Friday’s NRL 2018 Round 19 match is between Cronulla Sharks and Canberra Raiders. The opening kick is set to commence at 18:00 local time with the game to be played at Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney. The home team Cronulla Sharks are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Cronulla Sharks and Canberra Raiders.
When: 18:00 | Friday 20/07/2018
Where: Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
Preview:
Coming off a big win over the Panthers, the Sharks have been very impressive through the Origin period and for once, they haven’t had to supply five to six players as per usual and they are really benefitting from that.
The other big added bonus is the form the star recruit Matt Moylan is in.
He’s been excellent over the past two months and he holds the key for their success moving forward.
The Raiders still somehow have a flicker of hope in season 2018, but the best attacking team in 2018 comes up against the best defensive side.
This will prove to be a real interesting battle.
I’ve been super impressed with the toughness of the Sharks and their ability to grind out victories.
KEY BATTLE: Sharks forwards v Raiders forwards
The forward pack battle will be the big talking point as both are littered with size, experience and skill.
The Verdict
I think the Sharks will be too strong at home and with the bonus of six former Origin players leading the charge will put a red line through the Raiders’ season.
The Sharks have a 16-5 (67.2 percent) record in games played during July since 2013.
It will be a low scoring affair.
Unibet Odds:
Cronulla Sharks at $1.55
Canberra Raiders at $2.48
Odds:
Tip: Cronulla Sharks at $1.46
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Jordan Rapana at $12.00
More Info:
Teams:
Cronulla Sharks:
1 Valentine Holmes, 2 Sione Katoa, 3 Jesse Ramien, 4 Ricky Leutele, 5 Edrick Lee, 6 Matt Moylan, 7 Chad Townsend, 8 Andrew Fifita, 9 Jayden Brailey, 10 Matt Prior, 11 Scott Sorensen, 12 Wade Graham, 13 (c)
Interchange: 14 Joseph Paulo, 15 James Segeyaro, 16 Aaron Woods, 17 Jayson Bukuya
Reserves: 18 Ava Seumanufagai, 19 Sosaia Feki, 20 Kurt Dillon, 21 Kyle Flanagan.
Canberra Raiders: 
1 Brad Abbey, 2 Nick Cotric, 3 Michael Oldfield, 4 Joseph Leilua, 5 Jordan Rapana, 6 Sam Williams, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8 Dunamis Lui, 9 Josh Hodgson (c), 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Sia Soliola, 12 Elliott Whitehead, 13 Josh Papalii
Interchange: 14 Blake Austin, 15 Luke Bateman, 16 Siliva Havili, 17 Liam Knight
Reserves: 18 Craig Garvey, 19 Jack Murchie, 20 Royce Hunt, 21 Emre Guler.
NRL News:
Cronulla’s cavalcade of big-name stars look ready to find their feet at the right time with Matt Moylan firing and Josh Dugan and Luke Lewis due back from injuries.
Moylan had his best game of the season over former club Penrith on Friday night, scoring his first try for Cronulla then busting through to set up another late while he was consistently booed in the 24-12 win.
It came at a crucial time for the Sharks, who are now provisionally in fifth but only have two more games against top-eight teams in the final seven rounds.
“Our combinations are building,” Moylan said.
“It’s a really important back-end of the year for us as a club and hopefully I can keep improving to play my best footy.”
Lewis is expected to return from a calf injury against Canberra next week, while Dugan could join him in coming back from a knee injury.
But Shane Flanagan is taking a cautious approach with the fullback, given he’s played just eight games for his new club and had two separate injury stints already this year.
“It just hasn’t come together as quick as we’d like.,” Flanagan said.
“We could push him to play but we want to make sure he is right and he doesn’t come back and then is injured again.
“He’s back running but still a bit of pain in and around his lower knee. I would like to think definitely two weeks but maybe one.”
Cronulla also lost Jason Bukuya to a shoulder injury on Friday night which will require further attention, but centre Jesse Ramien is expected to overcome a collarbone issue after being a late withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the win reignited debate about who had won out in the famous Moylan and James Maloney off-season swap, with both teams now equal on 24 competition points.
“Jimmy is a great player and everyone seems to forget that the reason Jimmy isn’t at our club is because he wanted a two or three year extension coming off the back of the grand final,” Flanagan said.
“Money doesn’t grow on trees and we just couldn’t afford to do it. It was a salary cap decision that we weren’t going to go that way.
“We knew he was a great player and he’s doing a great job out here and did a great job for NSW.
“But I think we got a handy replacement as well who is a little bit and he’s doing a good job for us.”