Matt Attard previews the Round 24 clash between the Sharks and the Bulldogs. Here’s what we have to look forward to. …
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
Date: Saturday August 27, 5:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesSharks: 1. Lachlan Miller 2. Matt Ikuvalu 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Royce Hunt 11. Briton Nikora 12. Wade Graham 13. Dale Finucane 14. Teig Wilton 15. Cameron McInnes 16. Aiden Tolman 17. Andrew Fifita 18. Braydon Trindall 19. Jesse Colquhoun 20. Franklin Pele 21. Kayal Iro 22. Luke Metcalf
Siosifa Talakai returns from a shoulder injury while Connor Tracey is out.
Embed from Getty ImagesBulldogs: 1. Jake Averillo 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Aaron Schoupp 4. Braidon Burns 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Max King 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Josh Jackson 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Luke Thompson 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Joe Stimson 16. Harrison Edwards 17. Chris Patolo 19. Declan Casey 20. Bailey Biondi-Odo 21. Jackson Topine 22. Kurtis Morrin 23. Jeral Skelton
Luke Thompson is out with COVID-19 while Tevita Pangai jnr has been dropped to NSW Cup. Chris Patolo has been included on the extended bench.
Referee: Todd Smith
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
What Craig Fitzgibbon has done at Cronulla is nothing short of spectacular and he’s a huge reason they sit in the top four.
Their form this season, led by halfback Nicho Hynes, has been fantastic and you can expect that to continue here against a Bulldogs team who look like they’re ready for a long break before Cameron Ciraldo takes over in November.
Boy oh boy, the Bulldogs’ bubble sure has burst. In a big way. They were in supreme form up until their clash with the Cowboys in Bundaberg in Round 21.
Even that game was a close one, with the Bulldogs digging deep. After that it was two very poor performances and big losses against the Warriors and the Eels.
While Cronulla continue to impress across the park, the Bulldogs’ defence in particular has gone backwards.
One thing the Sharks do well is utilise their outside backs. They make tremendous metres and their finishing is amongst the best in the league. On the other side of the field will be some of the worst edge defence in the competition.
It would be no surprise if Cronulla were to put on a cricket score in front of their home crowd for what is Andrew Fifita’s farewell game.
Embed from Getty ImagesINTERESTING FACT
Cronulla-Sutherland and Canterbury-Bankstown were two of the three suburban Sydney teams (along with Penrith) to join Super League.
The Sharks finished second, beat third-place Canberra twice in the Final Five, but lost 26-8 to Brisbane in the grand final.
Canterbury finished fourth but lost to Penrith in the elimination final.
They both played in Pool A of the World Club Championship. Cronulla (6-0) finished third, while Canterbury (4-2) finished sixth and last – an indication of how ridiculous the WCC was. The Sharks lost their semi-final to the Hunter Mariners.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Sharks by 24.
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