Cronulla-Sutherland 28–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs — Elimination Final, 2015 NRL Finals Series
13 Sep 2015 · Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 27,031
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Elimination Final, 2015 NRL finals series: Cronulla-Sutherland 28–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs, at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 13 Sep 2015.
Sourcing caveat: Try-scoring and goal-kicking minutes could not be confirmed from sources checked. rugbyleagueproject.org's own database labels this fixture 'Qualifying Final' despite it being structurally an Elimination Final by ladder seeding (6th v 7th) — this site follows the structural/media convention instead. No official player-of-the-match award could be confirmed.
Scorers
| Cronulla-Sutherland | Tries: Bird; Graham; Tagataese; Tupou Goals: Gordon (6/6 conversions) |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | Tries: Grevsmuhl; Walker Goals: Reynolds (2/2 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Cronulla-Sutherland | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Gordon | Fullback | Greg Inglis (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Sosaia Feki | Wing | Alex Johnston | 2 |
| 3 | Gerard Beale | Centre | Dylan Walker | 3 |
| 4 | Ricky Leutele | Centre | Kirisome Auva'a | 4 |
| 5 | Valentine Holmes | Wing | Bryson Goodwin | 5 |
| 6 | Jack Bird | Five-Eighth | Luke Keary | 6 |
| 7 | Jeff Robson | Halfback | Adam Reynolds | 7 |
| 8 | Chris Heighington | Prop | Thomas Burgess | 8 |
| 9 | Michael Ennis | Hooker | Cameron McInnes | 9 |
| 10 | Sam Tagataese | Prop | Dave Tyrrell | 10 |
| 11 | Luke Lewis | Second-Row | Chris McQueen | 12 |
| 12 | Wade Graham | Second-Row | Chris Grevsmuhl | 16 |
| 13 | Paul Gallen (c) | Lock | Kyle Turner | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Ben Barba | Glenn Stewart | 11 | |
| 15 | Anthony Tupou | Jason Clark | 14 | |
| 16 | Andrew Fifita | Paul Carter | 15 | |
| 17 | Jayson Bukuya | Tim Grant | 17 | |
| Shane Flanagan | Coach | Michael Maguire | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Matt Cecchin and Ashley Klein (two-referee system) |
Match report
Third-placed Cronulla dominated defending premiers South Sydney from the outset at Allianz Stadium, building an 18-0 half-time lead and controlling possession through the ruck work of hooker Michael Ennis and forward Wade Graham, who also crossed for a try. Jack Bird, Sam Tagataese and Anthony Tupou added further tries as the Sharks ran out comfortable 28-12 winners, with fullback Michael Gordon landing all six of his conversion attempts. South Sydney, missing suspended prop George Burgess and fielding fullback Greg Inglis only weeks removed from knee surgery, managed tries to Chris Grevsmuhl and Dylan Walker but could not threaten a comeback. The result eliminated the reigning premiers from the finals series and sent Cronulla through to face North Queensland in the second semi-final. Sharks hooker Michael Ennis, Souths five-eighth Luke Keary and fullback Greg Inglis were all placed on report for high-tackle-related incidents, though none were sin-binned.