The Sharks enter Sunday's showdown with Parramatta desperate to win their final two games against the Eels and Melbourne, knowing that may be enough to claim fourth spot.
History has long dictated teams must finish in the top four to win the title, with no team having done so from fifth or below since Canterbury in 1995.
But Cronulla do have reason to believe they can compete from anywhere in September.
The Sharks have a 8-6 record against sides still in finals contention this year, including two wins over the Warriors and a 66-0 defeat of the Dolphins.
"The title doesn't belong to anyone," prop Addin Fonua-Blake said.
"You don't just get it because you're in the top four. You have to win it. You have to rock up and be willing to do the tough stuff from the get go.
"We believe we can do that.
"We're going to fight hard to get in the top four, but if we don't we're going to hold our gloves up and go after it anyway."
The Sharks' record against top-10 teams is equal with the Dolphins, with only the Sydney Roosters (9-4) and Penrith's (7-4) better headed into this round.
Cronulla made a run from outside the top four last year, reaching the preliminary final from fifth.
"It's always the same case, I am pretty sure the talk is about us not playing at home and our portaloo stadium," Ronaldo Mulitalo said.
"It's that time of the year, talk of the long way around and all that other jazz.
"But it's about what happens in these four walls and the belief we have in amongst us regardless of who thinks we can or can't.
"At the end of the day we have to get results. It would be pretty trashy for me to sit here and tell you what we're going to do if we don't do it.
"Actions based is what we want to be about, lip service isn't the thing you want to be about in this game."
Cronulla are confident five-eighth Braydon Trindall is nearing a return from a shoulder dislocation after the Sharks put off surgery.
Trindall has been Cronulla's best this year, with a likely scenario being the playmaker returns for knockout finals.
"He waned to play this week, but we've got to make sure we get it right," coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.
"He's had a good result out of what happened.
"When we put him back out there needs to be mitigating risk. I will trust our medical guys on whether it's worth pushing that risk."
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