Sharks set to face their biggest test yet against high-flying Broncos

Currently the best-placed Sydney-based side after eight rounds of the NRL, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks’ premiership credentials will be put to the test when they face the Brisbane Broncos at Southern Cross Group Stadium this Sunday afternoon.

The Sharks continued their impressive start to the 2016 season when they defeated the Penrith Panthers 20-18 to win their fifth consecutive match, which comes after they had lost two of their first three.

To be fair, though, the two losses came against reigning premiers the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, where the Sharks are without a victory since 2008.

However, their only victory against a higher-ranked side came against the Melbourne Storm at home in Round 4, and it was that victory which kick-started the five-match winning streak which the Sharks are currently enjoying.

The club’s good form has come on the back of their key players, including captain Paul Gallen, who has just been named in the Kangaroos side to take on New Zealand next week, as well as hooker Michael Ennis and fullback Ben Barba.

Barba, in particular, has rediscovered the form that saw him take out the Dally M Medal en route to guiding the Bulldogs to the grand final in 2012. If there is one man who will be fired up more than ever to face the Broncos, it’s him.

When Barba arrived at the Broncos for the 2014 season, many saw him as the saviour and expectations elevated for a club which in 2013 endured its worst ever season since entering the competition in 1988.

But despite playing all 25 games in 2014, Barba never really lived up to his price tag, and when Wayne Bennett returned to Red Hill, succeeding the sacked Anthony Griffin in the process, the mastercoach made the huge call to send him packing.

The Sharks, who had just come off winning the wooden spoon, then took a huge risk and pounced on Barba, who had then become the shadow of the player he once was at the Bulldogs.

Now, he has the chance to prove Bennett and the Broncos wrong by continuing his rich vein of form for the fourth-placed Sharks and leading them to their sixth consecutive victory.

The Broncos have also been impressive to start the season and they could so easily have been undefeated had they not lost to the Penrith Panthers, coached by their old mentor Anthony Griffin, by just a point in Round 3.

Since then, the competition leaders and premiership favourites have also won five straight, with their most recent outing being a 30-8 victory over the South Sydney Rabbitohs at home last Friday night.

That followed on from defeating the Dragons and Knights by a combined scoreline of 79-0 in the previous fortnight. At present, the Broncos have the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 10.125 points per game.

Perhaps they must be fortunate that their halves Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt will be available during the dreaded Origin period, when others won’t be.

Their form so far this season would’ve warranted selection for Queensland, but they won’t be able to don the Maroon guernsey in 2016 after breaking a team curfew during the Emerging Origin camp earlier this year.

It could, however, benefit the Broncos at a time when the likes of Darius Boyd, Corey Parker, Matt Gillett and Sam Thaiday, among others, will be missing through Origin duty, and help to keep them on top of the ladder during this period.

That would then set them up for a strong finish to the season as they seek to not only win their first minor premiership since 2000, but also end their longest premiership drought in club history, having not hoisted the trophy since 2006.

But there are still over five months before grand final day and as the old saying goes, anything could happen between now and then. In saying that, both the Sharks and Broncos will look to continue on their impressive form, making Sunday afternoon’s match a must-watch on both Channel Nine and Fox Sports.

In fact, if the finals were to take place this weekend, then this match-up would be the first qualifying final, and it would be at Suncorp Stadium where the Sharks have won on each of their last three visits to the ground.

This will be their first meeting since Round 2 last year, which the Broncos won 10-2. Prior to that, the Sharks had won the last three against the Broncos, all of them in Brisbane, including a comeback 24-22 victory against the odds in 2014.

However, the Sharks have not managed a victory over the Broncos on home soil since mid-2009, when rookie winger Blake Ferguson scored a miraculous try among a hat-trick of tries for the Sharks and Ben Hunt made his NRL debut for the Broncos who were missing six regulars due to Origin duty and injury.

With both clubs on five-match winning streaks, don’t be surprised to see both teams throwing everything at each other in front of what is expected to be another healthy crowd in the Shire.

There will be so many questions asked – which club will win its sixth consecutive match by sunset on Sunday? Can the Sharks prove they are the real deal? And can the Broncos remain on top of the ladder and keep their status as premiership favourites?

We will all wait to see this Sunday afternoon.