Roar Guru
The St George Illawarra Dragons are out to make it six wins in a row when they take on the Cronulla Sharks at WIN Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 7:50pm (AEST).
Along with the New Zealand Warriors, the Dragons are the form team of the competition. While we saw something similar in the early stages of last season, the Red V may just be the real deal in 2018.
Ben Hunt has proven an astute signing, giving Gareth Widdop the freedom to play what’s in front of him. Of course, the backline can’t perform unless the forwards are making metres and with Jack de Belin in career-best form and a pack boasting James Graham, Paul Vaughan and Tyson Frizzell, Paul McGregor’s big men are winning the battles in the middle.
The Sharks, on the other hand, have had an indifferent start to the season, with gritty wins against Parramatta and the Storm more than counteracted by some disappointing losses. Their completion rate and the infringement issues of 2017 have carried through so far into this season.
With injuries to Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan, Cronulla have been struggling to field their best 17, although should get close to that tonight, having named arguably playing their best backline so far this year. Whether the attack clicks or remains disjointed, due to the number of changes, will become clear as the game progresses.
The two sides have already met once this season, with the Dragons overcoming a 14-point in the Shire to record a win in Round 2. The Sharks will be hungry for revenge, however their record at WIN Stadium is not good.
Prediction
After five straight wins, the Dragons may be due for an off week and their performance against the Rabbitohs last week probably adds some weight to that. However, it is a local derby and both sides will be ready to play.
Dragons fans will have bragging rights this season with their team winning by 8.
St George Illawarra by 8.