Sharks v Sea Eagles preview

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Red hot sharks aim for 8 straight against long standing rivals.

Even the most staunch Cronulla fans would have imagined the season that has befell the Cronulla Sharks in the opening 10 rounds. After starting the year 1-2 the Sharks have rebounded in fabulous fashion and have shown some excellent attack coupled with some hard nosed defence. Instead of the Sharks being driven by the one man band that is Paul Gallen, they have a multitude of stars as evident by Valentine Holmes 4 try effort last week and the consistent form of Ben Barba.

They won't have it easy against a Manly side that has stuttered through most of 2016, they do however have a lot of success generally against the Sharks and have already beaten them once this season. This is a game that could turn the season around for Manly, although it will be a tough grind and they will have to be at their best for the whole 80 minutes on Saturday night.

On a side note the atmosphere out at Cronulla at homes games so far in 2016 is reminiscent of the Sharks home days of the 1990's, it's great to see and great for the wider community. Memo Todd Greenberg: suburban grounds aren't close to being dead.

Last meeting: Round 3 2016 - Sea Eagles 22 Sharks 12

The Sharks have a real difficult time defeating Manly as have only won 8 games out of 26 since 1998. Add to this they have lost 12 of the last 13 games against Manly and their last win was back in 2012, although this was at Saturday's night venue of Southern Cross Group Stadium.

Who to watch: For the Sharks keep an eye on Ben Barba. Barba has rediscovered the form that made him a household name at the Bulldogs and has injected some real piints into Cronulla's attack. His stepping is causing problems for defence's all over the league and his support play is also impressive. 7 tries in just 10 starts has Sharks fans licking their lips at the performances of the talented Fullback.

For the Sea Eagles look for a stromg performance from halfback Daly Cherry Evans if Manly are to walk away with the win. Having had an injury to deal with this year as well as poor form we are yet to see the Cherry Evans of season's past. He has obviously struggled without Kieran Foran and will need to focus on his long kicking game to limit the room and time that the Sharks back 3 have. He also needs to pick his times that he challenges the defence as has a very potent running game that can sometimes be lessened when he runs too much. Also look for his short kicking game to benefit the Sea Eagles backs, it has been below par this year after being a great foil in past season's.

The favourite: Sharks strong favourites on the back of their last few performances.

My tip: Sharks at home will get the win. Even though they have a poor record against Manly, I expect this to change and fr them to walk away with the win. Manly will have to put in a monster performance in the forwards to stay in the hunt. Sharks by 12.

1. Ben Barba 2. Sosaia Feki 3. Jack Bird 4. Gerard Beale 5. Valentine Holmes 6. James Maloney 7. Chad Townsend 8. Andrew Fifita 9. Michael Ennis 10. Sam Tagataese 11. Luke Lewis 12. Wade Graham 13. Paul Gallen
Interchange: 14. Ricky Leutele 15. Chris Heighington 16. Jayson Bukuya 17. Joseph Paulo

20. Brett Stewart 2. Matthew Wright 3. Jamie Lyon 1. Tom Trbojevic 5. Brayden Wiliame 6. Dylan Walker 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Darcy Lussick 9. Matt Parcell 10. Nate Myles 11. Lewis Brown 12. Jamie Buhrer 13. Jake Trbojevic
Interchange: 14. Blake Leary 15. Josh Starling 16. Brenton Lawrence 17. Siosaia Vave

Referees: Gavin Badger, Alan Shortall; Sideline Officials: Belinda Sleeman, Brett Suttor; Video Referees: Bernard Sutton, Luke Patten, Jason Robinson