Match Centre

Round 9: Sharks v Cowboys preview

The Cowboys travel down to Cronulla to take on the Sharks on what is now a special and emotional Thursday night, where they play in the inaugural Paul Green medal match. The two teams have united to celebrate and honour Paul Green's life and career, and the coach of the winning team will name the best player of the match to receive the Paul Green Medal.

Cronulla are comfortably sitting in 5th place on the ladder, having won four games and already had one of their three byes for the season. The Sharks came away with their first back-to-back win of the season after beating the Bulldogs in a 33-20 game, with many players showing their offensive and defensive powers.

North Queensland have had a rough season so far, with extremely poor attack and defence, currently sitting with a win record of 3/8. However, they came away with a crucial win last week, defeating the Newcastle Knights in a two-point game, 18-16.

The Sharks will be facing the Cowboys with the same 19 player team that defeated the Bulldogs, with no changes named.

Much like the Sharks, the Cowboys also have an unchanged side from the previous round. Reuben Cotter is named on the starting side, however he may switch with Jake Granville on game day as shown in their victory the Knights. Although sin binned in the match, Murray Taulagi did not receive a suspension for his late tackle and will be playing in this Thursday night clash. 

Last meeting: Finals Week 1 2022 - Sharks 30 Cowboys 32

Who to watch: Already scoring 9 tries this season, including two season hat-tricks, Will Kennedy is a force to be reckoned with. Let's see if he can make his try count hit double digits in Round 9, making him the second player to reach 10+ tries in the 2023 season so far.

Valentine Holmes dominated in the Cowboys win against the Knights, where he made most run metres (254) and made one try assist. Holmes is an important part of the North QLD side, and I'm looking to see him inject himself into the game a little bit more than what we have seen to start the season. 

The favourite: Cronulla are majorly favoured to claim victory against the North Queensland Cowboys at home, to make it three wins a row.

My tip: It'll be a tough game and could go either way in my opinion. Both teams have had their share of wins and losses this year, and I think the outcome of this game will come down to each teams' discipline and defence. Sharks by 2.