There have been plenty of monster efforts this NRL season—but one Sydney club boasts a remarkable defensive pairing who continue to carry a staggering workload for their team.
Despite Cronulla ranking just ninth in the NRL for total tackles made in 2025, two Sharks forwards are currently in the top four tacklers for the entire competition, repeating their herculean feats from the 2024 season.
After Round 20, tireless Sharks number nine Blayke Brailey sits alone in first place ahead of second-placed Wests Tigers prop, Terrell May.
The blossoming 26-year-old continues to rack up big numbers for Craig Fitzgibbon’s Sharks, with 819 tackles in 18 games at an average of 45.5 per match.
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Brailey’s biggest defensive workload this season came back in Round 1 against the Panthers with 61 tackles, whilst his lowest was still an impressive 34 in the Round 3 win over the Rabbitohs.
Meanwhile, Brailey’s seemingly indestructible captain Cameron McInnes isn’t too far behind, currently sitting fourth on the NRL tackles list with 746 at an average of 41.4 tackles per match.
A combined 1,565 tackle count
Perhaps most impressively of all, with a combined 1,565 tackle count after Round 20, it means Brailey and McInnes have been involved in a quarter of all tackles made by the entire Cronulla squad during the 2025 NRL season.
Third on the list for the Sharks is second rower Briton Nikora with 544 tackles at an average of 30.7 per match.
The only other club to have two players in the current NRL top ten tacklers is the Newcastle Knights with Phoenix Crossland in fifth and Kai Pearce-Paul in tenth.
NRL top tacklers after Round 20
1. Blayke Brailey, Sharks | 819 (18 matches) |
2. Terrell May, Tigers | 761 (18) |
3. Reed Mahoney, Bulldogs | 747 (17) |
4. Cameron McInnes, Sharks | 746 (18) |
5. Phoenix Crossland, Knights | 722 (18) |
Source: NRL.com