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NRL finals preview: Cronulla Sharks vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

11th September, 2015
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Mick Ennis is all heart and soul... And grub. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Roar Guru
11th September, 2015
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Can the Cronulla Sharks continue their run toward a maiden premiership or will the South Sydney Rabbitohs progress as they hunt down back-to-back premierships?

The last game of finals week one will see the Cronulla Sharks and South Sydney Rabbitohs face off at Allianz Stadium in the second elimination final.

The Cronulla Sharks finished the regular season on a sour note, losing 10-12 against the Manly Sea Eagles. They will be looking to turn it around this week with a win over the Rabbitohs and see the return of star prop forward Andrew Fifita from suspension. If the Sharks are able to play their best football, they are a genuine shot at the big dance.

Fifita has been battling a calf injury, but it shouldn’t see him miss this one, and all reports state that he’s raring to go.

David Fifita, Andrew and Ben Barba have all been named on an extended seven-man bench in the only change from last week’s loss to the Sea Eagles.

Five-eighth Jack Bird has come along way from the Dragons’ U20s to super stardom. This will be the rookie’s first ever NRL finals series and he must relish the opportunity, and perform to the best of his ability in order to get Cronulla over the line.

Jeff Robson has a big role to play here, too, in organising the troops.

If Bird can come up with the right plays to involve his outside backs and spread the ball more as opposed to having the forwards chew up all the yardage, the Sharks will be within three wins of their first premiership.

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South Sydney have been down in form in recent weeks, last week surrendering to traditional rivals the Sydney Roosters 0-30.

This loss is just one of several thumpings, including a 12-47 loss at the hands of the Brisbane Broncos and an 18-32 loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the Bad Friday replay.

Notably, they have been without star fullback Greg Inglis, who has been battling a knee injury, but provides most of their thrust in attack.

Alex Johnston has deputised ably, but is not the game breaker that Inglis is. There’s a good reason he’s considered by many to be the best in the game.

Greg Inglis scoring for the Rabbitohs Greg Inglis has been struggling with injury this year. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

The Rabbitohs have not shown they were the defending premiers and have so far cruised through the season with a couple of brief glimpses of their best. South Sydney have a huge opportunity to prove that they are not just here to make up the numbers.

Michael Maguire has included Inglis in his squad to return at fullback. This move shifts Johnston back to the wing and sees Joel Reddy drop out of the side. David Tyrrell replaces the suspended George Burgess in the front row.

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Inglis’ return will have a huge impact on the Rabbitohs. They must turn their form around if they are to be a chance at becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Broncos in 1997 (Super League) and 1998.

The Maroons’ fullback must lead from the front and take more of a playmaker role. If Inglis can find the right gaps to run and the right plays with the men outside him, South Sydney will be unstoppable. For the Bunnies, it is all in the execution. If they play to their potential, they can score more than enough points to win.

The Sharks and Rabbitohs have met 27 times since 1998, the Sharks winning 15 of those encounters, South Sydney victorious on 12 occasions. They last met in Round 7 when the Sharks came out 18-10 victors in a Monday night riddled with torrential rain.

Prediction
The Rabbitohs will put in a great performance but it just won’t be enough to stop the Sharks.

Sharks by 4.

Join The Roar for our live coverage of the match from 4pm (AEST) with James Silver.

Game Information
Kickoff: 4.10pm (AEST)
Venue: Allianz Stadium
TV: Nine Network, Live
Last meeting: Sharks defeated Rabbitohs 18-10 (Round 7, 2015)
Head-to-head: 27 Played – Sharks 15, Rabbitohs 12
Sharks last three games: 12-14 versus Sharks, 35-28 versus Eels, 40-18 versus Tigers
Rabbitohs last three games: 0-30 versus Roosters, 12-47 versus Broncos, 18-32 versus Bulldogs

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Teams:

Cronulla Sharks
1 Michael Gordon, 2 Sosaia Feki, 3 Gerard Beale, 4 Ricky Leutele, 5 Valentine Holmes, 6 Jack Bird, 7 Jeff Robson, 8 Chris Heighington, 9 Michael Ennis, 10 Sam Tagataese, 11 Luke Lewis, 12 Wade Graham, 13 Paul Gallen (c)
14 Ben Barba, 15 Anthony Tupou, 16 Andrew Fifita, 17 Jayson Bukuya, 21 Tinirau Arona, 22 David Fifita

South Sydney Rabbitohs
1 Greg Inglis, 2 Alex Johnston, 3 Dylan Walker, 4 Kirisome Auva’a, 5 Bryson Goodwin, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Thomas Burgess, 9 Cameron McInnes, 10 David Tyrrell, 11 Glenn Stewart, 12 Chris McQueen, 13 Kyle Turner
14 Jason Clark, 15 Paul Carter, 16 Chris Grevsmuhl, 17 Tim Grant

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