What looms as the biggest mismatch of the season will be played out when the red-hot Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks welcome wooden spoon favourites the Newcastle Knights to Southern Cross Group Stadium this Sunday afternoon.
Two years after the aftermath of the ASADA scandal saw the club implode from within, resulting in a first wooden spoon since 1969, the club has rebuilt from the bottom up. With seven rounds remaining the Sharks are eyeing off their first minor premiership since 1999 and a maiden premiership title in their 50th year in the competition.
On the back of some smart recruiting since then, which has netted them the likes of Michael Ennis, Ben Barba and James Maloney, the Sharks have emerged this season as serious contenders for this year’s premiership title.
Representative players Paul Gallen and Andrew Fifita, as well as exciting winger Valentine Holmes, have also contributed to the Sharks’ excellent run of form this year which sees them lead the ladder with seven rounds to play before the finals.
They were slow to get going, losing two of their first three matches this season, but are undefeated since then, notching up 14 straight wins to shoot to the top of the ladder – one game ahead of the second-placed Melbourne Storm.
Their current winning streak, which included only one match when they were without Maloney, Gallen, Fifita, Wade Graham and Jack Bird due to Origin commitments, also included wins over the Storm, Broncos and Cowboys.
It is the longest in the NRL since the Bulldogs strung together 17 straight in 2002.
However, that year the Bulldogs breached the salary cap and eventually had 37 competition points deducted, when many believed they would win the premiership. Instead, they were sentenced to finish with the wooden spoon.
The Sharks have defeated every team they have played this season, though they did lose to the Cowboys and Sea Eagles in Rounds 1 and 3 respectively, while they are still to play the South Sydney Rabbitohs (Round 24).
Te Sharks will start rampaging favourites to defeat the Newcastle Knights, whose only victory this season came against the Wests Tigers in Round 6, at home this Sunday.
Already the two teams met at Hunter Stadium in Round 10 earlier this year and it was a match the Knights would rather forget. They were on the receiving end of a 62-0 thrashing, which just about sums up their struggles so far this season.
The Sharks’ thumping victory, which was half their current winning streak ago, was highlighted by a best-on-ground effort from Ben Barba as well as four tries from winger Valentine Holmes, both of whom don’t appear far away from a Queensland State of Origin debut next year.
On the flipside, the match was an absolute nightmare for Knights fans and the result got too much for Dane Gagai, who was seen in tears following the match.
In the end, it was the club’s worst ever defeat at home, eclipsing the 50-0 shutout against Parramatta in 2005, and was their second worst defeat ever behind only a 71-6 thrashing by the Brisbane Broncos in 2007.
As far as the Sharks were concerned, it equalled their biggest ever victory (equal with a 68-6 thrashing of Manly in late 2005) and eclipsed the 64-14 thrashing they dished out to the Knights back in 2002.
Ten rounds on and with only six rounds left before the finals after this weekend, nothing has changed at both camps, with the Sharks still without a defeat since Round 3 and the Knights without a win since Round 6.
While the Sharks are just three victories away from equalling the longest winning streak in the NRL since 2002, when as mentioned before the Bulldogs won 17 consecutive matches before being pinged for salary cap breaches, the Knights are just two losses away from equalling their worst losing streak first set in 2005.
At this rate it’ll be hard seeing Nathan Brown’s men springing a massive upset against the Sharks, which if they somehow do could give them some momentum as they attempt to avoid a second consecutive wooden spoon.
But in the end, the Sharks should notch up their 15th consecutive victory and show no mercy as they march towards a maiden premiership title, which would be the ultimate reward for the fans who have had to endure half a century of heartbreak since the club entered the competition in 1967.
It would also be the appropriate retirement gift for Paul Gallen, who started his career at the Shire in 2001 and has led the club through the turmoil of the ASADA scandal which threatened to bring the club to its knees.
At this stage Gallen, who comes out of contract at the end of this season, has yet to recommit to the Sharks and it’s believed he might play on in 2017 if the goal of not winning the premiership this year is achieved.
Leading his beloved Sharks to their maiden title would also be his second individual achievement after leading New South Wales to its only series victory in the past decade, in 2014.
But before the Sharks can dream of premiership glory, they must first focus on the task at hand, as well as the run home, which with a favourable draw could see them finish on top of the ladder for the first time since 1999.
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