The Cronulla Sharks will travel to ANZ Stadium tonight, looking to record their ninth victory on the trot when they take on the Canterbury Bulldogs.
With the return, of State of Origin stars Paul Gallen, James Maloney and Andrew Fifita the Sharks will hope to meet the big Bulldogs with power and grunt.
When both sides met in 2015, the Sharks were victorious 18-16 in front of a parochial crowd at Belmore Sportsground.
Shane Flanagan’s men will be looking to repeat the dosage when his side steps out on to what is set to be a wet ANZ Stadium surface tonight.
On the nine occasions the teams have met at Homebush, the Bulldogs have been victorious in six of the matches while the Sharks successful in the other three.
Shane Flanagan said his side will be out to break the duck against the big Bulldogs side and knows what his side will be up against in tongiht's Monday Night Football clash.
“I think this week I know what we’re going to get,” said Flanagan.
“They came off a disappointing loss last week. They’re seasons not on the line at the moment but they need to put some back-to-back victories together.
“I’m pretty sure Des will have them fired up this Monday night and I know what Bulldogs side I’ll get.
“I’ll get that tough, ruthless forward pack coming at us and big boys there so we’re really expecting a tough game from them and we’ve always had tough games against the Dogs.”
Flanagan also said his side set themselves the task of succeeding by this mid-point in the season and his side have achieved that.
“We’re enjoying the ride at the moment and I know it’s an old cliché but we’re just focusing on the week to week.
“We’ve just been knuckling down now.”
Tonight’s match will be the 88th time both sides have met, with the Bulldogs victorious on 54 occasions, the Sharks 31 times with two draws.
All pre-purchased tickets to tonight's match includes Sydney Rail transport to and from ANZ Stadium.
Kick-off tonight is scheduled for 7:00pm, with the NYC match set to begin at 4:45pm.
Sharks Members can purchase discounted tickets to see the Sharks take on the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium – Click HERE to get yours today!
