Cooper Cronk has once again shared his unique perspective on the sport and life, suggesting that Cronulla might be better off finishing fifth or sixth instead of aiming for a top-four spot as they pursue their second NRL premiership.
Currently, Craig Fitzgibbon's squad is positioned fifth, with two matches left, and they could finish anywhere from third to seventh.
After the Sharks struggled through a match against a faltering Gold Coast on Sunday, Cronk offered his unconventional reasoning for this surprising theory.
When reminded that no team outside the top four has claimed a grand final victory in the NRL era, Cronk stated, "I don't think the Sharks can win the comp, but I think for them to progress through September, finishing five or six is their best chance."
Last season, the Sharks finished fifth, winning consecutive elimination finals before losing to Melbourne in the preliminary match.
In the 2024 season, the Sharks landed fourth but fell in the first week of the finals, later reaching the preliminary final before being defeated by Penrith.
As he joins Craig Bellamy as the only NRL coach to lead a team to finals in his first five years, Fitzgibbon hears doubts about the Sharks' ability to perform in September.
Earlier this month, he remarked, "What other people think of us won't be the determining factor of whether we will capitalise on how we're going or not. Sometimes you get things going your way and sometimes you don't."
Cronulla faces the unpredictable Parramatta on Sunday at CommBank Stadium, followed by a match against Melbourne in the final round. To secure fourth place, they need to win both games and rely on the Dolphins dropping at least one of their next two matches.