The Sharks registered only their second win of the year in round 8, producing a tough effort to outlast the visiting Penrith Panthers 24 – 10, but could not consolidate that victory losing to Parramatta last week 42 – 24.
Where and when: Remondis Stadium, Saturday May 17, 5:30pm
The Sharks, who were without five-eight and chief play-maker Todd Carney, hit the front briefly in the first half with two tries in the space of ten minutes but the home-side who always looked dangerous with ball in hand, got the better of the first half late and led 22 – 12 at the break.
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It was the closest the Sharks could get to the Eels who ran in four more second half tries.
The loss was made worse for the Sharks by the injury to forward Andrew Fifita who left the field in the first half with a sprained ankle that will keep him sidelined for several weeks.
It capped a rough 24 hours for the Sharks with news breaking earlier in the day that up to 17 players face possible sanctions from ASADA for the club’s supplement program.
After stringing three wins together, the West Tigers have fallen to the well performed Gold Coast Titans and Roosters in the past two rounds, crossing for only one try in each game.
The Tigers now sit on seventh spot on the ladder with a winning record of 5 – 4 but with the return of Braith Anasta and Robbie Farah for this weekend’s clash, they are a good chance of improving that record here.
The Tigers well and truly had the wood on the Sharks from 2003 – 2012, winning thirteen of the fourteen games played between the two sides however, the Sharks were victorious on the both occasion that the two sides met last year, winning by margins of 24 and 14 points.
The Sharks will be without Carney again this week but Luke Lewis, who played his first match this season last week, will be better for having had the run and fills in at five-eight but is still not a specialist in that position and means that most of the kicking will fall to Robson.
As the markets suggest, there’s little between the two but on the season record and returning personal, it’s the Tigers for mine.
TIP: TIGERS 1 – 12
Odds Comparison:
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| Cronulla Sharks | 1.86 | 1.80 | 1.90 | 1.80 | 1.86 | 1.87 |
| Wests Tigers | 1.98 | 2.02 | 1.94 | 2.02 | 1.98 | 1.95 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Cronulla Sharks:
1. Michael Gordon 2. Sosaia Feki 3. Blake Ayshford 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Beau Ryan 6. Luke Lewis 7. Jeff Robson 8. Sam Tagataese 9. John Morris 10. Bryce Gibbs 11. Anthony Tupou 12. Wade Graham 13. Paul Gallen. Interchange: 14. Isaac De Gois 15. Chris Heighington 16. Tinirau Arona 17. Siosaia Vave 18. Michael Lichaa 19. David Fifita 20. Jonathan Wright
Wests Tigers:
1. Kurtis Rowe 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Tim Simona 4. Chris Lawrence 5. Pat Richards 6. Braith Anasta 7. Luke Brooks 8. Aaron Woods 9. Robbie Farah 10. Keith Galloway 11. Cory Paterson 12. Bodene Thompson 13. Adam Blair. Interchange: 14. Martin Taupau 15. Ava Seumanufagai 16. Blake Austin 17. Sauaso Sue
