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Cronulla captain Wade Graham says Matt Moylan being dropped shows the Sharks know things have to change for them to make an impact in the NRL's finals.

Wade Graham insists Matt Moylan's axing has to be a line-in-the-sand moment for Cronulla to ensure they don't just make up the numbers come the NRL's finals.

Moylan was on Tuesday a shock omission from the eighth-placed Sharks side to face North Queensland on Saturday, left on an extended bench and outside the 17.

Rookie Connor Tracey has instead been named to partner Shaun Johnson in the halves, after Moylan missed seven tackles in Cronulla's 38-12 loss to Penrith.

It marks the first time the former NSW State of Origin player has been dropped on form since making his name at the Panthers in 2014.

Cronulla captain Graham had Moylan over for dinner on Tuesday night and expects the stint out to help him rebound quickly back into the team.

"(Matt)'s disappointed. More so with his performances than anything. He's obviously not happy with where his game is," Graham said.

"It shows where we're at as a team.

"As a team we're not happy with the level of consistency we're playing at. And neither are the coaching staff.

"They've made a decision to tweak the side and hopefully they can get a bit of a reaction as a team.

"We're getting to the time of the year where there's no second chances ... There has to be a line in the sand moment somewhere and hopefully this is it."

Cronulla's youngsters have also taken the 29-year-old's omission as a wake-up call, but one that shows the Sharks' form must change.

A win against the Cowboys will go a long way towards locking in their finals spot, keeping them at least four points clear of the chasing pack with four rounds to go.

But the Sharks know that matters little on their current trajectory.

While they have picked off bottom-eight teams with ease this year, Cronulla are regularly reminded they are yet to beat a team currently placed above them.

Making matters worse is that the aggregate score in those five games is 142-76, with clashes with Newcastle, the Sydney Roosters and Canberra still to come.

"It's not really about the wins or losses," Graham said.

"Obviously we need to win to secure the finals, but we need to be playing better footy.

"What's the point of getting to the finals if we toss something like that out against a quality team and get bundled out early.

"We have to challenge ourselves to be a lot better so if we do secure a finals run that we're not just making up the numbers."

Meanwhile the Sharks are hopeful on Andrew Fifita's return from a finger injury, with the star prop having trained with the team for the past week and a half.