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St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks highlights: Dragons stun Sharks

13th August, 2016
Kickoff: 7:30pm (AEST)
Venue: UOW Jubilee Oval, Sydney (formally Kogarah Oval)
Referees: Gerard Sutton and Chris Butler
TV: Live FoxSports 1 from 7:30pm (AEST)
Betting: St George $4.20, draw $31, Cronulla $1.25

Dragons:
1. Josh Dugan 2. Kurt Mann 3. Euan Aitken 4. Taane Milne 5. Jason Nightingale 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Benji Marshall 8. Russell Packer 9. Mitch Rein 10. Michael Cooper 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Joel Thompson 13. Jack de Belin.
Interchange: 14. Tariq Sims 15. Will Matthews 16. Jacob Host 17. Jake Marketo 21. Luciano Leilua

Sharks:
1 Ben Barba 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Jack Bird 4 Gerard Beale 5 Valentine Holmes 6 James Maloney 7 Chad Townsend 8 Andrew Fifita 9 Michael Ennis 10 Matt Prior 11 Luke Lewis 12 Wade Graham 13 Paul Gallen
Interchange: 14 Ricky Leutele 15 Chris Heighington 16 Jayson Bukuya 17 Joseph Paulo
The St George Illawarra Dragons have not been great lately, but they could improve in 2017. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Editor
13th August, 2016
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Match result:

The Dragons have pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season, knocking off the Sharks by 14 points on Satuday night.

» Click here to read the full match report

Final score
Dragons 32
Sharks 18

Match preview:

With their undefeated streak behind them, the Cronulla Sharks continue their quest for a maiden NRL title as they battle the St George Illawarra Dragons away from home. Join The Roar from 7:30pm (AEST) for all the live highlights and action.

The Sharks ended their 15-game winning streak with an intense golden point draw with the Titans in Round 21, before losing the undefeated streak all together a week later to the Raiders.

The surprise loss to the Canberra side last round has put them back behind Melbourne Storm into second spot, after spending the better part of three months leading the pack.

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Despite the loss of position though, the Sharks are still five points clear of third-placed Bulldogs with just four rounds to go.

The Dragons, on the other hand, haven’t quite enjoyed such a stellar winning streak in 2016, as they hunt for an unlikely top eight spot in the last four games.

Sitting down in 12th at the moment, St George have lost their five games in a row with only a bye breaking up the streak.

The Dragons task won’t be getting any easier either, coming up against a Cronulla side with the second best attack in the competition, averaging nearly 26 points per game.

In the same discipline, the Dragons are down in third last with just 12 points per game.

These two have also already played this year in what was a forgettable performance by the Dragons, letting in 30 points in the last 47 minutes to lose by 28.

And just to keep the stats rolling, the Dragons score the least amount of second half points in the competition, with just 99 after halftime across the whole year.

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Averaging just five points in the second half for 2016, they have been outscored 221-99 in the final forty minutes of matches.

Team News
For the Dragons, fullback Josh Dugan finally returns from a jaw injury for his first game since State of Origin three.

Joel Thompson and Tyson Frizell also make their way into the lineup, both returning from suspension.

Will Matthews will be pushed back to the bench because of the changes, but Adam Quinlan and Tyrone McCarthy have been dropped completely from the match day squad.

The Sharks have also made three alterations to their side that lost to Canberra last week, with retiring veteran Michael Ennis recovering from a virus and being cleared to return mid week.

Sam Tagataese and Fa’amanu Brown have been dropped to make way for Joseph Paulo and Ricky Leutele on the bench.

Prediction
The Sharks have had a tough couple of winless weeks but they’ll be hoping to bounce back from the winning streak hangover and keep their hopes at the minor premiership kicking.

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The Dragons only went down by four points last week to the Broncos, but they were fairly comfortably beaten across the park and didn’t look as threatening as the scoreline suggests.

The Sharks should get the job done tonight. I just can’t see the Dragons taking the fight to Cronulla for the full 80 despite their unpredictable style of play.

Sharks to win by 20

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