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Big game this. Cronulla start slight favourites at home, even without Nicho Hynes, Briton Nikora and KL Iro, and can get back into the top eight – at least temporarily – with a victory. Manly meanwhile are riding high and are playing to stay inside the top four, and still possess plenty of strike power despite the absence of Tolu Koula and Haumole Olauka’atu.
Jake Trbojevic leads Manly out onto the field now. Clayton Faulalo has been in terrific form at fullback, making up for the absence of Tom Trbojevic, while playmaker Braydon Trindall is the key man for Cronulla tonight alongside debutant half Niwhai Puru.
The Sharks kick off, and Kobe Hetherington takes the first hit-up of the game for Manly.
Checking in now on the Sharks’ long-time rivals, the Dragons, who are stuck at the foot of the NRL ladder on zero wins after a dozen rounds. They will play premiers Brisbane on Sunday, and will need to get on the same page after awkward footage emerged from their most recent loss to the Warriors.
The Warriors already had victory in the bag, but the Dragons had one last chance to post a late try and give the hardy souls who braved the wind and rain at Kogarah reason to cheer before heading for the exits.
Gutherson popped up on the left side of the field and realised Warriors defender Dallin Watene-Zelezniak needed to come infield and commit to the tackle, which meant all Gutherson had to do was pop up a pass to his winger, who would have a free run to the line.
But when Gutherson looked outside him, Christian Tuipulotu was nowhere to be seen. If you had watched the TV replays, you would have spotted Tuipulotu with his back turned, walking away from the play towards the other end of the field. It was deadset under-6s stuff.
The Sharks beat Manly twice last season, 24-18 at home then 30-14 away at 4 Pines Park. Watch the highlights from that second game below.
Niwhai Puru starts in the Sharks No.7 jersey in place of the injured Nicho Hynes, and coach Craig Fitzgibbon says he’s been ready for the NRL level for some time.
Puru’s brother Hohepa will come off the bench in jersey 18.
“Tonight he earns the right based on his persistence and perseverance to be an NRL player,” Fitzgibbon tells Fox League.
“He kicks the ball really well, he’s a tough little thing, and I tell you what he does really well, he works for his team. I think it’s going to be pretty cool to play alongside his brother tonight too.”
Maroons forward Briton Nikora won’t back up for Cronulla but Addin Fonua-Blake and Blayke Brailey will play.
“Ads and Blayke have pulled up better than expected to be honest after the emotional rise and the toll of Origin,” Fitzgibbon says. “Unfortunately we didn’t get Brit ready for tonight, but we get Ads and Blayke back and they’re two important inclusions for us.”
Quite a shake up for both teams tonight with several big names on the sidelines.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
1. William Kennedy 2. Samuel Stonestreet 3. Jesse Ramien 23. Mawene Hiroti 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Niwhai Puru 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Toby Rudolf 16. Billy Burns 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes.
Bench: 14. Jesse Colquhoun 15. Siosifa Talakai 17. Thomas Hazelton 18. Hohepa Puru 21. Jayden Berrell 22. Riley Jones
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
1. Clayton Faulalo 2. Jason Saab 3. Josh Feledy 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Lehi Hopoate 6. Luke Brooks 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Jake Simpkin 10. Kobe Hetherington 11. Jackson Shereb 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic.
Bench: 14. Brandon Wakeham 15. Nathan Brown 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Simione Laiafi 18. Blake Wilson 19. Joey Walsh
The aftermath of State of Origin I continues, with debate continuing to rage about Kalyn Ponga’s controversial send-off. Here’s a selection of the best of the post-game wash-up (check out all of our Origin coverage here).
Neil Breen – the Blues were outplayed and need to make changes: No amount of last-gasp heroics and back-slapping can allow the Blues to ignore the truth. Until Kalyn Ponga was controversially sent-off, they were comprehensively outplayed.
Malcolm Knox – The old boy think the rules shouldn’t apply in Origin: This is heresy to say out loud, but rugby league, even Origin, is only a game. How much does it matter that Queensland lost when they were the better team?
Roy Masters – How NSW halves engineered a miracle comeback: Nathan Cleary and Ethan Strange made crucial plays at critical times on Wednesday night, employing lessons learned from sitting in hundreds of half-time dressing rooms ruled by their fathers.
Dan Walsh – Walker, Cleary and Strange stood up, so what’s the next selection drama? No one answered their critics better than NSW and Queensland’s most important players, setting the scene for even more hype, intrigue and selection speculation.
Welcome to our coverage of the Friday night football clash between Cronulla and Manly. Dominic Brock with you tonight at the blog desk.
A year ago, the Sharks were battling for a top-four spot while the Sea Eagles were outside the top eight, looking in, but all that has changed this season with the revitalised Manly side winning seven of their past eight games since Kieran Foran took the reigns as interim coach.
Cronulla meanwhile have stalled a little, losing three of their past five, but they did secure a couple of big wins over the Tigers and Bulldogs in that time.
Both teams are missing key players tonight, with the Sharks losing Nicho Hynes (calf) and KL Iro (knee laceration) to injuries while Briton Nikora is being rested after State of Origin I. Blues Addin Fonua-Blake and Blayke Brailey will back up from Wednesday night’s Origin opener. Manly are minus NSW Blues Tolu Koula (concussion) and Haumolo Olakau’atu (rested), and Tom Trbojevic is still a few weeks away from returning from his hamstring injury.
Kick-off is at 8pm.
