Round 24 Man of the Match

It was a heart-breaking loss suffered by the Sharks at the hands of the Canberra Raiders, a result which has set up a do-or-die final round encounter with the Wests Tigers, with winner to progress to week one of the finals, the loser getting a head start on their end of year holidays.

The Sharks began brilliantly, jumping out to a 12-0 lead, but were worn down in the second period by the Raiders, injuries both before and during the game hampering their chances.

When talking of the injuries, the loss of Josh Dugan at half time saw Josh Morris switch from centre to fullback, with the Sharks veteran brilliant in both roles in the losing cause.

Sharks fans agreed in assessing the performance of Morris, with 44 per cent of Fan Poll responders voting him as Man-of-the-match.

Also earning the praise of the Sharks faithful was winger Ronaldo Mulitalo, the youngster scoring two tries while also exciting the crowd with his fearless charges into the opposition defence.

Mulitalo, who has played just seven NRL games, came in second on the fan poll, receiving 18 per cent of the vote.

While few could argue with the player coming in third, with skipper Paul Gallen producing yet another wholehearted performance in his last game at PointsBet Stadium.

Gallen polled 9 per cent of the vote, just ahead of hooker Jayden Brailey who turned in a typical non-stop 80-minute effort.

FANS ROUND 24 MAN OF THE MATCH – Josh Morris – 44%

2nd Place – Ronaldo Mulitalo – 18%

3rd Place – Paul Gallen – 9%

OVERALL STANDINGS - Sharks.com.au Player of the Year