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Sport Nation
Sharks' premiership hopes rocked after skipper's season-ending injury
Sam Kosack • August 18th, 2025 8:19 pm
The Sharks premiership hopes have taken a serious hit after scans confirmed Cameron McInnes suffered a ruptured ACL injury in Round 24.
Cronulla’s captain will miss the remainder of the season and likely the start of next season as he begins the nine-month recovery.
McInnes has played every game for the Sharks in 2025, averaging just under 40 tackles a game and 100 run metres.
SEN’s Bryan Fletcher thinks McInnes’s absence will greatly hamper the Sharks defence, where they currently rank 7th in the NRL.
“(It’s) big big big,” Fletcher said in regards to the impact on Cronulla’s season.
“We know how hard he is on himself at training and others, which brings up the standard so when he’s not there, bit like Jake (Trbojevic) around the ruck yesterday.
“It’ll be noticeable when he’s not there, with all the clean-up he does, so it makes it a little bit harder for the Sharks.”
Questions remain over who fills McInnes’s role in the side, with no obvious replacements given how integral McInnes is to the Cronulla side.
Hohepa Puru looms as a potential replacement, being the most recognised lock in the Sharks’ side outside of their skipper.
The Manly Sea Eagles are also likely to be without Jake Trbojevic for the remainder of the season.
The preference of Sea Eagles officials is that their workhorse rest for the remainder of the season after suffering his third concussion this season against the Raiders during Round 23.
It would mean Trbojevic misses the farewell run of his long-term teammate Daly Cherry-Evans, who will play his 350th game against The Dolphins in front of the Brookvale faithful.
