The Sharks are closing in on 2nd place on the ladder, and if they can get a win against the Bulldogs today, they will put tremendous pressure on the Cowboys to win against the Rabbitohs later on tonight. The Bulldogs season has hit the skids, and it appears as though they have given up on getting any further results for season 2022, concentrating more on the off-season and moving forward in season 2023. A month ago, this would have been an interesting match-up, now though, we could be in for another one-sided contest.
Ben Bridge dives into the action with his NRL betting tips for the Sharks vs Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon NRL.
Cronulla Sharks vs Canterbury Bulldogs
PointsBet Stadium, Saturday 27th August, 5:30pm (AEST)
Squads
Cronulla Sharks
1. Lachlan Miller 2. Matt Ikuvalu 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Royce Hunt 11. Briton Nikora 12. Wade Graham 13. Dale Finucane. INTERCHANGE: 14. Teig Wilton 15. Cameron McInnes 16. Aiden Tolman 17. Andrew Fifita. RESERVES: 18. Braydon Trindall 19. Jesse Colquhoun 20. Franklin Pele 21. Kayal Iro 22. Luke Metcalf
Canterbury Bulldogs
1. Jake Averillo 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Aaron Schoupp 4. Braidon Burns 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Max King 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Josh Jackson 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Luke Thompson. INTERCHANGE: 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Joe Stimson 16. Harrison Edwards 17. Chris Patolo. RESERVES: 19. Declan Casey 20. Bailey Biondi-Odo 21. Jackson Topine 22. Kurtis Morrin 23. Jeral Skelton
Match Preview
The Sharks and Bulldogs battle for the second time in less than two months on Saturday night, with the Sharks playing their final regular season game at home. The Sharks weren’t at their best in that clash, however managed to come away 18-6 winners.
Over the past 3 weeks the Bulldogs have been quite poor, losing by 13+ in each match. Their poorest showing was two weeks ago against the Warriors, who steamrolled the Bulldogs 42-18 in Auckland, signalling the end of the form reversal the Bulldogs had shown since the start of the year.
The Sharks, on the other hand, have been building nicely towards September, and are currently on a 4-game winning streak, and they have won 9 of their past 10. They are desperate for a win here to put pressure on the Cowboys, as 2nd place on the ladder means a home semi final for the Sydney based team, which will more than likely be against a Queensland (Cowboys) or Victorian (Storm) based opponent.
We have another eye-popping spread in this game, with the Sharks currently 20.5-point favourites. The look-ahead was Sharks -10.5, whilst the opening number had moved to Sharks -14.5, and it has kept moving. Given the quality of matches being played over the past two weeks, there’s only one direction to take in this one, and that is a Sharks win by margin.
In team news, both teams have lost their starting lock, with Dale Finucane out for the Sharks, and Luke Thompson out for the Bulldogs. Interestingly, the Sharks have a ready-made replacement in Cam McInnes, while the Bulldogs have named rookie Harrison Edwards to start at lock. The two forward packs are light years apart right now, and I see the Sharks rolling through this soft Bulldogs pack and Nicho Hynes and Matt Moylan dominating off the back of this. The Sharks will win, and win well.
Alternate Bet:
Bulldogs (team total) – under 13.5 - $1.93 @ Unibet
Sharks (-20.5)
$1.90 (3 units)
