Round 7 of the NRL season kicks off on Thursday night as the Sharks take on the Sea Eagles from Pointsbet Stadium at 7.50pm! As always, Greg Davis is here to run you through the game and provide his NRL betting tips below.
Sharks vs Sea Eagles Betting Tips
PointsBet Stadium, Cronulla, Thursday 21st April, 7.50pm (AEST)
Squads
Sharks
1. Will Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Toby Rudolf 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Aiden Tolman 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Braydon Trindall 15. Jack Williams 16. Royce Hunt 17. Andrew Fifita 18. Lachlan Miller 19. Mawene Hiroti 20. Matt Ikuvalu 21. Jesse Colquhoun 22. Kayal Iro 23. Thomas Hazelton 24. Franklin Pele
Sea Eagles
1. Reuben Garrick 2. Jason Saab 3. Brad Parker 4. Morgan Harper 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Toafofoa Sipley 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Taniela Paseka 11. Haumole Olakau'atu 12. Andrew Davey 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Dylan Walker 15. Karl Lawton 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Kurt De Luis 18. Ben Trbojevic 19. Tolutau Koula 20. Jorge Taufua 21. Kaeo Weekes 22. James Roumanos 23. Viliami Fifita 24. Jacob Sykes
“Look, Mum! No Turbo!”
Yes, Manly have defied some modern rugby league history to win the past two weeks without their star fullback Tom Trbojevic but the true test of their ability to triumph without Turbo comes this week in the shape of the Cronulla Sharks.
The Sea Eagles are on a four-game winning streak with victories over Canterbury, Canberra, Newcastle and Gold Coast but the sixth-placed Manly (4-2) is yet to beat any team above them on the ladder in 2022.
The Sharks are also 4-2 but sit in third with a healthier for-and-against than the Sea Eagles having had their four-game winning streak snapped when they were “Munstered” by Melbourne last week.
There is no shame in losing to the Storm in Melbourne especially when superstar Cameron Munster has a blinder. He was simply untouchable and unbeatable.
Cronulla were also behind the eight-ball when they lost Dale Finucane early with a head knock – that will keep him out of this encounter with the Sea Eagles.
Cameron McInnes replaces Finucane at lock while veteran prop Aiden Tolman comes into Cronulla’s starting side.
Centre Morgan Harper is back in the Manly starting side after recovering from COVID.
The clash of the fullbacks seems to be the head-to-head match-up that decides most matches in the NRL these days but this tantalising top six showdown will be all about the blokes in the no.7 jumpers. It’s a bit old school.
Daly Cherry-Evans has been superb this season to the point where if an Australian Test team was picked today, he would get the nod as Kangaroos halfback ahead of Nathan Cleary with the captaincy as the significant cherry on top.
Reuben Garrick has done a wonderful job as the makeshift fullback in Trbojevic’s absence but Cherry-Evans has been driving the bus for the Silvertails who are off to much better start compared to 12 months ago.
Nicho Hynes has also been very impressive for his new club Cronulla after making the switch from Melbourne utility to Sharks no.7 with aplomb.
Most players who leave the vaunted Storm system do not seem to thrive that way they did under Melbourne master coach Craig Bellamy. But Hynes has taken his game to another level with the increased game time and responsibility.
Manly are not scared of the venue having won 10 times in their last 17 trips to the Shire, including a whopping win in the run into the finals last year.
The Sea Eagles have managed to beat who has been in front of them in the past month and while the Sharks will their toughest proposition yet, the loss of Finucane will hurt the Sharks.
Manly by 1-12
$3.60 (1 Unit)
