2023 NRL Round 20 New Zealand Warriors v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2:00pm Sunday 16 July @ Go Media Stadium, Auckland NZ

[CrazyMatt]

Team Lists:

Us:

1. Will Kennedy
2. Sione Katoa
3. Jesse Ramien
4. Siosifa Talakai
5. Ronaldo Mulitalo
6. Matt Moylan
7. Nicho Hynes (c)
8. Oregon Kaufusi
9. Blayke Brailey
10. Toby Rudolf
11. Briton Nikora
12. Teig Wilton
13. Cam McInnes

14. Wade Graham
15. Tom Hazelton
16. Jack Williams
17. Jesse Colqhoun

18. Connor Tracey
19. Kayal Iro
20. Braden Hamlin-Uele
21. Braydon Trindall
22. Tuka Hua Tapuha


Them:

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
3. Rocco Berry
4. Adam Pompey
5. Marcelo Montoya
6. Luke Metcalf
7. Shaun Johnson
8. Addin Fonua-Blake
9. Wayde Egan
10. Mitchell Barnett
11. Jackson Ford
12. Josh Curran
13. Tohu Harris

14. Freddy Lussick
15. Bayley Sironen
16. Tom Ale
17. Dylan Walker

18. Kalani Going
20. Ronald Volkman
21. Taine Tuaupiki
22. Zyon Maiu’u
23. Viliami Vailea



Really looking forward to this one. The Warriors are in form and represents a big test for our blokes, especially over there. Possibly no Shaun Johnson, I’m not really sure whats going on with his partners impending birth. Luke Metcalf’s in good form and represents a big challenge for our defence close to the line. They have a very good aggressive forward pack will be up for the scrap, hopefully our blokes meet that aggression head on. Expecting a lot of big hits and fire and brimstone in defence.

I think we have the advantage in the outside backs, but if our forwards don’t lay the platform, thats probably not going to mean squat.

A win here would be a massive confidence boost, its hard to imagine that these guys havent heard the outside noise about being flat track bullies, well here’s a chance to turn over and in form top 8 team in their own backyard, will they rise to the challenge, or crumble in a heap again? We’ll find out a lot about our blokes this Sunday.

 

[jocktheshark]

Not sure if Dylan Walker will be playing , went off with an arm injury which didn't look good but you never know , he will be a big miss for them if he doesn't play , he comes on when the forwards are just starting to get gassed and really ups the tempo for the Warriors .

This game will be won in the forwards , Warriors are all about keeping it simple with high completions and waiting for the other team to make errors which get them down the other end , and we all know what we did to ourselves the last time we met .

The game plan for us should be simple , compete in the middle without giving up stupid errors or penalties , we do that and our backs will be far too classy for theirs .

If Fitz is smart he will be showing the playing group how the Rabbits beat them a couple of weeks ago .

 

[Gumby]

Not confident one bit with this one. Warriors to win in a close one i feel.

 

[Gards]

I have a sneaky suspicion we win this game

Even though Johnson close to our line has me worried, shake him up and they will crumble

 

[Patrick]

I get the feeling the boys will be fired up for this one. Previous match up in round 5 was pretty humiliating. I think we get up 24-18.

 

[Tiger Shark]

Last few weeks you can tell they've been working on improving completions and not pushing as many stupid passes. We gifted the Warriors that last win so I hope they look to make up for it.

Going to be a good test for where we are at.

 

[Mr Ryan]

When we win there’s a chance they drop out of the 8.

So another win we won’t get any credit for.

 

[bort]

They'll be very dangerous near our line, even though all teams are

SJ and Metcalf can go, pass or kick
Egan can dive over
AFB can power over, Tohu can tip on to put someone into space
Big powerful backs crash over one v one

I don't think they are as threatening from further out - need to play smart and respect the ball when in our own half

 

[jocktheshark]

They'll be very dangerous near our line, even though all teams are

SJ and Metcalf can go, pass or kick
Egan can dive over
AFB can power over, Tohu can tip on to put someone into space
Big powerful backs crash over one v one

I don't think they are as threatening from further out - need to play smart and respect the ball when in our own half

They never go wide in their own half unless well ahead or it's broken play , when coming out they play it simple , one up and get to the kick , and they are very good at doing it and just wait for the other team to commit an error of some sort . If we keep it very tight in the middle and keep the errors to a minimum hence keep them playing from deep they will struggle .

 

[Proud Shark]

I get the feeling the boys will be fired up for this one. Previous match up in round 5 was pretty humiliating. I think we get up 24-18.

I think this will he the biggest motivator and is why I feel fairly confident we can get this one done.

That game was a flat out embarrassment.

