Round 18 looms large with the much-anticipated local derby between the Sharks and the Dragons this Sunday at Remondis Stadium.
With only a game separating them on the NRL ladder, the Sharks aim to reverse the result at Kogarah back in Round 12 in a match that saw the Sharks concede six tries and score just one.
Home games against St George-Illawarra have been defensive battles iced with individual brilliance which have helped to break the deadlocks in most of these games. Cronulla have won nine of 15 at Remondis.
This will be our 36th game since 1999 against the merged St George Illawarra Dragons team.
Top Sharks try scorers against the Dragons since the partnership with the Illawarra Steelers began are David Peachey (with 7 in total) and Ben Pomeroy (4), who leads the charge with most Sharks tries at Remondis versus the Dragons. Former fullback Brett Kearney holds the record for most tries in a game v St George-Illawarra at home, scoring a hat-trick back in 2007.
Last time the two sides met at Remondis was in Round 03, March 22, 2014. In a defensive tug-of-war the Dragons snatched the win scoring their points in the first half, including some freakish magic in the north-west corner by winger Brett Morris to crush Sharks hearts. Now Sharks Elite Development Coach, John Morris crossed for a deserved try after 30 minutes and scored another with ten minutes remaining to narrow the final margin to two.
Cronulla-Sutherland 12 (John Morris 2 tries; Michael Gordon 2 goals from 2 attempts)
St George-Illawarra 14 (Brett Morris 2 tries; Jason Nightingale tries; Gareth Widdop 1 goal from 3 attempts)
The Sharks and Dragons line-ups who played in front of a crowd of 14,821 were:
Sharks: 1.Fullback Michael Gordon; 2.Wing Sosaia Feki, 3.Centre Blake Ayshford, 4.Centre Ricky Leutele, 5.Wing Jonathan Wright; 6.Five-Eighth Todd Carney, 7.Halfback Daniel Holdsworth; 15.Lock Tinirau Arona, 12.Second Row Wade Graham (Captain), 11.Second Row Tupou Sopoaga, 10.Front Row Bryce Gibbs, 9.Hooker John Morris, 8.Front Row Sam Tagataese. Interchange: 13.Chris Heighington, 16.Matt Prior, 17.Siosaia Vave, 20.Isaac De Gois.
Dragons: 1.Fullback Adam Quinlan; 2.Wing Brett Morris, 3.Centre Dylan Farrell, 4.Centre Gerard Beale, 5.Wing Jason Nightingale; 6.Five-Eighth Gareth Widdop, 7.Halfback Sam Williams; 13.Lock Trent Merrin, 12.Second Row Ben Creagh (Captain), 11.Second Row Leeson Ah Mau, 10.Front Row Dan Hunt, 9.Hooker Mitch Rein, 8.Front Row Tyson Frizell. Interchange: 15.Kyle Stanley, 16.Joel Thompson, 17.Michael Cooper, 20.Jack De Belin.
Halftime: Dragons 14-6. Scrums: Sharks 10-9. Penalties: 6 all.
Referees: Adam Devcich and Henry Perenara.
Sharks Coach: Peter Sharp. Dragons Coach: Steven Price.
SHARKS FACT: The Sharks have put on 40 points twice at home against the Dragons, in 2000 and 2007, scoring 7 tries in both games.
Go Sharks!
SHARKS / Dragons
OUR RECORD @ HOME (1999-2015)
All-Time Record: Played 35 Won 16 Drawn 1 Lost 18 Points For 576 Points Against 714
Total Record at Remondis: Played 15 Won 9 Drawn 0 Lost 6 Points For 278 Points Against 252
Sharks Form in Last 5 Home Games v Dragons: Loss 12-14 (Rd 03 2014) Loss 12-25 (Rd 04 2013) Won 12-10 (Rd 06 2012) Won 16-10 (Rd 02 2011) Loss 4-22 (Rd 15 2010)
Sharks Form in Last 5 Games v Dragons: Loss 6-42 (Rd 12 2015 at Jubilee Oval) Loss 0-30 (Rd 13 2014 at WIN Stadium, Wollongong) Loss 12-14 (Rd 03 2014 at Remondis Stadium) Won 22-18 (Rd 23 2013 at WIN Stadium) Loss 12-25 (Rd 04 2013 at Sharks Stadium)
Sharks First Game v St George-Illawarra Dragons: Rd 08 at Shark Park, April 25, 1999 (Sharks Won 18-16) Sharks Scorers: David Peachey 2, Brett Howland tries; Mat Rogers 3 goals Att: 22,279
Sharks Last Win v Dragons at Remondis: Rd 06 April 07, 2012 (Won 12-0) Sharks Scorers: Wade Graham, John Morris tries; Todd Carney 2 goals Att: 21,380
