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Manly will be forced to face Canterbury at Accor Stadium in the opening week of the NRL finals, after being beaten 40-20 by Cronulla.

The NRL can dream of a crowd of more than 50,000 at Accor Stadium next week, after Manly blew their shot at a home final with a 40-20 loss to Cronulla.

Needing a win to claim hosting rights for next Sunday's elimination final against Canterbury, Manly fell to their biggest defeat of the year.

They were left wanting defensively either side of halftime, and desperately missed injured fullback Tom Trbojevic in attack ahead of his anticipated return next week.

Cronulla, in contrast, were as polished as they have been in a long time after slipping behind 8-6 early.

Already locked into fourth spot and a trip to Melbourne for their qualifying final, the Sharks grew more confident in attack as the game went on.

The win made them only the second team to beat Manly at Brookvale this year, with Braydon Trindall again producing the goods in the halves.

Had Manly won, it is likely a week-long debate would have ensued around venue requirements for finals given the 17,400 capacity at 4 Pines Park.

Instead, it's expected a crowd of more than 50,000 could attend Accor Stadium on Saturday night, which would be the highest of the NRL era for a first-week final in Sydney.

Canterbury and Manly drew 35,502 fans to Accor for the less-than-desirable Friday 6pm timeslot on August 30, and far more would be expected for a knockout final.

Manly beat the Bulldogs 34-22 in that last meeting, but will need to be much improved next week against a Canterbury side that has also shown frailties in the past fortnight. 

Regardless, coach Anthony Seibold was adamant the Sea Eagles are ready to make a deep finals run.

"Other than the Sharks we have beaten every side in the top eight. That's the evidence we have," Seibold said.

"And we want to continue to sell that evidence to the players. I want them to believe as much as their coaches do.

"If we're somewhere near our best we'll be a chance to perform really well. Then it comes down to moments in big games."

Manly had success out wide early and a damaging Haumole Olakau'atu run briefly put them back in the game in the second half.

But otherwise Manly were well below their best as they let in the most points they have all year.

They finished the game with 41 missed tackles, as Cronulla cut them open through the middle and on the edges.

The Sharks have already won in Melbourne once this year, but Sunday was the perfect warm-up.

They weathered Manly's early physicality, and had winger Sione Katoa score once and fellow winger Ronaldo Mulitalo twice.

Tom Hazleton laid on another try for the Sharks when he passed before the line for Jack Williams, but finished the game off the field with a knee complaint.

Sharks back-rower Briton Nikora also bagged a second-half double, with his second coming in easy fashion when he ran on to a Trindall ball and burst through.

Cronulla's only other real concerns were Jesse Ramien being placed on report for a high shot, and Teig Wilton for a hip-drop tackle.

"We had to earn everything we got out of that game, and that was the most pleasing bit," Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.

"We stayed connected and played together. But that's done now. We can relax, recover from that and get ready for next week."