Sharks v Warriors preview

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Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Warriors Saturday 5:30pm at Sharks Stadium, Woolooware / Dharawal

Top Four hopefuls duel it off for premiership supremacy

The Cronulla Sharks will be out for revenge following their bye week when they take on the rejuvenated New Zealand Warriors at Sharks Stadium on Saturday night.

The Sharks were downright disappointing in their last effort against an understrength Roosters side, with ill-discipline and costly errors proving to be their demise in Gosford. It's an effort coach Craig Fitzgibbon would be rightly furious with after a strong start to the season. The emphasis over the bye week would be to right the wrongs of their last performance and start with energy against a Warriors side that will be up for this.

The key is to win the middle. Even with the sad loss of Mitch Barnett (ACL rupture), the Warriors still have a very strong forward pack and will be up for the battle. Addin Fonua-Blake will need to win his positional battle against James Fisher-Harris for the hosts to feel any sort of control. The halves will need to control the game and go after the Warriors' edges just like Latrell Mitchell did in the second half last week against the New Zealand-based side. If not and they play one-dimensional, the Warriors will find them out eventually. 

Onto team news, Sione Katoa comes onto the wing for the first time in 2025 in place of the suspended Ronaldo Mulitalo. Mawene Hiroti is retained on the wing. Teig Wilton returns from injury onto the edge which pushes Billy Burns out of the side. 

For the visitors, they have been the success story of the 2025 NRL season. After a horror show in Las Vegas, the Warriors have rebounded nicely to be one of the stories of the season thus far. Luke Metcalf has answered the call, replacing Shaun Johnson with attacking flair that rivals the Kiwi maestro on a perfect day. Their pack has also been brilliant, but faces a major test for the remainder of the season.

To beat the Sharks, they have to prove once again, they can do it without a forward leader. The loss of Barnett is a cruel one, he held the pack together when Fisher-Harris was out earlier in the season. Now, the pressure turns back to their captain, as well as the likes of Erin Clark and Marata Niukore. Also, the leadership of Chanze Nicol-Klokstad has been a feature of this season. Despite rumours linking him to Super League, CNK has been regularly one of the Warriors' best throughout the season, with a career high 330 metres on Sunday.

Jackson Ford will start the game after Mitch Barnett suffered a season-ending ACL injury against Souths. Hard-running back-rower Leka Halasima has been promoted to the starting side so Kurt Capewell moves to centre and Rocco Berry is out. Jacob Laban and Tanner Stowers-Smith are the new faces on the bench.

Last meeting: Round 26 2024 - Sharks 28 Warriors 30

Who to watch: Despite missing a portion of the injury, the try-scoring run of KL Iro is one to uphold. Iro is a damaging ball runner with explosive capabilities to break a game open. With Kurt Capewell lining up opposite him, Iro could have a field day against the makeshift centre and continue on his epic scoring run of late.

With the absence of Barnett, the weight of expectation on Erin Clark grows bigger with every appearance. Clark is an absolute weapon in the middle and it's hard to fathom why the Titans let him go in the first place. However, his work rate would need to continue on his career highs to date, given the Barnett injury and the weight of expectation now surrounding the Warriors pack.

Favourite: The Sharks are slight favourites with the punters, but the Warriors did pip the hosts at Shark Park last year in SJ's last dance.

My tip: This game is a real toss of the coin; you can make mounting cases for why both sides should win this game. But I think the Warriors pack will have a point to prove that they can continue winning without their forward leaders, as they have done throughout the season. They've only really been outpointed by Melbourne and Canberra this season so I expect this one to go down to the wire after the way Cronulla played in their last fixture. Warriors by 4.

1. William Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. KL Iro 5. Mawene Hiroti 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Daniel Atkinson 15. Jesse Colquhoun 16. Siosifa Talakai 17. Braden Hamlin-Uele 18. Billy Burns 21. Jayden Berrell

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Adam Pompey 4. Kurt Capewell 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Luke Metcalf 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 10. Jackson Ford 11. Leka Halasima 12. Marata Niukore 13. Erin Clark 14. Te Maire Martin 15. Jacob Laban 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith 20. Samuel Healey 23. Taine Tuaupiki

Referees: Peter Gough; Sideline Officials: Belinda Sharpe, Michael Wise; Video Referees: Chris Butler;