Shark Park hosted ten of Cronulla's regular season home games in 2026 despite its capacity of 15,000 being reduced further to 13,500 due to the reconstruction of the venue's Leagues Club.
With six of those matches coming against interstate or out-of-town opposition such as Newcastle, Cronulla made a strong case to the NRL to retain home ground advantage when the Sharks were drawn to play their elimination final against North Queensland Cowboys after finishing fifth on the ladder.
The fact that Shark Park also hosted an elimination final just last year against Sydney Roosters, drawing a crowd of 12,842, was seen as further evidence that Cronulla's home base would be able to serve as a suitable venue for this weekend's game.
The NRL has decided otherwise, opting for the 45,500-capacity Sydney Football Stadium despite the possibility of it being just half full, given the Cowboys are not going to attract enormous away support.
Traditionally, the league has allowed clubs to host Week 1 finals at their suburban home grounds, but has this time around opted for the potential of greater gate takings.
With the ground unlikely to be expanded beyond a capacity of about 18,000 in future renovations as the club continues to focus on improving its facilities, the prospect that Shark Park has hosted its last NRL final is all too real.
The decision was diplomatically condemned by returning prop Addin Fonua-Blake, who on Monday described the rule change as "a bit unfair".
"It's not ideal," Fonua-Blake explained.
"You work so hard during the year to get a home semi and for it to be taken away, it's unfair. It's the incentive for finishing higher on the ladder.
"To play in front of your home crowd, it feels like you have a 14th player on the field sometimes.
"It's a bit unfair, but what can you do? The call has been made above our heads.
"We've just got to cop it and get ready to go out and put in a good performance this weekend."
The other three home clubs for Week 1 will all be playing at regular home venues, including New Zealand Warriors who faced the prospect of having their home qualifying final moved from Mount Smart Stadium (capacity 25,000) to Eden Park (capacity 50,000).