Lachy MacCorquodale previews the final game of the round, featuring the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Vs Wests Tigers
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
Date: Sunday April 10, 4:05pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesSharks: 1. William Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicholas Hynes 8. Toby Rudolf 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Braden Hamlin-Uele 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Dale Finucane 14. Aiden Tolman 15. Cameron McInnes 16. Braydon Trindall 17. Andrew Fifita 18. Jack Williams 19. Mawene Hiroti 20. Lachlan Miller 21. Royce Hunt 22. Jonaiah Lualua 23. Kade Dykes 24. Franklin Pele
The Sharks have named an unchanged squad after their 18-point victory over the Newcastle Knights on Friday night.
Embed from Getty ImagesTigers: 1. Daine Laurie 2. David Nofoaluma 3. James Roberts 4. Oliver Gildart 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Jock Madden 7. Luke Brooks 8. James Tamou 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Zane Musgrove 11. Kelma Tuilagi 12. Luciano Leilua 13. Joe Ofahengaue 14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Alex Twal 16. Luke Garner 17. Alex Seyfarth 18. Starford To’a 19. Jake Simpkin 20. Thomas Mikaele 21. Austin Dias 22. Tukimihia Simpkins 23. Junior Tupou 24. Rua Ngatikaura
Despite remaining winless after their two-point loss to the Gold Coast Titans, the Tigers have named an unchanged line up for Sunday afternoon’s clash.
Referee: Adam Gee
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Cronulla Sharks have been in exceptional form to start the 2022 NRL season. They find themselves sitting in fourth place on the ladder, currently with a three-game win streak. The Sharks comfortably dealt with the Newcastle Knights last weekend, winning by 18-points as Siosifa Talakai put on a masterclass. The backrower playing in the centres, accumulated 223 run metres and broke an incredible 17 tackles as he caused absolute havoc down the left edge. It was no mean feat as the 24-year-old was opposing Queensland Origin star Dane Gagai, who himself has had an impressive start to the season.
The Sharks are proving themselves to be a genuine finals team through the first four rounds and that has been backed up by their two-point victory over the Parramatta Eels in their second match of the season. New signings, Nicho Hynes, Cameron McInnes, and Dale Finucane have all been exceptional for the Sharks so far this season and are a big reason behind their success so far this season. Hynes in particular has shown the competition that he is a quality halfback after assisting three tries and forcing two dropouts through the first four rounds of the season. The halfback kicked the Dragons to defeat in round three and you could expect him to attempt something similar against the struggling Tigers this Sunday.
The Tigers, on the other hand, are the only team that remain winless this season. The joint venture had a heart-breaking defeat to the Gold Coast Titans after a 79th minute match-winner from AJ Brimson. The Tigers failed to score a try last weekend and have scored the 15th most points so far this season with a mere 38 points in four games. Their lack of attack has arguably cost them wins over the past two weekends. In both games, the Tigers have found themselves in the contest for the full 80 minutes but have failed to land that final blow that would land them a win. It’s going to be tough for the Tigers to hang with the Sharks on Sunday, but they did manage to compete with the Melbourne Storm in the opening game of the season.
With the same team announced that lost to the Titans last week, it’s hard to see where the Tigers points will come from this Sunday. Tigers’ fans can hope that the combination between Jock Madden and Luke Brooks can provide some opportunities for their side as they play together for the third consecutive week. Having said that, the Tigers have only scored two tries in their two outings together this season. It hasn’t helped that they’ve come up with 25 errors and 19 penalties over the two past weeks and they’ll have to clean that up if they are to come away with the victory on Sunday afternoon.
Embed from Getty ImagesINTERESTING FACT
Funnily enough, the Sharks are the only one of three sides that the Tigers have a winning record against, the other two being North Queensland and Newcastle. The record between the two sides being 18 wins for the Tigers, 14 wins for Cronulla and a draw. Although, Cronulla have won seven of the last eight outings between the two sides. The two met in Round 23 last season, with the Sharks piling on 50 points as they defeated the Tigers by 20 points.
The Tigers have won eight of their 15 appearances at PointsBet Stadium, although they haven’t won at the venue since 2014. Meanwhile, the Sharks have won six of their past seven matches at their home ground and are undefeated there so far this season.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Cronulla Sharks by 14 points.
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