Cronulla fans face the prospect of being locked out of its do-or-die elimination final with Sydney Roosters after the Sharks ground out a 24-6 victory over 12-man Canberra.

The Raiders’ spluttering season took a further body blow with winger Seb Kris sent off for an ugly second-half spear tackle on Cronulla winger Sione Katoa.

Kris’s certain suspension will likely mean he doesn’t play again this season, adding to the absences of Canberra’s State of Origin forwards Corey Horsburgh and Josh Papalii.

The Raiders will head to Newcastle next Sunday to take on the in-form Knights after Kris’s 60th minute send-off allowed the Sharks to take a stranglehold on the game.

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While both sides had already qualified for the top eight, Sunday’s meeting at PointsBet Stadium decided who would win hosting rights for week one of the series.

Cronulla will host again next Saturday against the Roosters but tickets are likely to be at premium given the venue is working at a limited capacity of 13,500 due to construction work.

A crowd of 12,750 was there for their final game of the regular season on Sunday, but the NRL might be left wondering how many more they could have fitted into the 42,000-seater Allianz Stadium at Moore Park for their meeting with the Roosters.

Despite the scoreline blowing out at the end, the Raiders were arguably the stronger of the two sides in a tight and tense sun-soaked afternoon.

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Jordan Rapana put the Green Machine ahead in the sixth minute when he nabbed a bomb out of the hands of Cronulla fullback Connor Tracey to touch down.

Jesse Ramien hit back for the Sharks soon after, but the kicking of Jamal Fogarty, who finished the evening with 724 metres from the boot, ensured the game was battle for territory.

Jack Williams jinked through some lazy Canberra defence to put the Sharks ahead early in the second half before Kris’s dismissal allowed Cronulla to run away with the game.

Braydon Trindall, Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo all crossed with the Raiders down to 12 as the Sharks registered their first win over Canberra in 10 games.

-AAP