The Sharks junior rep teams both head to Campbelltown Stadium tomorrow looking to keep their title aspirations alive in second round finals matches.
The Matthews Cup Sharks progressed to a meeting with the Western Suburbs Magpies with a strong 34-18 win over the Manly Sea Eagles, while in the under-18 SG Ball the Sharks take on the Canberra Raiders after accounting for the Parramatta Eels last weekend.
For the Matthews Cup Sharks, a successful season highlighted by consecutive wins over the Knights, Steelers and Dragons, hit a hurdle somewhat with a last round loss to the Rabbitohs, however their victory over Manly has them full of confidence once again and quietly confident of performing well at Campbelltown tomorrow.
The Magpies find themselves facing the Sharks after finishing fourth following the nine-round regular season before falling to the Parramatta 42-6 in the first round of the playoffs.
The Sharks have been led by prop Fine Kula and strong-running centre Semisi Kioa throughout the 2015 season however a total team effort will be required to get the better of the Wests team on Saturday.
In the SG Ball the Sharks have emerged as challengers late in the campaign, with their win over the highly rated Eels last week confirming their potential.
After struggling through the middle part of the season the Ball Sharks strung some late wins together to sneak into the top eight, before upsetting the Parramatta side 25-24 in a thrilling finals clash.
This week the Sharks face a Raiders team which finished the home-and-away season undefeated before being trounced by the Manly Sea Eagles 34-16 in their qualifying finals match.
Earlier in the year Canberra beat the SG Ball Sharks 28-24 in a high scoring affair and a match the Cronulla team led until late in the contest.
The Sharks will be seeking revenge when they tackle the Raiders and looking to progress to a semi-final match with the Penrith Panthers.
The games at Campbelltown Stadium are scheduled for 12.30pm (Matthews) and 2.00pm kick-offs tomorrow.
Below are some highlights, courtesy of the NSWRL website, of the Sharks finals wins last weekend.
Matthews Cup Highlights – Sharks v Manly – Finals week 1
http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2015/04/23/highlights_sharks_v_.html
SG Ball Highlights – Sharks v Eels – Finals week 1
http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2015/04/23/sg_ball_highlights_.html
