Sharks face the premier Panthers in tough Saturday night test

Author: Sharks Media
Timestamp: Fri 28 Jul 2023, 07:30 PM

The late withdrawal of Ronaldo Mulitalo, coupled with the season ending injury to Dale Finucane and one week suspension handed down to young forward Jesse Colquhoun has made the task a little more difficult, however it will be a Sharks team determined to restore some pride and bounce back from two losses when they play the Panthers at BlueBet Stadium tomorrow night.

The Sharks gave the Sea Eagles a 30-point head start before a blistering second half comeback almost resulted in an unlikely come from behind win, but against the reigning premiers and current ladder leaders in the Panthers, coach Craig Fitzgibbon knows his team will need to be on their game if they hope to achieve a positive result.

“We need to start strongly but we’re up for the challenge,” Fitzgibbon said. “But we’re excited about it and ready to see what we’re about.”

While the loss last weekend was a disappointing one, leaving the Sharks precariously placed in terms of the top eight and the upcoming NRL Finals, Fitzgibbon is committed to first concentrating on the task at hand, which is the game against the Panthers on Saturday night.

“I thought we were flat, but we only had the ball for 30 per cent of the first half,” Fitzgibbon said of the Manly loss. “But then to play like we did in the second half is something to draw on. We need to combine both parts of our game and put our game together.

“There’s still a lot of footy left. We’ve just got to focus on Penrith at the moment. Looking anywhere ahead, as in end of year, top eight, the draw and we take our eyes off what’s important and what’s important is to build off a performance last week where we needed to be better,” the coach added.

As for the make up of the Sharks side, Mulitalo suffered a training mishap and without sufficient time to recover will miss the Panthers match, Connor Tracey after returning to the Sharks NRL team last week moves to the wing, with Siosifa Talakai back on deck in the centres after sitting out the Sea Eagles game last week.

With Finucane having surgery to repair a ruptured bicep during the week, Cam McInnes moves into the Sharks starting team, while Wade Graham will play left edge after Colquhoun copped a one match ban following a dangerous contact charge.

In the 98 matches played between the two clubs since 1967 when they entered the top tier competition at the same time, the Sharks hold the win-loss advantage, having 52 victories, as compared to 43 from the Panthers, with three matches drawn.

In more recent times, Penrith has won five of the past six over the Sharks, with the lone defeat coming in 2021, while prior to that current dominance by the Panthers it was the Sharks who had won 12 of 14 between 2011 and 2019.

At BlueBet Stadium, the Panthers have won four straight against the Sharks, after dropping the opening round game against Brisbane six in a row this season and 37 of their past 41 matches at their home base.

The Panthers come into the game this week on a four-game winning streak, their lasts victory a 44-18 triumph over the Bulldogs last weekend.

As for the Sharks, while they concede that at times defence has been an issue, the 27.5 points they score per game is the most in the competition this season, with last week the first time in 2023 they have been held scoreless in a half of football.

In player milestones, Panthers back rower Scott Sorensen plays his 100th NRL game, 37 of those at the Cronulla club after debuting for the Sharks in 2014. He joined the Panthers in 2021 and has won 49 of his 60 NRL games for Penrith including both 2021 and 2022 Grand Finals.

The Sharks v Panthers match is the third of a triple header of games at BlueBet, with the Sharks v Panthers in the Jersey Flegg getting the day underway at 3.35pm, the Newtown Jets play Penrith in the KOE NSWE Cup at 5.05pm, before the main NRL fixture at 7.35pm.

See below the two 19-man team lists, with the Sharks retaining Royce Hunt, Kayal Iro and Matt Moylan in the squad as named on Tuesday.

Round 22 - Round 22 - Saturday 29 Jul

Full Time

Panthers

Sharks

Team Lists

Backs

Fullback for Panthers is number 1 Dylan Edwards

Fullback for Sharks is number 1 William Kennedy
Winger for Panthers is number 2 Sunia Turuva

Winger for Sharks is number 2 Sione Katoa
Centre for Panthers is number 3 Tyrone Peachey

Centre for Sharks is number 3 Jesse Ramien
Centre for Panthers is number 4 Stephen Crichton

Centre for Sharks is number 15 Siosifa Talakai
Winger for Panthers is number 5 Brian To'o

Winger for Sharks is number 4 Connor Tracey
Five-Eighth for Panthers is number 6 Jarome Luai

Five-Eighth for Sharks is number 6 Braydon Trindall
Halfback for Panthers is number 7 Nathan Cleary

Halfback for Sharks is number 7 Nicholas Hynes

Forwards

Prop for Panthers is number 10 James Fisher-Harris

Prop for Sharks is number 10 Toby Rudolf
Hooker for Panthers is number 9 Mitch Kenny

Hooker for Sharks is number 9 Blayke Brailey
Prop for Panthers is number 15 Lindsay Smith

Prop for Sharks is number 20 Braden Hamlin-Uele
2nd Row for Panthers is number 11 Scott Sorensen

2nd Row for Sharks is number 11 Briton Nikora
2nd Row for Panthers is number 12 Liam Martin

2nd Row for Sharks is number 12 Wade Graham
Lock for Panthers is number 13 Isaah Yeo

Lock for Sharks is number 13 Cameron McInnes

Interchange

Interchange for Panthers is number 8 Moses Leota

Interchange for Sharks is number 8 Oregon Kaufusi
Interchange for Panthers is number 14 Soni Luke

Interchange for Sharks is number 14 Jack Williams
Interchange for Panthers is number 16 Matthew Eisenhuth

Interchange for Sharks is number 16 Thomas Hazelton
Interchange for Panthers is number 17 Zac Hosking

Interchange for Sharks is number 17 Royce Hunt