Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
29
Match Complete
New Zealand Warriors
10
| N. Hynes |  | 76 | ||
| J. Ramien |  | 76 | ||
| N. Hynes |  | 73 | ||
| N. Hynes | | 68 | ||
| C. Tracey | | 66 | ||
| C. Tracey | | 46 | ||
| N. Hynes | | 31 | ||
| T. Wilton | | 29 | ||
| 23 | | R. Walsh | ||
| 21 | | V. Vailea | ||
| 17 | | D. Watene-Zelezniak | ||
| N. Hynes | | 8 | ||
| N. Hynes | | 7 |
| 5 | Tries | 2 | ||
| 4 | Conversions | 1 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 1 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Cronulla Sharks return home to try and return to the winners circle when they take on the New Zealand Warriors on Sunday afternoon. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 4pm (AEST).
The Sharks were thrown off course somewhat last week when they were ambushed by the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium. They were outgunned and out-enthused, with no answers and just the solitary try in a 16-7 loss. The Warriors got out of jail in the ugliest of contests, beating the Raiders in Golden Point 21-20 in Redcliffe.
The Sharks might have lost the last match-up between the two late last season, but they hold a healthy recent winning record over the Warriors. They have won eight of the last ten games between the two, dating back to 2015. The last time the Warriors won in Cronulla was back in 2015. The Warriors have had a tough time in the Shire, winning just four of 16 games at the venue in the past.
The Sharks will welcome the return of Dale Finucane for this one. He pushes Cam McInnes to the bench and Braydon Trindall out of the side. The Warriors have Dallin Watene-Zelezniak returning to replace Jesse Arthurs on the wing. Eliesa Katoa replaces Bayley Sironen in the back row. Aaron Pene returns to the bench.
Prediction
The Sharks were firing on all cylinders and sitting pretty in the top four going into last week. While they still sit in fourth going into this week, the loss against the Broncos puts them under a bit of pressure to stay there.
The Warriors haven’t set the world alight, but go into this one with a 4-4 record, out of the top eight on differential. They have played good football in patches, but it hard to remember them playing for the full 80 minutes.
Cronulla have had the longest of turnarounds for this one, ten days to assess where they are at. It was probably a good break at a good time, after a loss but with a positive start to the year. You get the feeling that back at home, they will be focused on getting back to basics and playing with real control and intent. The return of Dale Finucane is a big one in galvanising their team.
The Warriors don’t have the footy to match the Sharks at their best. We saw them fall away alarmingly against the Storm a couple of weeks ago, and weren’t far away from losing to the Raiders last week. The longer this game goes on, the more obvious the difference in class will be.
Sharks by 19.
Game information
Kick-off: 4:05pm (AEST)
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Wooloware
TV/Stream: Fox League, Channel Nine, Kayo Sports
Odds: Sharks $1.18, Warriors $5.00 – odds via PlayUp
Teams
Sharks
1. Will Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Toby Rudolf 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Aiden Tolman 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Dale Finucane 14. Jack Williams 15. Cameron McInnes 16. Wade Graham 17. Royce Hunt
Warriors
1. Reece Walsh 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Viliami Vailea 4. Rocco Berry 5. Adam Pompey 6. Daejarn Asi 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Matt Lodge 11. Euan Aitken 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Jazz Tevaga 14. Jack Murchie 15. Ben Murdoch-Masila 16. Bunty Afoa 17. Aaron Pene
Jamez
Roar Rookie
The Warriors out of all the years have had 2 maybe 3 good years, the team that Ivan Cleary played and coached were good teams, might of beaten Manly in the Grand Final if ref had been fair and impartial, but other then that, not much to show for it over the years. Only thing i can say in there defence in this game, is a lot of them have been playing away from home and familys for a long time, must be hard for some.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
It would be hard to argue with that HY, I just thought O'Brien might have something yet to offer if he finds his (any) mojo and Sticky seems to be like that old tired but comfortable sofa you don't want to throw out. Can he dig deep and find something for the future?? Interesting that O'Brien came out of the Chook system with less rep than Fitz. I hear he (AO) didn't leave in good graces.
Jamez
Roar Rookie
Yep, we hard out lacked "mongrel". :(
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
:laughing:
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Good call DPS and I agree, with the exception that both Sticky and O’Brien are yesterday’s men In my book they are as employable as Barrett and Brown. As for the last two, how they ever got hired by anyone simply eludes me.
Paul
Guest
Probably would have won with 11 players. Still, the Ramien hit was worse than the hit by Kennedy. It should have been a straight send off too. Not 10 in the bin. Only difference between that deliberate shoulder charge to the head & Mitchell’s, was the result coming from it. Neither sent off for good & both should have been! I can’t believe that they actually won the game, even when it was just the one player off. Shows how bad the Warriors are going. If it was against another team who were near the top of the table . Cronulla would have been given a thrashing.
