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Cronulla have extended their NRL winning streak to five matches with a gutsy yet scrappy 22-16 defeat of Canterbury, leaping into fifth spot.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Cronulla Sharks 22
Canterbury Bulldogs 16
The Cronulla Sharks will look to make it five victories in a row as they return home to face the struggling Canterbury Bulldogs. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:10pm (AEST).
While the Sharks have won four in a row, none of them have been entirely convincing. In saying that, you don’t feel it exactly bothers coach Shane Flanagan.
The injury toll feels like it has been growing on Cronulla with each passing week, especially in the forwards and so four wins with a combined victory margin of 15 points is still a good result. It’s been a case of ‘find a way to win,’ and the Sharks have done exactly that, pushing themselves back into the top eight after falling horribly out of form.
A record of six and four leaves them just four competition points behind leaders the St George Illawarra Dragons, and with their spine finally getting some continuity around it, things are finally starting to click.
Valentine Holmes has had his best ever run at fullback, while Matt Moylan is growing in his halves roll alongside Chad Townsend. There are still defensive concerns on their left edge, but they are slowly disappearing, with Jayden Brailey and his ability to play big minutes also helping.
With the injury crisis starting to pass – Paul Gallen and Jason Bukuya are back this week with Josh Dugan and Luke Lewis both on the reserves – they should only get better from here on out.
That’s not good news for the Bulldogs either. Their form has been pretty poor throughout the first ten weeks of 2018 and for Dean Pay’s men, it’s time to start winning.
While they did beat the Parramatta Eels last week, it’s not exactly saying much to beat the blue and gold at the moment. Before that, they had lost five of their last six, with their attack looking particularly poor.
They may have turned a corner though. Coach Pay made a swathe of changes a fortnight ago, leading to a much-improved performance against the Broncos and the aforementioned win against the Eels.
Matt Frawley and Jeremy Marshall-King are starting to click at half and hooker respectively, with Michael Lichaa still out of the side, although names on the reserves this week. Rhyse Martin has been a revelation and once again starts at lock this week.
Martin and the forwards must dominate the middle third of the park if Canterbury are to pull off a victory. Josh Jackson, David Klemmer, Adam Elliot and Aaron Woods are the four men nominated as the key for the blue and white, but with Gallen and Bukuya back, it’s not going to be straightforward to build a platform for their halves.
Prediction
The Sharks are always hard to beat at home – even harder to beat on a Sunday afternoon at home – and with their returning players, they should do a job here.
Sharks by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the match from 4:10pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.