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The Warriors were less than convincing in that second half but have still got away with a 4-point win against the Sharks.
Plenty of dropped ball today. Politoni had a big chance to set up Michael Gordon but failed to find the flyer.
The win moves the Warriors into eighth and they’ll face the Knights next week.
FINAL SCORE:
Warriors 16
Sharks 12
The Cronulla Sharks make the trip across the ditch to face the in-form New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:45pm (AEST).
Last week the Warriors hammered cellar dwellers Canberra 54-18 and Cronulla will be hoping to avoid the same fate, entering the match having gone down 32-12 to the Eels.
CATCH UP ON THE LATEST NRL HIGHLIGHTS:
>>Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs
>>Manly Sea Eagles vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
>>Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
>>Newcastle Knights vs Melbourne Storm
A win for the Warriors will see them begin to consolidate their eighth place whilst a loss for Cronulla could see them remain anchored in sixteenth place.
The Warriors though will be without halfback Shaun Johnson and centre Konrad Hurrell. Ngani Laumape moves to the centres with Tuimoala Lolohea taking his place on the wing.
Thomas Leuluai will remain at halfback with Jayson Bukuya coming off the bench against his former team.
For Cronulla, they welcome back captain Paul Gallen, but have lost Luke Lewis, Jacob Gagan, Wade Graham and Anthony Tupou, all due to injury.
Junior Roqica, Matt Prior and Tim Robinson have joined an extended bench, whilst former Warrior, Sosaia Feki will line up against Manu Vatuvei.
The biggest danger for the Warriors appears to be their own mindset following a big win. In every match they’ve played this season, following a 20-point win, they’ve lost.
The Warriors though, will be primed for a big match, especially against a Cronulla side that has retreated more than the French military, having given up 30,461 metres so far this season.
The men from Auckland love to throw the ball around and should they begin to do that, it could be a long and lonely afternoon for Cronulla.
The big match-ups will be seen in the middle with Andrew Fifita and Paul Gallen, leading the way against Jacob Lillyman and Simon Mannering. Gallen’s return will be a big boost for Cronulla whilst Jacob Lillyman has been one of the form props this season.
This match will be one that the Warriors will look to break their Cronulla hoodoo, having lost five consecutive games to the men from the Shire.
I struggle to see how Cronulla can match it against the Warriors today. Even without Johnson and Hurrell, the Warriors have points in them across the park and are against a team who blew opportunity after opportunity against the Eels.
The loss of Lewis and Tupou will be felt and with an inexperienced centre/wing combination in Feki and Leutele – you can expect plenty of traffic down that side.
The Warriors will simply be too strong this afternoon.
Warriors by 16.
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