Taking one point from competition leaders the Panthers can be considered some sort of achievement however for the NYC Sharks it may have been a case of one point that got away after a 75th minute Penrith try resulted in the drawn result.
The Sharks battled back from an 18-6 deficit to lead 30-18 in a display of both their class and character, only for the Panthers to respond late and snatch a draw.
It was a point which kept the Sharks ahead of the chasing pack as they sit in fourth position on the ladder, but at the same time left them in need of a win to consolidate their place inside the top four.
This week they face an in-form Titans side with Sharks Coach John Morris pleased to welcome Jesse Ramien back into his NYC backline.
The young Sharks centre, who trained with the NRL squad during the summer, has played the past month with the Newtown Jets in the Intrust Super Premiership.
In three games for the Sharks under-20’s at the start of the season Ramien scored eight tries and was virtually unstoppable, meaning he will certainly be a bonus to his teams’ chances against the Titans on Saturday.
In the only other significant change to the Sharks line prop Daniel Vasquez will be missing due to injury, his place taken by versatile forward Ryan King.
King has played the majority of his football this season as a backrower scouting on an edge, however Morris has decided to move him to prop and into the middle of the field for this weekend’s clash.
The Titans arrive at Southern Cross Group Stadium on the back of a narrow win over the Brisbane Broncos at their last start, meaning they will certainly be no pushovers for the young Sharks.
Sitting in a group of five teams just one point behind the Sharks, the Titans will be keen to claim the points to jump the Cronulla side and cement a place in the Holden Cup top eight.
The NYC match starts at the earlier time of 4.35pm due to the Women’s Series game taking place before the NRL kick off.
The 20-man Sharks squad, which will be narrowed down to 17 an hour before kick-off, is listed below.
NYC Team List – Round 8
Sharks v Titans
Saturday, April 22
Southern Cross Group Stadium
Kick-off – 4.35pm
1 William KENNEDY
2 Sione KATOA
3 Jesse RAMIEN
4 Bessie AUFAGA-TOOMAGA
5 Johnathan TUFUGA
6 Jack WILLIAMS ©
7 Kyle FLANAGAN
8 Ryan KING
9 Blayke BRAILEY
10 Brock ILETT
11 Briton NIKORA
12 Tony MATAUTIA
13 Billy MAGOULIAS
Interchange
14 Eddie FAALUA
15 Kalani PEWHAIRANGI-CHARLIE
16 Zachary FAULKNER
17 Joshua CARR
19 Isaac LUMELUME
20 Clayton UIA
21 Luke JURD
