Cronulla will be the first team in 25 years to play finals football without having beaten a top-eight side during the regular season.

Saturday’s 38-28 loss to Canberra was their eighth defeat to a finals-bound side this season, a stat made worse considering the calibre of players rested by the Raiders.

Without Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, George Williams, Jarrod Croker, John Bateman, Jordan Rapana and Josh Papalii, the Raiders simply unleashed new and old stars.

Rookie hooker Tom Starling and back-up halfback Sam Williams – who captained the side for the first time in Croker’s absence – starred in the resounding win.

In his 15th NRL game Starling created havoc through the Sharks’ middle with three line-breaks, a try and a try assist in the first half alone.

The 22-year-old burrowed through close to the line to give the Raiders an 18-4 lead midway through the first half.

And after another line break through sloppy defence, he chipped through for Williams to score a brilliant try in the 28th minute.

It was a special moment for the 29-year-old Williams, who was a regular starter for the Raiders over seven seasons but played his first game of the year on Saturday.

While the Raiders were undermanned, the Sharks were undercooked and had their own problems.

It was a less than ideal precursor to their finals campaign, which could start with a re-match against Canberra next week.

Skipper Wade Graham returned from suspension at five-eighth, making it the third time in six games the Sharks have been without their first-choice halves Shaun Johnson and Chad Townsend.

However, attack was not the issue – it was defence.

Of the seven tries conceded the Sharks were most leaky through the middle.

Quick scores from Graham and Bryson Goodwin gave Cronulla a glimmer of hope midway through the second half but their hard work was all undone on the next set.

The Raiders forced a dropout with a strong chase from the kick off, but the return kick from Graham landed flush in the arms of winger Harley Smith-Shields who ran 30 metres to score.

The brain fade moment gave the Raiders a 38-22 lead that was too big to chase for the disorganised Sharks.

They will now be the first team since North Sydney in 1995 to go into the play-offs not having beaten any of the other finalists.

Meanwhile, Raiders forward Ryan Sutton was taken from the field in the first half with a suspected MCL injury, although there was some concern about possible ACL damage.