Sharks update: Fitzgibbon sweats on Origin trio ahead of Manly clash

Cronulla head coach Craig Fitzgibbon has provided an update about the club’s trio of Origin stars ahead of the Round 13 clash against Manly.

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“It was a proud moment to see three Sharks make their debut in the Origin arena,” Fitzgibbon said on Thursday morning, himself an 11-game NSW Blues veteran.

“It’s certainly not lost on them how important it is for their career to represent the Sharks well, everyone at the club is incredibly proud.”

Asked about the status of Blayke Brailey, Addin Fonua-Blake and Briton Nikora for Friday’s night NRL match, the coach was hopeful all three will back up.

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“They’ll come in this morning (Thursday), we’ll assess them and see how they go, but I think they pulled up okay,” he said.

“All things being well we hope they’ll play, but we won’t be taking any risks either—they’re important to our team and we want to make sure they’re fit and firing if we put them out there.”

‘We’re really excited for him’

Origin stars or not, one man who will definitely be missing is No.7 Nicho Hynes who has picked up a calf strain and is replaced by 24-year-old debutant Niwhai Puru.

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“Niwhai has been with us for four years, he’s been working really hard on his game and he’s been ready for some time (to make his NRL debut),” Fitzgibbon said.

“Last year we only had one round when we missed a half and at that time Niwhai had just torn his pec muscle, he’s missed a number of opportunities through injury so we’re really excited for him.”

Niwhai’s twin brother Hohepa made his own NRL starting debut in Magic Round in place of Sharks captain Blayke Brailey who was in concussion protocols.

“I’m sure it will be proud moment for their family later today when we do the jersey presentation (for Niwhai),” Fitzgibbon added.

At the other end of the NRL career spectrum, veteran forward Cam McInnes will play his 100th game for the Sharks against the Sea Eagles on Friday night. 

Fitzgibbon said the club has ‘heavy hearts’ with the 32-year-old recently confirming he will depart Cronulla for Super League at the end of the 2026 season.

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