Cronulla Sharks vs St George Illawarra Dragons preview – NRL 2013 Round 4
Joseph
Easter Saturdays NRL Round 4 match is between Cronulla Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons. The game is set to commence at 7:30pm local time with the match to be played at Sharks Stadium. The odds have the home team Cronulla as the short priced favourites. View the preview and teams for the game between Cronulla Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons.
Watch Out Sharks: The Dragons will be desperate to show their fans they are not a lost cause in 2013 so it’s likely they’ll play to their strengths – which means their strong-running outside backs are likely to see plenty of ball. The Dragons’ back three combined for a staggering 643 metres in their victory the last time the sides met, with Brett Morris as always tough to contain. The leading runner in the NRL in 2012, Morris is averaging 131 metres and has 12 tackle-breaks to date in 2013.
Plenty of experts say he’s the wrong man for the job but Dragons halfback Nathan Fien’s attacking stats compare favourably with some of the NRL’s better-performed No.7s. Fien has scored a try, set up two others and has a line-break and line-break assist to his name. That places him above his opposite number Jeff Robson (just a line-break and a try) and NSW halfback Mitchell Pearce (three line-break assists only), to name two. If Fien gets his short kicking and short passing games right he will cause damage close to the Sharks’ try line.
Watch Out Dragons: Cronulla’s win over the Warriors further showcased the Shire side’s reliance on second-phase play to keep the action up-tempo. They made 16 offloads last week, 21 against the Rabbitohs and 11 against the Titans for an NRL-high weekly average of 16 so far. In tight the threats come from Paul Gallen (nine) and Chris Heighington (eight) while wider out Todd Carney and Luke Lewis (five each) have been prolific.
Expect Todd Carney to test out Dragons fullback Gerard Beale with a variety of attacking kicks after the new recruit’s confidence was bruised in the loss to the Raiders. Beale failed to contest a bomb that resulted in a try to Jarrod Croker and was often late to arrive on the scene covering along the Dragons’ goal line. Clearly his defensive play is a work in progress.
Plays To Watch: Todd Carney’s long cut-out passes on the right edge; Ben Creagh actually taking the ball rather than running decoy lines on the left fringe (his obstruction cost the Dragons a try last week); John Morris continuing the form that saw him notch a try, try assist, line-break and three offloads last week; Mitch Rein taking on more responsibility close to the Sharks’ try line.
Key Match-Up: Paul Gallen v Trent Merrin. While Gallen is the benchmark for all-round value on the footy field, Merrin is developing into the Dragons’ most valuable player every week. Shifted to lock this year he’s combining great go-forward with a prolific offloading game – he is averaging 122 metres, has made an NRL-high 10 offloads and a whopping 35 tackles a game in just 63 minutes on the park each week to date. Meanwhile Gallen is averaging 190 metres, has nine offloads and is making 27 tackles in 72 minutes. Expect both players to have a say in their team’s additions to the scoreboard.
Where It Will Be Won: Defence. Even if the Dragons manage to slip their attack into a higher gear that’s only half the job done – they still need batten down the hatches in defence.
In recent seasons the Red V have earned respect for a rock-hard defensive wall but if the stats from the first three rounds are anything to go by that wall is starting to crumble. Last season St George Illawarra missed the third-fewest tackles with a touch over 28 per game. But this season only five teams have missed more tackles. Worryingly the Sharks are averaging five fewer missed tackles than their opponents this week. It’s the reason they are leaking just 2.3 line-breaks per match, compared to the Dragons’ 4.3.
The History: Played 30; Sharks 15, Dragons 14, drawn 1. The Dragons have won six of the past 10 matches between the sides, including their biggest win over the Sharks (28-nil in 2010). But the Sharks have a dominant 9-4 record at home – most recently they defeated the Dragons 12-nil back in Round 6 last season, before falling 18-10 in Wollongong in Round 19.
Match Officials: Referees – Ashley Klein & Phil Haines; Sideline Officials – Nick Beashel & Dan Eastwood; Video Referees – Luke Phillips & Luke Patten.
Televised: Fox Sports 1 – Live 7.30pm.
The Way We See It: St George Illawarra may be 0-3 but they have been competitive for the majority of game time, only to fall away in the second half. If they can build a lead at halftime they may be some hope but up against a Sharks side that seems to have absorbed all the recent off-field drama and used it as fuel on the field, it could be a tall order. Sharks by eight points.
Teams:
SHARKS:
Michael Gordon, Jonathan Wright, Ben Pomeroy, Matthew Wright, Beau Ryan, Todd Carney, Jeff Robson, Andrew Fifita, John Morris, Ben Ross, Luke Lewis, Wade Graham, Paul Gallen (capt)
Interchange: Chris Heighington, Jayson Bukuya, Isaac De Gois, Anthony Tupou, Sam Tagataese (one to be omitted)
DRAGONS:
Gerard Beale, Brett Morris, Daniel Vidot, Matt Cooper, Jason Nightingale, Jamie Soward, Nathan Fien, Dan Hunt, Mitch Rein, Michael Weyman, Tyson Frizell, Ben Creagh (capt), Trent Merrin
Interchange: Bronson Harrison, Jack Stockwell, Matt Prior, Cameron King, Leeson Ah Mau, Chase Stanley (two to be omitted)
Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?
For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au
