Mt Smart Stadium will play host to Sunday's Round 20 NRL game between New Zealand Warriors and Cronulla Sharks. The game kicks off at 2:00 pm with Cronulla Sharks heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the New Zealand Warriors vs. Cronulla Sharks game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Sunday July 16, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Where: Mt Smart Stadium

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New Zealand Warriors vs Cronulla Sharks Odds

New Zealand Warriors vs Cronulla Sharks Preview

The sixth-placed Warriors are aiming to join third-placed Cronulla Sharks on 26 points in this tantalising Sunday afternoon clash, while both teams have a bit of a point to prove.

The Warriors bounced back from a deflating 28-6 home loss to Souths with their fourth win in five games last weekend, taking advantage of an Origin-depleted Parramatta to win 46-10.

Luke Metcalf starred, while Jackson Ford, Mitch Barnett and Dylan Walker tore up the Eels through the middle and on the edges.

It was the exponentially improved Warriors’ fourth straight win in Australia, but they are a comparatively modest 3-2 at Mt Smart this season. Wins over the Bulldogs, Cowboys and Dolphins were patchy, while losses in the wet to the Roosters and Rabbitohs were the worst of a great campaign.

Humbled 54-10 in Melbourne in Round 15, the Sharks have since pummelled bottom-three trio Bulldogs, Dragons and Tigers by a combined 136 points to 38. But their glaring 1-5 record against the current Top 8 (with the sole win against the Eels in Round 2) continues to hover over them.

Sione Katoa scored a blazing hat-trick last week and Nicho Hynes was in dominant touch, but the Sharks need to step up against a quality team.

The Warriors’ only change sees Josh Curran return from suspension in the second-row and Mitch Barnett shift to prop for Bunty Afoa (head knock), but they are again sweating on Shaun Johnson’s availability as he awaits the birth of his second child.

The Sharks are unchanged, though Braden Hamlin-Uele is in the reserves and could be a late inclusion. Dale Finucane has one week left to serve of his suspension.

The Warriors’ incredible 32-30 win in Sydney in Round 5 – fighting back from 20-0 down – was just their third in 13 games against the Sharks, who have won the teams’ last three clashes in Auckland.

But this is only the Sharks’ fourth game outside NSW in 2023; interstate trips have garnered losses to the Raiders, Dolphins and Storm, conceding an average of 38 points. Johnson’s absence would flip this game on its head, but the Warriors hold the value in a pick ’em.

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