NRL ELIMINATION FINAL BETWEEN CANBERRA AND CRONULLA
WHEN: Saturday, 5.40pm AEST
WHERE: GIO Stadium, Canberra
THE FORM
* Canberra (fifth, 14 wins, six losses). Last year’s grand finalists have been strong in the back half of the season, winning nine of 11 matches including a 38-28 victory over the Sharks last weekend.
* Cronulla (eighth, 10 wins, 10 losses). Last weekend’s loss to a weakened Raiders outfit means the Sharks come into the finals without a win over a top eight team this year.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
* Overall: Played 74, Cronulla 39, Canberra 35
* In finals: Cronulla 4 wins – Canberra 2 wins
* Last time: Round 20, 2020: Canberra 38 bt Cronulla 28 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
THE COACHES
* With 12 wins from 18 finals matches Canberra’s Ricky Stuart will equal Bob Fulton in 10th place for the most finals wins by a coach if the Raiders defeat the Sharks.
* Cronulla’s John Morris, a player when Stuart coached the Sharks, is entering his second finals campaign as a coach in his second season having lost to Manly in the first week last year.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Josh Papalii (Canberra) v Aaron Woods (Cronulla)
Barnstorming Queensland and Australia prop Papalii is the barometer of the Raiders. Big Papa won his fourth Meninga Medal during the week and will be fresh after being rested last weekend. Former NSW and Test prop Woods will need to wind back the clock to make sure the Raiders’ big man doesn’t create carnage through the middle of the park.
Chad Townsend (Cronulla) v George Williams (Canberra)
Townsend will be itching to make an impact after three weeks on the sidelines following his sending off for a shoulder charge against Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga in round 17. The Sharks’ half has never scored against the Raiders but has won 11 of 15 matches against the Green Machine. After becoming the third player to move to Canberra from Wigan in recent seasons, Englishman Williams has been impressive in his debut NRL campaign and will be eager to impress in his first finals appearance Down Under.
Wade Graham (Cronulla) v John Bateman (Canberra)
After filling in at five-eighth, Sharks captain Graham returns to his regular backrow position and is up against the team he has scored the most tries (7) against than any other in the NRL. Graham is one of three Sharks, along with Townsend and Andrew Fifita, remaining from the 2016 win in Canberra the last time these teams met in the finals. Bateman is returning to England at the end of the season but has already spoken about his desire to go one better than last year’s grand final appearance before he heads back to Wigan.
THE STATS
* Cronulla have won six of the past seven matches in Canberra but the Raiders won the most recent clash in the nation’s capital, beating the Sharks 22-20 in 2019.
* The Sharks’ 480 points conceded this season is the highest of any team in the finals, with Canberra only allowing 317 points in their 20 regular season matches.
THE TIP
* Canberra by 14