Jokerman
Roar Guru
Brown taking off our two best props off together, for such a long time what was he thinking? Surely against 12 they could have stayed out for longer? No direction from 6 and 7. Johnson ain’t super small so why doesn’t Brown demand he take the line on? Even when Johnson had mean pace a few years back he would go quite. I don’t really understand it. Mostly there was a lack of leadership, grit and creativity. Painful !!
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
You could be right, I just think O'Brien has something to offer and is hampered by injury and some other issues.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
There are a few coaches in the wings, waiting, but you'd be right, I doubt they'd want this gig after Brownie break it. Watching how O'Brien is struggling after Brown so he might not leave a good atmosphere behind.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Good summary although I would put O'Brien in there with Brown and Barrett.
Jack Aubrey
Roar Guru
A famous win by the Sharks this afternoon in the Shire. They played over an hour a man down, and a further ten minutes with Jessie Ramien in the sin-bin. Still, they never looked troubled. This is a serious and committed football side. They didn't have a bad player today. Everyone put in as they dealt with the adversity. Nicho Hynes was outstanding once again if you had to pick a man of the match but every Shark can hold their head high. They completed at 87% and it went a long way to the win. They forced five drop outs and made 19 offloads, an indication of how they just kept coming and the Warriors had no answers. The Warriors had their chances but just wouldn't take them. They didn't have anyone stand up and take control, the way that Hynes did for the Sharks. They didn't manage the period where they had a two man advantage well at all, kicking it dead for seven tackles a couple of times. With 15 minutes to go, the Warriors well and truly had the cue in the rack as they were unable to break the Sharks. Two tries and a field goal put the icing on the cake for Cronulla. The Warriors are a soft football team. They have some good players, but not a complete team. They had the game on a platter for the taking today, but just didn't want it badly enough. They look rudderless. Today also reminds us that a send-off or sin-bin is not the penalty some would have us believe. The cream always rises to the top. There was much made of Karl Lawton's send off against the Rabbitohs a couple of weeks ago, and how the Sea Eagles "couldn't win" based on that decision. But the Sharks proved today that good football teams find a way to do it under adversity. We head to Magic Round next weekend where the Sharks face the Raiders. They should be supremely confident of winning that one. The Warriors face the Rabbitohs, who will be up for a big performance after a disappointing loss at home against the Broncos. Thankyou for joining the blog this afternoon. Enjoy your night. Bye for now.
JC
Guest
That comment, more than any I’ve seen, perfectly sums up the entire history of the warriors ????
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Coach Analysis: Bellamy (& Bennett): Legends. Robbo & Des; Top Drawer Fitz & Todd: Hot and rising Ivan & Brad &... Ricky?: Stable and established Holbrook & Jason: Potentially good but still proving... Walters: To Be Determined O'Brien & Madge &... Ricky ?: A little frayed and losing touch Hook: Worn out Brown & Barrett: is 'DUD' too unkind?
Jokerman
Roar Guru
Brown has to go, this and Melbourne is too much. Johnson ran once – in the first few minutes, beat a man but never tried again. Why does he do that? We should have scored just after halftime but the centre drops the ball on the tryline and finds it funny. We never contested a ref call (I don’t recall?) and there was one at the end where the Sharks played the ball into the Warrior. Should have challenged. Where was the leadership? Walsh should be playing at 6 in my view. Involved in every set. Man that was tough to watch. It should have been 11 on 13. That would have made it even ha – crazy stuff !!
Renegade
Roar Guru
I’m not crying, you’re crying :crying:
Renegade
Roar Guru
That’s as good as a regular season game win gets.
WithTheDawn
Roar Rookie
Well, that was impressive from the Sharks, never really seen anything like that before, incredible performance. Even if the Warriors had played decent that would have been a close contest. But sheesh, the Warriors the last three weeks have been as horrible as I’ve ever seen them. Really tough to watch, crushing after supporting them for so many years. Hard to feel excited or care much for upcoming games now.
Stormy
Roar Rookie
Great win Sharks!! If you're out there Glory Bound, the Sharks had "it" in spades tonight - never give in & never give up. What a performance!
Phil
Roar Rookie
This Warriors team is not up to NRL standard. There are enough good players in the NZ side but they perform like disorganised rabble, headless chooks. No team should lose 13 against 12 and down to 11 for 10 min. I really don't know what to make of them. They are certainly not drilled in attack play and don't know how to tackle. That last try should never have been scored. It all comes back to coaching, or lack of it.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Well done Sharks. What a coach Craig Fitzgibbon is proving to be. The Sharks are everything I was expecting the Bunnies to be in 2022. I tipped the Sharks to finish 7th, but I can't see them missing a top 4 finish along with the Panthers, the Storm and the Eels. The Cowboys are playing well but I don't see them hanging on to a top 4 spot by the end of the year, and they have had a pretty soft run so far in 2022 albeit for beating the Eels in a sauna.