Cronulla centre Siosifa Talakai is under an injury cloud for the qualifying final against North Queensland but coach Craig Fitzgibbon thinks a previous ankle surgery could help him line up for the Shark Park showdown.
Talakai limped off in the 79th minute after suffering an ankle injury from a hip-drop tackle by Knights forward Mat Croker in the 38-16 victory at Newcastle on Sunday which secured the home final which comes with second spot.
“He stirred up his syndesomosis. From a few years ago he had surgery so he had one of those tightropes put in so the integrity of that has kept it together quite well so we’ll just see how much he’s stirred it up at this stage,” Fitzgibbon said, before adding it was too early to tell whether he would be right for the playoff.
“It feels like the surgery he’s had previously could be a good thing in the end.”
Cronulla could welcome forwards Dale Finucane and Toby Rudolf back from injury for the first week of the finals but coach Fitzgibbon is unsure whether fullback Will Kennedy will join them.
Co-captain Finucane suffered a rib injury in the Sharks’ round 23 defeat of Manly, while prop Rudolf left the field against the Wests Tigers in round 22 with a knee complaint. Kennedy has spent the past five weeks recovering from an ankle injury from a hip-drop tackle against South Sydney.
Several players from both teams were involved in a melee midway through the first half when Saifiti rushed out of the line and smashed Matt Ikuvalu.
Sharks skipper Wade Graham was flabbergasted when referee Chris Sutton cleared Saifiti of any wrongdoing after the bunker checked the vision and awarded a scrum feed to Newcastle.
The Knights scored from the scrum win to make it 6-6 and kept pace with Cronulla to be 12-12 at the break before the finals-bound visitors put the home side away in the second half.
Cronulla regained second spot from North Queensland to finish in the top two for the first time since 1999 when they last won the minor premiership.
“We wanted to sign off on a good season with a win and earn the right to play at home and we’ve done that,” Fitzgibbon said. “The stakes go right up, the pressure goes right up and the standard of the contest will too but we’re ready.”
They will host the qualifying final, likely to be at PointsBet Stadium, not the new Allianz Stadium, although the NRL is yet to announce the official draw for week one of the playoffs.
The loss meant Newcastle finished the season with a 6-18 record, slumping to 14th after Gold Coast leapfrogged them with their win over the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday.
“We’re not happy with where we ended up. There’s so many different parts to the season, it’s hard to do it all now, we’d be here for hours,” coach Adam O’Brien said.
“There were so many moving parts to it,” he added before mentioning Mitch Barnett’s early-season suspension and injuries, “but they’re all excuses. We have to get better this summer. That’s already started – the boys that didn’t play today actually ran hills today. Pre-season’s already started.
“We don’t want to turn up and put in those performances. We’re not going to run away from the fight, we’re going to fix it.”
Cronulla second-rower Briton Nikora opened the scoring with a soft try before Tex Hoy squared the ledger after the controversial Saifiti decision.
Bench utility Luke Metcalf sprinted the length of the field for the Sharks to regain the lead before Dominic Young did likewise off an intercept before half-time.
After a rev-up in the sheds, Cronulla regained the ball from the restart and Nikora plunged over a few plays later for his second.
When winger Ronaldo Mulitalo sped away for his 16th try of the season and a 24-12 lead it looked like the struggling Knights were going to lay down their arms but they reduced the gap to eight when Young finished off a right-side raid.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Just when they looked like bridging the gap further, Jesse Ramien sprinted off his goal line to snuff out a Knights chance and run 99 metres the other way for a 28-16 buffer.
Nikora crashed through some tired Knights defence to make it 34-16 before the Sharks ran out the clock in the final stages with star halfback Nicho Hynes given an early shower to ensure he’d be right to face the Cowboys.
Rookie fullback Lachie Miller started the victory celebrations in the final minute of the match when he sprinted through out wide.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Cronulla great Paul Gallen couldn't even get on board with this highly controversial sin bin.
The NRL’s crackdown on kick pressure has officially jumped the shark after a crucial call went Cronulla’s way with Storm star Harry Grant ending…
Harry Grant told Cooper Cronk on FOX Sports he accepted the sin-bin ruling, despite not having eyes for Daniel Atkinson as he tried to…
Cronulla ended Melbourne's 14-game winning streak at home with a try to Talakai who sealed the victory.
Oregon Kaufusi barged over the line where Harry Grant would've been in defence. Initially, it was ruled no-try but the bunker overturned it.
Harry Grant was placed on report and binned after making contact with Sharks five-eighth Daniel Atkinson. His face said everything.