Sharks Biggest Win v Dragons at Remondis: 40-4 Rd 04 April 09, 2007 (36pts margin) Sharks Scorers: Brett Kearney 3, Ben Pomeroy 2, Fraser Anderson, David Simmons tries; Luke Covell 6 goals Att: 19,137
Sharks Heaviest Defeat v Dragons at Remondis: 12-42 Rd 08 May 01, 2004 (30pts margin)
Sharks Best Home Attendance v Dragons: 23,302 Rd 08 May 01, 2004
Sharks Home Attendance Average v Dragons: 17,865
Sharks Home Points Per Game Average v Dragons: 18.5pts
Most Points Scored by the Sharks v Dragons at Remondis: (40pts) Rd 20 June 18, 2000; (40pts) Rd 04 April 09, 2007
Most Aggregate Points Scored in a Game v Dragons at Remondis: (54pts) 12-42 Rd 08 May 01, 2004
Most Sharks Points Conceded v Dragons at Remondis: (42pts) 12-42 Rd 08 May 01, 2004
Most Total Points Scored by a Sharks Player v Dragons at Remondis: (32pts) by Luke Covell, (2 tries, 12 goals)
Most Points Scored by a Sharks Player in a Game v Dragons at Remondis: (14pts) by Brett Kimmorley, (1 try, 5 goals), Rd 13 June 08, 2002
Most Tries Scored in a Game v Dragons at Remondis: (3 tries) by Brett Kearney, Rd 04 April 09, 2007
Most Goals Scored in a Game v Dragons at Remondis: (6 goals) by Luke Covell, Rd 04 April 09, 2007
Most Sharks Team Tries Scored in a Game v Dragons at Remondis: (7 tries) Rd 20 June 18, 2000 (Won 40-10); (7 tries) Rd 04 April 09, 2007 (Won 40-4)
Total Try Scorers for the Sharks v Dragons at Remondis: (49 Tries, 34 Try Scorers) Ben Pomeroy 4; Chris McKenna 3; Brett Kearney 3; John Morris 3; David Peachey 2; Andrew Ettingshausen 2; Paul Mellor 2; Brett Kimmorley 2; Luke Covell 2; David Simmons 2; Brett Howland 1; Colin Best 1; Paul Mellor 1; Mat Rogers 1; Colin Best 1; Karl Lovell 1; Matthew Rieck 1; Jarrad Anderson 1; Phil Bailey 1; Matt Hilder 1; Jason Kent 1; Michael Sullivan 1; Matt Bickerstaff 1; Sam Isemonger 1; Darren Albert 1; Lance Thompson 1; Nigel Vagana 1; Fraser Anderson 1; Blake Ferguson 1; Isaac Gordon 1; Anthony Tupou 1; Wade Graham 1; Andrew Fifita 1; Jeff Robson 1.
Total Goal Scorers for the Sharks v Dragons at Remondis: (40 Goals, 10 Goal Scorers) Luke Covell 12; Brett Kimmorley 7; Mat Rogers 6; Michael Gordon 4; Blaine Stanley 3; Jarrad Anderson 2; John Williams 2; Todd Carney 2; Jason Ferris 1; Lance Thompson 1.
Total Field Goal Scorers for the Sharks v Dragons at Remondis: (2 Field Goals, 2 Field Goal Scorers) Michael Sullivan 1 (2003); Brett Kimmorley 1 (2008).
All-Time Total Try Scorers for the Sharks v Dragons: (101 Tries, 49 Try Scorers) David Peachey 7; Colin Best 6; David Simmons 6; Chris McKenna 5; Ben Pomeroy 5; Brett Howland 4; Paul Mellor 4; Brett Kearney 4; Andrew Ettingshausen 3; Matthew Rieck 3; Greg Bird 3; Nigel Vagana 3; Luke Covell 3; Wade Graham 3; John Morris 3; Paul Franze 2; Phil Bailey 2; Matt Bickerstaff 2; Paul Gallen 2; Andrew Fifita 2; Mat Rogers 1; Preston Campbell 1; Brent Grose 1; Damien Mostyn 1; Matthew Johns 1; Brett Kimmorley 1; Karl Lovell 1; Laloa Milford 1; Jarrad Anderson 1; Matt Hilder 1; Jason Kent 1; Michael Sullivan 1; Sam Isemonger 1; Ryan McGoldrick 1; Beau Scott 1; Darren Albert 1; Lance Thompson 1; Fraser Anderson 1; Mitch Brown 1; Bryson Goodwin 1; Brett Kimmorley 1; Blake Ferguson 1; Isaac Gordon 1; Anthony Tupou 1; Josh Cordoba 1; Jeff Robson 1; Isaac De Gois 1; Beau Ryan 1; Valentine Holmes 1.
All-Time Goal Scorers for the Sharks v Dragons: (85 Goals, 14 Goal Scorers) Luke Covell 23; Brett Kimmorley 19; Mat Rogers 15; Todd Carney 6; Michael Gordon 5; Blaine Stanley 3; Jason Ferris 3; Preston Campbell 3; Jarrad Anderson 2; John Williams 2; Mitch Healey 1; Matt Hilder 1; Nathan Merritt 1; Lance Thompson 1.
All-Time Field Goal Scorers for the Sharks v Dragons: (2 Field Goals, 2 Field Goals Scorers) Michael Sullivan (1 in 2003); Brett Kimmorley (1 in 2008).
