and trust their structure.
I don't expect a high-scoring shootout. I expect a tough, physical and relatively low-scoring semi-final, with the Sharks eventually finding the extra play or piece of individual class needed to progress to Brisbane.
The Pick :
Sydney Roosters 16-18 Cronulla Sharks
