The Dragons woeful season continued last Monday at the hands of South Sydney, losing 29 – 10.
It was the Dragons’ seventh loss from their past eight games, six of those defeats being by margins of 16 points or more.
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It’s hard to find a positive for the Dragons at present who, with the inclusion of Benji Marshall at Five-eight and new Coach Paul McGregor having just taken over the reigns from dismissed Steve Price, have looked all at sea in the past month.
However, despite their form and the fact that they’ve only produced a total of 30 points from their past four matches, they’ll head into this game as their opponents also have little to boast about in season 2014.
Josh Duggan has been moved to the centres for this game in the hope of the ball finding him more regularly and Trent Merrin returns from Origin duty.
SHARKS
The Sharks suffered their third successive loss to South Sydney in round eleven 18 – 0. Played in slippery conditions, the Sharks made the Rabbitohs earn each of their three tries and were only trailing 6 – 0 at the half-time break.
It was the first time in four matches that the Sharks have failed to post more than eighteen points and they missed the spark that regular five-eight Todd Carney provides in attack. Carney will miss this game with NRL debutante Fa’amanu Brown being named in his spot.
That’s one of a number of changes for the Sharks that also sees Michael Gordon shift to the centres with speedster Nathan Gardner taking the fullback spot.
The Sharks have won only two games and with the poorer for and against, find themselves on the bottom of the ladder.
Desperate to climb up a rung or two from there, a win against the old foes the Dragons should prove enough inspiration for them to mount a strong challenge.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Dragons snuck home 14 – 12 when the sides last met in round 3 of this year. After that victory though, the Dragons have posted only one more win.
Last time the two sides met at Win, in round 23 last year, it was the Sharks victorious 22 – 18.
The Sharks haven’t been bad their last two outings, certainly not to the same degree as the Dragons but they’ll be no excuse for the Dragons here who have named their strongest side up against a new edition of the Sharks.
DRAGONS 1 – 12
Odds Comparison:
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| St George Illawarra Dragons | 1.55 | 1.53 | 1.53 | 1.53 | 1.55 | 1.57 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 2.50 | 2.55 | 2.55 | 2.55 | 2.50 | 2.40 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Dragons: Adam Quinlan, Peter Mata’utia, Josh Dugan, Gerard Beale, Jason Nightingale, Gareth Widdop, Benji Marshall, Ben Creagh (c), Mitch Rein, Dan Hunt, Leeson Ah Mau, Joel Thompson, Trent Merrin. Interchange: Tyson Frizell, Jack de Belin, Mike Cooper, Bronson Harrison, Shane Pumipi, Will Matthews
Sharks: Nathan Gardner, Nathan Stapleton, Blake Ayshford, Michael Gordon, Jacob Gagan, Fa’amanu Brown, Daniel Holdsworth, Siosaia Vave, John Morris, Bryce Gibbs, Luke Lewis, Wade Graham, Chris Heighington. Interchange: Isaac De Gois, Sam Tagataese, Tinirau Arona, David Fifita, Tupou Sopoaga
