St George Illawarra Dragons v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
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Dragons v Sharks preview
Dragons and Sharks look to build on modest starts to the year in rivalry match
Both of these sides have begun this season relatively well. The Dragons in particular wouldn't be dissatisfied with their first two matches; a convincing win over the Warriors followed by a close loss to the defending premiers, especially considering they were favoured for the wooden spoon early in the pre-season.
The Sharks have also gone 1-1 to start the year, and they'll be disappointed they aren't among the remaining undefeated sides when you note that their Round 1 loss came due to conceding a try in the dying minutes while up by 1 against the Raiders, a side which has since lost handily to the Cowboys.
Disregarding all preconceived ideas about these two teams before a (regular season) ball was kicked, they both appear to be of similar quality in terms of quality of football played. Both have new look spines that have shown some teething problems as well as potential to hang with more superior opposition, the Sharks leading the league in line-breaks and tackle breaks (14 and 78 respectively), while the Dragons big men have been laying a good platform, the team currently sitting at 4th for post-contact metres (1237).
Games between these two local rivals are usually close as well, the last 10 being decided by an average of 8.6 points, even while accounting for a 20-point outlier in 2018. This game shows no signs of being any different, with both teams having relatively tough draws coming up. The Dragons have 4 tough games against the Eels, Rabbitohs, Knights and Roosters after this, while the Sharks have 3 against the Knights, Tigers, Storm and Sea Eagles.
All factors considered, this match on Thursday Night should be an absolute beauty, it's an important game for two evenly matched teams who also happen to be fierce rivals. Sign me up.
In team news, Andrew McCullough is out with an elbow injury, replaced at hooker by Moses Mbye, who is promoted from the bench. Jackson Ford and Jack Gosiewski replace him and George Burgess, who has been left out of the 17 but is still in the 24-man squad.
For the Sharks, Ronaldo Mulitalo is out with a head knock, meaning cult figure Matt Ikuvalu will make his second start on the wing for the Black, White and Blue. Teig Wilton is suspended, meaning Talakai will start and Trindall is included on the bench.
Last meeting: Round 11 2021 - Sharks 13 Dragons 12
Who to watch: For the Dragons, it's Ben Hunt. The over-hated halfback was again among the Dragons best last week, coming up with a try-assist and 367 kicking metres on 14 kicks. However, it was his running game and defence that was what stuck out. He ran 26 times for 154 metres (second most on the team), while making 17 tackles for only one miss. His running game in particular is of real intrigue, Hunt appears to be committed to using it to evolve his game further; the last two years he has averaged over 100 metres on the ground, while in his previous 12 years as a first grader his highest average was 76. With Andrew McCullough missing, Hunt could easily shift to hooker at some point during the game, at which point his already improving running game could have an even larger effect on the outcome of this one.
It's hard to go past keeping an eye on the Cameron McInnes revenge game for the Sharks. Returning from a torn ACL last week, McInnes played limited minutes in the Sharks win over the Eels, and he has been named to come off the bench again this week, however how large a role he ends up playing for the Sharks remains to be seen. The Dragons will be all too familiar with what to expect from McInnes, he's an absolute workhorse in defence who will also roll his sleeves up for the hard carry coming out of his own end, while also possessing enough skill to be a genuine threat to the defence close to the line. The Dragons will be keen to show him his decision to leave was the was the wrong one, while for McInnes it will naturally mean that much more coming up against the team he played 91 matches for.
The favourite: The Sharks are favoured by 1.5 over the Dragons in this one, the lowest handicap of the round.
My tip: This is a genuine toss of the coin. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go either way, but I am leaning towards the Dragons in their first home game. The Sharks were up for their first game at Pointsbet Stadium since 2019 last round and I expect a slight letdown game from them following that. The Dragons on the other hand will be keen for redemption after coming oh so close against the Panthers last week. Dragons by 4.
1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Cody Ramsey 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Moses Mbye 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Jack Bird 12. Jaydn Su'A 13. Tariq Sims 14. Jack de Belin 15. Josh Kerr 16. Jackson Ford 17. Jack Gosiewski 18. Tautau Moga
1. Will Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Connor Tracey 5. Matt Ikuvalu 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Toby Rudolf 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Braden Hamlin-Uele 11. Briton Nikora 12. Siosifa Talakai 13. Dale Finucane 14. Aiden Tolman 15. Cameron McInnes 16. Braydon Trindall 17. Andrew Fifita 18. Luke Metcalf
Referees: Gerard Sutton; Sideline Officials: Belinda Sharpe, Phil Henderson; Video Referees: Ashley Klein;