Saturday’s NRL 2018 Round 23 match is between Cronulla Sharks and Nth Queensland Cowboys. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:35 local time with the game to be played at Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney. The home team Cronulla Sharks are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Cronulla Sharks and Nth Queensland Cowboys.
When: 19:35 | Saturday 18/08/2018
Where: Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
Preview:
The big underdogs sailing under the premiership radar are the experienced, tough and resilient Sharks.
Their win over Melbourne definitely put them in all conversations as real threats.
It’s nice to see the Cowboys have definitely picked their game up from what we have been seeing for the majority of 2018 but I don’t see them coming close in this one.
The good sides flex their muscles at this stage of the comp and the Sharks have plenty.
They have an ability to bring you into an arm wrestle style and beat you with experience.
The form of the Sharks fullback has been electric and has really been infectious to the side’s performance.
KEY BATTLE: Andrew Fifita v Jordan McLean
I’m looking forward to the battle of the front-rowers.
Matt Scott and Jordan McLean v Aaron Woods and Andrew Fifita.
Mouth-watering to say the least.
The Verdict
This one will be a very entertaining affair.
Sharks to get the two points and elevate them further up the ladder.
Cronulla has a 32-17 (65.3 percent) record playing within its home state after a win since 2015.
Unibet Odds:
Cronulla Sharks at $1.40
Nth Queensland Cowboys at $3.00
Odds:
Tip: Cronulla Sharks at $1.35
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Josh Dugan at $11.00
More Info:
Teams:
Cronulla Sharks:
1. Valentine Holmes 2. Sosaia Feki 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Josh Dugan 6. Matt Moylan 7. Chad Townsend 8. Andrew Fifita 9. Jayden Brailey 10. Matt Prior 11. Luke Lewis 12. Scott Sorensen 13. Paul Gallen 14. Kurt Capewell 15. James Segeyaro 16. Aaron Woods 17. Jayson Bukuya 18. Joseph Paulo 19. Ava Seumanufagai 20. Wade Graham 21. Sione Katoa.
Nth Queensland Cowboys: 
1. Te Maire Martin 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O’Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Gideon Gela-mosby 6. Jake Clifford 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Matthew Scott 9. Jake Granville 10. Jordan McLean 11. Gavin Cooper 12. Coen Hess 13. John Asiata 14. Ben Hampton 15. Francis Molo 16. Corey Jensen 17. Scott Bolton 18. Ethan Lowe 19. Kyle Laybutt 20. Shaun Fensom 21. Enari Tuala.
NRL News:
Cronulla could finish the NRL season as minor premiers or out of the finals in the equal-tightest top-eight race this century.
Ditto St George Illawarra and the Warriors.
With just three rounds to play, the Sharks’ predicament sums up an open title race where just eight points separate first-placed Sydney Roosters from the ninth-placed Wests Tigers.
Cronulla, in sixth and with their remaining three clashes with teams out of finals contention, seem the most likely to climb from outside into the top four.
But if they falter – as they did against bottom-eight side Manly two weeks ago – and have three losses, their season could be all over if Brisbane and the Tigers fire.
“Hopefully the win in Melbourne (on Sunday) gives us some confidence and we can get some consistency from that because we need it for the final rounds,” injured co-captain Wade Graham said.
“If you don’t make the top four then it’s sudden death then you need to play your best footy, there’s no second chances.
“If we play the type of footy we played on the weekend we will be there or there abouts. It’s just a matter of where we finish.”
This year’s race to the finals has only been matched by the 2014 ladder which also had eight points between first and ninth with three weeks to play.
Prior to that, one has to go back to 1999 to find a competition so close.
Cronulla’s win over Melbourne on Sunday – their second of the season against the Storm – showed they are the most likely team to strike outside of competition favourites South Sydney, the Roosters and Storm.
But they’ve also been beaten by the struggling Manly and Brisbane in the past month, and are yet to beat the tri-colours or Rabbitohs this year.
“There have been some excuses. Mixing and matching of the team, injuries. We haven’t really been able to get a lot of traction together,” Graham said.
“We’ve talked about it and tried to address.
“A lot of work to go into the back-end of the season. You need to be playing good footy if you want to be successful in the post-season.
Graham will miss Saturday’s clash with North Queensland with a knee injury, but hopes to return against Newcastle before the Sharks finish the season against Canterbury.
