The Cronulla Sharks will be looking to cause the upset of the season so far when they clash against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles tonight. Join us for live scores and blog from 7.00pm AEDT.
Although we are just two rounds into the new season, the Sharks already have their backs against the wall courtesy of last week’s very disappointing performance against the Newcastle Knights.
Coming off a golden point loss to the Wests Tigers in round one, the Sharks were expected to give Newcastle a run for their money playing in front of a vocal home crowd at Toyota stadium.
Cronulla however once again fumbled their way to an 18-6 loss to a Knights side that played no where near their best.
Last week’s result left coach Shane Flanagan fuming and the Sharks will have to produce a complete form turnaround if they are to even stand a chance of competing against Manly tonight.
In contrast, the Sea Eagles (along with Melbourne) have set the benchmark thus far in the NRL, winning their opening two matches against difficult opponents.
Manly triumphed over the Tigers last week despite trailing 8 nil early, and also boast an impressive win against the Warriors away from home.
Prediction:
At their best, the Sea Eagles have Cronulla’s measure across the park and should win comfortably if they replicate their performances against the Tigers and Warriors.
The only thing capable of derailing Manly tonight could be the off-field distraction surrounding Daly Cherry-Evans’ future at the Sea Eagles.
Cherry-Evans has reportedly asked for a release from Manly, given that the Sea Eagles apparently aren’t matching his market value.
Although Manly have shown no signs of being distracted by off field incidents in their performances so far, it will be interesting to see how Cherry-Evans performs on the back of increased media speculation surrounding his future.
Despite the off field conjecture, one expects Manly and Cherry-Evans to continue their rich vein of form tonight against a Sharks side who continue to look disorganised in attack.
To stand a chance against Manly, Cronulla recruit Todd Carney will have to shine, but in order to do so, the Sharks pack has to stand up and meet its potential.
Test stars Jeremy Smith, Paul Gallen and Anthony Tupou are great players with terrific offloading ability, but all three were quite against Newcastle last week.
If Smith, Tupou and Gallen can rediscover their offloading prowess, it may just lay the foundation for Carney to spark Cronulla’s attack.
The Sharks will certainly have to score a few points if they are to match the Sea Eagles tonight.
Big names Tony Williams, Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart, David Williams, Kieran Foran and Anthony Watmough are just some of the great attacking players that make up a formidable Manly attack.
Given what we have seen so far from both teams, it will only take strong performances from some of Manly’s stars to get the Sea Eagles home tonight.
Sea Eagles by 14.
Can the Sea Eagles shrug off the off-field salary cap issues and keep the Sharks winless? It’s an all-Sydney matchup on Monday night and we’ll have live commentary and a blog from the kick-off at 7.00pm AEDT, so if you’re watching or following along, make sure you give us a comment in the space below.
JVGO
Guest
Robson had an excellent debut. Controlled the game and directed the hard running forwards well. But when Pomeroy went off in the second half and Graham went into the centres this opened up the left side for Manly in the comeback. up till then Poms had been burying them.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
How sweet it is. The Sharks played dry weather football in the wet,and rarely dropped the ball.Contrast with last week dry weather,and a litany of dropped ball.
Alan
Roar Guru
What a win for the Sharks that could potentially ignite their season. They were superb against Manly and completely dominated the reigning premiers, racing out to a 17 nil lead early on in the first half. The Sharks will be able to belt out the team song for the first time in ten NRL matches. Cronulla were on a nine match losing streak but it has finally ended tonight against Manly. Gallen, Tupou, Bakuya, Smith, Carney, Ross, Gardner and Robson were superb for Cronulla as were the rest of the Sharks line-up. Cronulla executed a very simple yet effective game plan which saw them control possession very well. Manly fought back well in the second half but it wasn't enough as Cronulla held firm in defence. Cronulla have shown that they do possess the intensity required to beat the best teams in the NRL. Can they build on from here? Thanks for joining us for this live blog and we look forward to your company next time on The Roar. Leave your thoughts on the Sharks epic upset over the Sea Eagles. Fulltime: Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
FULLTIME: Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
79' - Manly lose the football as they play some razzle dazzle football but Lyon drops the football. The Sharks will win. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
79' - Sharks lose possession and Manly will get one last chance to score the winner. Gallen was the man to lose possession. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
78' - Manly lose possession and the Sharks will get the football back. They will go on the attack. Will they hold on? Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
CONVERSION UNSUCCESSFUL - lyon misses from the sideline and its now 17-14 to Manly. What a finish we have coming up! Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
TRY SEA EAGLES - Oldfield scores for Manly and its back to back tries for the Sea Eagles!! Great play from Manly. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 14
Alan
Roar Guru
76' - Four minutes left here and that field goal from Carney has become massively important for the Sharks because they still have seven point buffer. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 10
Alan
Roar Guru
CONVERSION SUCCESSFUL - Lyon converts and its 17-10 now. Sharks will get nervous now. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 10
Alan
Roar Guru
TRY SEA EAGLES - Stewart scores for Manly as he grounds a great grubber from Foran. Big play from the Manly fullback. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 8
Alan
Roar Guru
VIDEO REFEREE - Stewart looks to have grounded the football here for Manly as play is waved on. Gardner is eventually tackled and the referee can go upstairs. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4
Alan
Roar Guru
73' - Penalty to the Sea Eagles now as Carney strips the football. Manly have to score in this set now if they are a chance. Sharks have to hold on. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4
Alan
Roar Guru
72' - Robson kicks deep and Stewart has to play at the football. Great kick from Robson as the Sharks muscle up in defence. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4
Alan
Roar Guru
71' - Cherry Evans with a high kick and Gardner defuses the situation well. Sharks continue to perform very well in defence. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4
Alan
Roar Guru
70' - 20 metre restart for Manly here but they need to do something very quickly here. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4
Alan
Roar Guru
70' - Carney with a cross field kick but Manly look to have defused the situation here.
Alan
Roar Guru
68' - Line drop out for the Sharks as Carney's cross field kick is batted dead by Manly. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4
Alan
Roar Guru
68'- Manly knock the football down and the Sharks get six again. Sharks with a great chance to kill off the contest here. Sharks 17 Sea Eagles 4