 

[HaroldBishop]

We're favourites with the bookies

 

[MrDravid]

Why are the Sharks toothless against top eight sides? - The Rugby League Eye Test

The last few seasons has produced a lot of talk about how the Sharks are flat track bullies, or have had a soft draw, or can’t win against quality competition when it matters. The results tend to agree with this, and the only way for the club to shed this sort of moniker is to deliver finals...

www.rugbyleagueeyetest.com

 

[vicsharkfan]

Feel Fitz may have had this game circled the last few weeks, even whilst we were playing inferior opposition. Sharks 28-16

 

[ben]

Great read. People turned on by numbers will love this.

In short -
1. Our forwards get dominated by top eight sides and have done since 2020.

2. Our forwards need to make more metres and our system of wingers and talakai/ramien taking early hit ups is not giving us enough distance.

3. Our forwards need to lessen the metres gained by top eight sides.

4. Warriors are one of the best performing teams against top eight sides. We are the worst (overall). This weekends game is crucial if we any chance this year.

 

[BurgoShark]

Great read. People turned on by numbers will love this.

In short -
1. Our forwards get dominated by top eight sides and have done since 2020.

2. Our forwards need to make more metres and our system of wingers and talakai/ramien taking early hit ups is not giving us enough distance.

3. Our forwards need to lessen the metres gained by top eight sides.

4. Warriors are one of the best performing teams against top eight sides. We are the worst (overall). This weekends game is crucial if we any chance this year.

The numbers definitely point to the bold part being true (against good teams the Sharks struggle to make metres on early tackles from their own end).

There is nothing in the numbers which indicate the trend is related to the performance of the forwards though. I think you have inferred that part. It could be the forwards' fault, but there could be plenty of other reasons too. The numbers don't tell us that.

 

[Wiz]

Great read. People turned on by numbers will love this.

In short -
1. Our forwards get dominated by top eight sides and have done since 2020.

2. Our forwards need to make more metres and our system of wingers and talakai/ramien taking early hit ups is not giving us enough distance.

3. Our forwards need to lessen the metres gained by top eight sides.

4. Warriors are one of the best performing teams against top eight sides. We are the worst (overall). This weekends game is crucial if we any chance this year.

Of course Burg will disagree that our forwards get owned

 

[bort]

There is also potentially a small factor that teams who match up well against us are more likely to be in the top 8.
If a team plays us twice and has a good matchup in their favour they have two more wins than a team who plays us twice and doesn't. That could very easily be the difference between which of those sides is top 8 and bottom 8 although would really only affect side finishing around the middle - sides that beat us and most other teams will still finish in top 8.

The numbers definitely point to the bold part being true (against good teams the Sharks struggle to make metres on early tackles from their own end).

There is nothing in the numbers which indicate the trend is related to the performance of the forwards though. I think you have inferred that part. It could be the forwards' fault, but there could be plenty of other reasons too. The numbers don't tell us that.

I assume he is inferring if our backs aren't getting it done the forwards need to step up and do it, but if they are already also being dominated then it won't help much I wouldn't think

 

[Wiz]

Why are the Sharks toothless against top eight sides? - The Rugby League Eye Test

The last few seasons has produced a lot of talk about how the Sharks are flat track bullies, or have had a soft draw, or can’t win against quality competition when it matters. The results tend to agree with this, and the only way for the club to shed this sort of moniker is to deliver finals...

www.rugbyleagueeyetest.com

Does this mean the writer is a sook also ?

 

[ben]

The numbers definitely point to the bold part being true (against good teams the Sharks struggle to make metres on early tackles from their own end).

There is nothing in the numbers which indicate the trend is related to the performance of the forwards though. I think you have inferred that part. It could be the forwards' fault, but there could be plenty of other reasons too. The numbers don't tell us that.

Yep I inferred this via stats referencing metres. They are talking middle metres being the predominant area of metres gained and lost. That’s our forwards.

 

[Sparkles]

Not sure if Dylan Walker will be playing , went off with an arm injury which didn't look good but you never know , he will be a big miss for them if he doesn't play , he comes on when the forwards are just starting to get gassed and really ups the tempo for the Warriors .

This game will be won in the forwards , Warriors are all about keeping it simple with high completions and waiting for the other team to make errors which get them down the other end , and we all know what we did to ourselves the last time we met .

The game plan for us should be simple , compete in the middle without giving up stupid errors or penalties , we do that and our backs will be far too classy for theirs .

If Fitz is smart he will be showing the playing group how the Rabbits beat them a couple of weeks ago .

Having to win a tough battle amongst the forwards doesn't fill me with a huge amount of optimism