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Sharks v Raiders: Forward depth tested; Whitehead withdraws

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pan66.com
Timestamp

After both suffering their first loss of the season in Round 3, the Sharks and Raiders are looking to return to winning ways when they clash on Sunday evening.

Hammered by the Wests Tigers in a 32-6 boilover last week, Cronulla looked a shadow of the side who toughed out an opening-round win over the Warriors before beating the Bulldogs comfortably the following week.

Errors, 16 of them in total, were the main issue for Craig Fitzgibbon’s side, who completed just 67 percent of their 37 sets and on the back of it struggled to manage the game when they did get chances. 

Canberra likely took more positives out of their 18-10 defeat to the Warriors in Christchurch, which saw them remain right in the contest until the final five minutes. 

In what will be their 82nd all-time meeting, the Sharks will become the team the Raiders have faced the most across their history on Sunday, with the leger currently sitting at an almost perfectly balanced 41-40 record tilted slightly in Canberra’s favour.

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Team Talk

Sharks: The home side are 1-17 with no changes on game day. Dale Finucane (facial injury), Royce Hunt (calf) and Toby Rudolf (ankle) are all out, forcing Siosifa Talakai to shift from the centres to the back row and bringing Kayal Iro into the outside backs. Tom Hazelton has been named to start at prop. Jayden Berrell is 18th man.

Raiders: No late changes after skipper Elliott Whitehead dropped out on Saturday with a calf injury. Zac Hosking moves into the starting side and Corey Horsburgh joins the bench for his first game of 2024. Seb Kris' return from concussion offsets the loss of Albert Hopoate (arm). James Schiller is preferred to Nick Cotric on the wing. 

Team Lists

Backs

  • Fullback for Sharks is number 1 William Kennedy
    Fullback for Raiders is number 1 Jordan Rapana
  • Winger for Sharks is number 2 Sione Katoa
    Winger for Raiders is number 2 James Schiller
  • Centre for Sharks is number 3 Jesse Ramien
    Centre for Raiders is number 3 Matthew Timoko
  • Centre for Sharks is number 4 Kayal Iro
    Centre for Raiders is number 4 Sebastian Kris
  • Winger for Sharks is number 5 Ronaldo Mulitalo
    Winger for Raiders is number 5 Xavier Savage
  • Five-Eighth for Sharks is number 6 Braydon Trindall
    Five-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Ethan Strange
  • Halfback for Sharks is number 7 Nicholas Hynes
    Halfback for Raiders is number 7 Jamal Fogarty

Forwards

  • Prop for Sharks is number 8 Thomas Hazelton
    Prop for Raiders is number 8 Josh Papalii
  • Hooker for Sharks is number 9 Blayke Brailey
    Hooker for Raiders is number 9 Danny Levi
  • Prop for Sharks is number 10 Oregon Kaufusi
    Prop for Raiders is number 10 Joseph Tapine
  • 2nd Row for Sharks is number 11 Siosifa Talakai
    2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Hudson Young
  • 2nd Row for Sharks is number 12 Teig Wilton
    2nd Row for Raiders is number 16 Zac Hosking
  • Lock for Sharks is number 13 Cameron McInnes
    Lock for Raiders is number 13 Morgan Smithies

Interchange

  • Interchange for Sharks is number 14 Daniel Atkinson
    Interchange for Raiders is number 14 Tom Starling
  • Interchange for Sharks is number 15 Jack Williams
    Interchange for Raiders is number 15 Ata Mariota
  • Interchange for Sharks is number 16 Billy Burns
    Interchange for Raiders is number 17 Pasami Saulo
  • Interchange for Sharks is number 17 Tuku Hau Tapuha
    Interchange for Raiders is number 19 Corey Horsburgh

Reserves

  • Replacement for Sharks is number 18 Jayden Berrell
    Replacement for Raiders is number 22 Nick Cotric

Match Officials

  • Referee: Todd Smith
  • Touch Judge: Kasey Badger
  • Touch Judge: Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
  • Senior Review Official: Gerard Sutton

Last updated:

Stat Attack

  • The Sharks have won five of their past seven games at PointsBet Stadium.
  • Canberra Raiders have won nine of their past 10 games against the Sharks.
  • Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has scored 14 tries in his past 11 games at PointsBet Stadium.
  • Raiders winger Jordan Rapana will make his 200th appearance for the club.

Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the .

Related

Acknowledgement of Country

National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.