By Daniel Gray
On the road again. The Cronulla Sharks U20’s side are traveling up North to Townsville this Saturday.
After taking the two points from Newcastle last Sunday they will now face off against a young Cowboys side who have been in good form lately winning their last four matches, scoring a combined total of 154 points.
With the junior Cowboys sitting high in second position, it is going to be a tough match for the 10th placed Sharks. The young Sharks squad have improved their general form of late, but they are in for a difficult match coming up against a red hot Cowboys, playing at their home ground.
The only disappointing thing that came out of the Knight’s game for the Sharks was the incident involving young outside back Curtis Scott. Scott was suspended for one match after a fight broke out with only six minutes remaining in the game.
As for the Cowboys, they are boosted with the return of Yamba Bowie, the fullback sat out the Raiders match with a minor hamstring complaint. With Bowie’s return, well-known try scoring machine Gideon Mosby will move back to his usual position on the wing.
The Sharks have named an extended bench for this Saturdays match with the Cowboys and Jamayne Isaako will replace the suspended Scott in the centres.
The Cowboys have also named an extended bench to take of the Sharks, with Mitchell Dunn dropping back to 18th man for returning regulars after making his debut last week.
Two Cowboys players to look out for on Saturday are young front rower Viliame Kikau and winger Gideon Mosby.
Kikau is leading the competition for tackle-breaks with a staggering 93 to his name and Mosby is the leading try scorer in the under 20’s after crossing the line 19 times.
With Kikau up his sleeve and Mosby returning to the wing Cowboys Coach Todd Payten will be hoping his team can continue their damaging run when they face the Sharks.
Now in 10th position, the Sharks are moving up the table and they will be hoping to string wins together to force themselves into the top 8.
Sharks fullback Ryan Cummins had an outstanding match last weekend and will hope to continue his form into Saturday. The Sharks forwards dominated the Knights last week and if they too can bring their damaging runs to Townsville we should have a game on our hands.
The Cowboys will be high on confidence this weekend after winning a tough match down in the nation’s capital against the young Raiders 38-16. But the Sharks will also be looking forward to this match after their convincing win in Newcastle and will be up for the challenge.
Sharks NYC team
1 Ryan Cummins
2 Levy Sopi
3 Joshua Addo-Carr
4 Jamayne Isaako
5 Semisi Vea
6 Jaden Clarke
7 Brad Deitz
8 Alec Susino
9 Jayden Brailey
10 Harrison Muller
11 Anthony Moraitis
12 Ashleigh Nisbet
13 Billy Magoulias
INTERCHANGE (two to be omitted)
14 Jack Williams
15 Jayden McDonogh
16 Francis Laloua-Tui
17 Leon Tupuola
18 Daniel Liddicoat|
19 John Leger
Coach - James Shepherd
Cowboys NYC team:
1. Yamba Bowie
2. Gideon Mosby
3. Akeripa Tia Kilifi
4. Conor Carey
5. Scott Schulte
6. Ty Carucci
7. Cooper Bambling
8. Braden Uele
9. Andrew Niemoeller
10. Ross Bella
11. Bill Cullen
12. Temone Power
13. Kieran Quabba (c)
INTERCHANGE (one to be omitted)
14. Kyle Laybutt
15. Jordan Kenworthy
16. David Munro
17. Viliame Kikau
18. Mitchell Dunn
Coach: Todd Payten
