Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 22 clash between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
Date: Saturday August 3, 7:35pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Sharks: 1. William Kennedy, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Kayal Iro, 5. Samuel Stonestreet, 6. Daniel Atkinson, 7. Braydon Trindall, 8. Royce Hunt, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Oregon Kaufusi, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Teig Wilton, 13. Cameron McInnes, 14. Siosifa Talakai, 15. Jack Williams, 16. Toby Rudolf, 17. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 18. Jayden Berrell, 19. Billy Burns, 20. Niwhai Puru, 21. Tom Rodwell, 22. Liam Ison
Rabbitohs: 1. Jye Gray, 2. Fletcher Myers, 3. Taane Milne, 4. Richard Kennar, 5. Jacob Gagai, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Cody Walker, 8. Davvy Moale, 9. Damien Cook, 10. Sean Keppie, 11. Cameron Murray, 12. Jacob Host, 13. Keaon Koloamatangi, 14. Michael Chee Kam, 15. Siliva Havili, 16. Thomas Burgess, 17. Tallis Duncan, 18. Dion Teaupa, 19. Peter Mamouzelos, 20. Shaquai Mitchell, 21. Liam Le Blanc, 22. Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson
Referee: Liam Kennedy
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Another round of Super Saturday concludes in the Shire, with fourth-placed Cronulla taking on 15th-placed South Sydney. Looking at recent form you’d be forgiven for thinking these teams swapped rankings as the Sharks have lost four out of their last five matches, while Souths have won three out of their last five. Despite this, Cronulla do go into this game as short priced favourites and have won the last two meetings between the two sides, including a 34-22 win in round 6 this year.
The Sharks were handed a massive boost in their team news this week, welcoming back three regular first grade players. Front rower Royce Hunt returns from an illness, fullback Will Kennedy served his suspension, and Jack Williams recovered from a sprained wrist. Unfortunately with this comes some important omissions: try-scoring machine Ronaldo Mulitalo is out with a knee injury, and another try scoring machine (in front rower terms), Tom Hazelton is out with a foot injury. Sam Stonestreet, who is a popular young winger at the Sharks, will fill the void for Mulitalo. Stonestreet has impressed in his lower grade performances, and will look to prove he is first grade-worthy, whilst Mulitalo is on the sidelines. Williams’ return from injury is extremely timely as he will slot in for Hazelton. Will Kennedy has made fullback his permanent home at Cronulla, so no surprises to see him slot straight back into that role.
South Sydney had some good momentum over the last month, but struck another hurdle last weekend losing to Canberra 32-12 in freezing conditions – all but ending their hopes of sneaking into the top eight. However, there is still a job to do and a mathematical chance so Souths have to brush it off and focus on the job at hand. Helping with this focus will be the return of their captain and Origin forward Cameron Murray. Before we go into other Souths changes, interim head coach Ben Hornby has handed a debut to Fletcher Myers, who’s been given the nod to start on the wing after Alex Johnston’s nasty Achilles injury sustained last week. Here at Nothing But League we wish him good luck on his debut. Souths have made another backline change, with Richie Kennar returning back into his right centre spot. He has done an admirable job filling that slot this year – that is usually filled by Campbell Graham – who last week confirmed he will not be back in 2024.
The Sharks are a team that show promise and premiership potential one week, and then all that is quickly forgotten the next. Trindall has done a great job in the halves, while Hynes has been out with injury, but these injuries are what can be the difference between being pretenders and contenders in this tough competition. I predict the Sharks will win this match on Saturday night, but nothing shocks me in rugby league anymore. and Souths have shown enough capability in their game when they’re on song, and they can certainly win this match.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Sharks by 6 points.
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