Sharks
28
Match Complete
Cowboys
12
| 77 |  | V. Holmes | ||
| 77 |  | K. Feldt | ||
| B. Trindall | | 70 | ||
| C. Tracey | | 69 | ||
| B. Trindall | | 43 | ||
| S. Talakai | | 42 | ||
| B. Trindall | | 19 | ||
| B. Hamlin-Uele | | 18 | ||
| S. Katoa | | 13 | ||
| B. Trindall | | 1 | ||
| B. Nikora | | 0 | ||
| 0 | | V. Holmes | ||
| 0 | | K. Feldt |
| 5 | Tries | 2 | ||
| 4 | Conversions | 2 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Cronulla Sharks look to bounce back from a heavy defeat to the ladder leaders as they welcome the North Queensland Cowboys to their temporary home. Join The Roar for live scores from 5:30pm (AEST).
The Sharks come into this one off a second belting for the year at the hands of Penrith, losing 38-12 at the foot of the mountains. That loss means Cronulla have not beaten a top-eight side all year. Five attempts, five losses. It hardly needs to be said that this is not an ideal stat for any team heading into the finals.
The Cowboys took a big step backwards after an improved showing two weeks ago in a one-point loss to the Rabbitohs. They followed that up by laying an egg in Newcastle, and despite getting some key pieces back from injury recently, they have now lost their talisman Jason Taumalolo.
The North Queenslanders are playing for pride now, which could be an ominous sign after interim coach Josh Hannay recently questioned their commitment to the jersey.
This doesn’t bode well facing a team stinging from a loss. Despite Cronulla’s woeful record against the top teams, they have feasted on the likes of the Cowboys. The last time Penrith spanked the Sharks, John Morris’s men responded the following week and put 46 past the Titans.
This has all the makings of a blowout too if the Cowboys aren’t careful.
Game information
Kick-off: 5:30pm (AEST)
Venue: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
TV: Fox Sports
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel, NRL Live Pass
Odds: Sharks $1.27, Cowboys $3.85
Teams
Sharks
1. Will Kennedy, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Josh Dugan, 4. Jesse Ramien, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Connor Tracey, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Aaron Woods, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Wade Graham, 13. Toby Rudolf
Bench/Reserves: 14. Siosifa Talakai, 15. Scott Sorensen, 16. Jack Williams, 17. Royce Hunt, 18. Teig Wilton, 19. Bryson Goodwin, 20. Matt Moylan, 21. Andrew Fifita
Cowboys
1. Scott Drinkwater, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Justin O’Neill, 4. Murray Taulagi, 5. Valentine Holmes, 6. Daejarn Asi, 7. Michael Morgan, 8. Francis Molo, 9. Reuben Cotter, 10. Jordan McLean, 11. Mitchell Dunn, 12. Coen Hess, 13. Josh McGuire
Bench/Reserves: 14. Jake Granville, 15. John Asiata, 16. Tom Gilbert, 17. Corey Jensen, 18. Shane Wright, 19. Jake Clifford, 20. Connelly Lemuelu, 21. Peter Hola
MarkD
Guest
Tend to agree about Hess , hasn't improved since that cracka of a 2017 season . Green thinking he was a centre has done him no favors. Cooper was done 3 seasons ago , slow lumbering forward who , if it wasnt for his combo with Thurston, should have been moved on . After the 15' GF win the Cows should have pulled a south sydney and medically retired Johnathon and Matt Scott along with moving on Cooper and Coote . Would have been able to keep Ponga and maybe Kikau.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Yeah Nat he reminds me of J Talmoloa.,with a bit of ball skills.This guy could be something special
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Get real the Sharks had 4 trys disallowed by the officials
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I am happy to cut the young guys some slack. They can all improve. There are guys who in my opinion have shown me nothing. Cooper, Jake, McLean, Hess have all been poor imo . Hess goes further back every year.. Time to go. Leumele and Marsters and Drinkwater are not NRL players. Don't care about their age. Asi and HTF and Gilbert all get a pass atm. The Hammer worries me just because He is lazy. Maybe he can change. Dunn and Robson are basically the only beams of light in the whole joint. Dont worry I am sticking solid. Wooden spoons are not new to me. I remember the 90s.
Rob
Guest
Young Team Jimmmy. Morgan might have to be retired. It’s like Foran. Robson looks capable, Gilbert is 20, Hammer is 18, Asi 19. With no ISC it’s incredibly hard to keep them fit and gaining strength, confidence and experience. I can’t get over how far backwards Hess, McClean and Taumalolo have gone. Maybe the coaching lacked a forwards coaches insight? They don’t intimidated or look to dominate the middle mostly because they have all been coached to tackle like an outside back. They have some big boys not even getting a look in? Probably because they are struggling to grasp the tackling techniques being taught IMO. If you’re 100kg you don’t walk backwards when defending IMO. They obviously think everyone should defend like C. Smith.
Nat
Roar Rookie
Marsters has brain farts. Thiss bloke just can't handle this level.
Nat
Roar Rookie
Good game Sharks. Gee Moylan has to be worried about his role when twice these young fellas have stepped up to get the W without his involvement. I wonder ifhe has the fortitude to fight back?
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Well done SHARKIES, Way too good for us. Oh well we scored two trys and we tried hard in patches. Onward and upward.
R N
Roar Rookie
Yep... its going to be quiet for a while!
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Don’t think you can begin to claim referee bias tonight.
77
R N
Roar Rookie
Well worked Cows... good to see some kicks going over too! They have really kept the effort up!
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
But neither is Marsters.
77
Nat
Roar Rookie
Bring back Marsters. Lemuelu has shown many times over he's not NRL standard.
Wayne Turner
Guest
Clear double movement Bunker blunder,too afraid to over rule out of position ref.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I have no idea where we go from here. I suspect we only have 7 or 8 keepers in the whole Roster. It could take years to rebuild. Once it becomes apparent a player is not nrl standard you just have to quietly ease them out. It ain't a charity league.
Nat
Roar Rookie
The refs have bought that on themselves. They don't want to be questioned so they say "challenge if you want" as a dare because Klein got all the wraps early in the season. Shut up and let the players choose.
Rob
Guest
Henry P hates anything north of Coffs Harbour.
70