The Cronulla Sharks will be out to record their eighth victory in a row when they host the Manly Sea Eagles on Saturday, May 20.
After equalling the Club’s point scoring record in last Sunday’s 62-0 victory over the Newcastle Knights, Shane Flanagan’s men have turned their focus directly to the challenge posed by the Manly side.
The Sea Eagles went down to a red hot Brisbane Broncos side in last weekend’s double header clash at Suncorp Stadium 30-6 and will be hoping to bounce back in a fixture they have historically succeeded in.
Shane Flanagan’s men however will understand the threat posed by the Manly side after going down 22-12 in Round 3 earlier this year at Brookvale Oval.
Since that match in March, the Sharks have remained undefeated at both home and away however Flanagan said his side is focused purely on what’s ahead of them.
“We don’t look back,” said Flanagan.
“We’re not saying we’ve won seven in a row, we just look forward to the next week.
“The challenges against Newcastle were probably between our ears and the challenge against Manly will be some real big ones heading into a bye at home again.
“We’re in good shape with not too many injuries and the challenge is all that lies ahead for us.”
On the other hand, Manly coach Trent Barrett said that his side have prepared well for tomorrow night’s challenge and have worked hard on the areas his side need to improve on.
“We’ve had another good week,” said Barrett.
“We’ve prepared well and we’ve just got to get down there and get the job done.”
Barrett said he was disappointed with the way his side played against Brisbane and believes his side can come back from that lose.
“We were disappointed with the way we played against Brisbane albeit they are an extremely good side but there’s some areas in that game that we really need to fix and they’ve worked hard on them this week.”
The Key Match-Up: Jack Bird v Steve Matai
The Punters’ Picks – Odds by CrownBet*:
Head-to-Head: $1.30
Line: 1.90 (-10.0)
Margin: Sharks 1-12 ($3.15), Sharks 13+ ($2.15), Sea Eagles 1-12 ($5.00), Sea Eagles 13+ ($8.25)
First Try-Scorer: Valentine Holmes $9.00
*Prices quoted as of 2:30pm (AEST) Friday, May 20. For the latest markets please visit CrownBet NRL here. Game responsibly.
