The Cowboys face the Broncos in a showdown between the top eight Townsville, after the Sharks defeated the Bulldogs 18-6.
Later, the Rabbitoh play eels.
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Sharks defeated the Wet Bulldogs in Sydney
Siosifa Talakai makes a hit for the Sharks. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts)
Canterbury was unable to overcome the elements and a stoic defense of Cronulla, as the Sharks claimed a hard-fought victory to bolster their place in the top four.
In front of 8,837 spectators at a rain-soaked west Sydney stadium, the Bulldogs claimed a third straight victory for the first time since 2019.
But they fell short when Ronaldo Mulitalo, Sione Katoa and Britain’s Nikora scored attempts to give Craig Fitzgibbon’s side their tenth win of the season.
Canterbury winger Jake Averillo scored his team’s only attempt and the Bulldogs, who had no interim coach Mick Potter after contracting COVID-19, will also face a growing number of injuries.
Tevita Pangai Jr succumbed to an ankle injury in the first half and rookie Declan Casey followed after the half when he put his head in the wrong place while trying to bring down the Sharks team Andrew Fifita.
The Bulldogs are already without Luke Thompson, Ava Seumanufagai, Billy Tsirikkas and Jack Hetherington, and a long-term injury to Pangai Jr. would severely test his front depth.
Despite the test conditions, which caused large puddles of water on the playing surface, Cronulla started with an expansive game plan while Mulitalo threw himself into the corner after six minutes.
The Sharks had the majority of possession in the first quarter of the game, but were unable to take advantage because the Canterbury defense remained firm.
Matt Burton made a one-point cover tackle after a 40-meter break from Mulitalo with Kyle Flanagan producing a strip over Siosifa Talakai at the next inning.
The Bulldogs were growing in the game, but it wasn’t until the last play of the half when Averillo tied them after throwing themselves with a goal shot from Jeremy Marshall-King into Cronulla’s goal.
Averillo and Raymond Faitala-Mariner were close to scoring Canterbury’s second attempt early in the second half from the back of a large Burton bomb.
But the Sharks were next to score when they went up the other end, with Nicho Hynes sending Katoa to the side.
The game was interrupted for 10 minutes when Casey received attention and was taken out on medication.
Hynes had a chance to open an eight-point buffer with a penalty goal shortly afterwards, but missed his chance.
It didn’t matter because with 17 minutes to go, Nikora hit a nice line in front of winger Will Kennedy and made a waltz to end Cronulla’s victory.
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Posted 3 hours, 3 hours ago, Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 4:28 AM, updated 11 minutes ago, 11 minutes ago, Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 7:27 AM