Sharks to battle Broncos in Suncorp showdown

Author: Sharks Media
Timestamp: Wed 27 Apr 2022, 07:48 PM

For the second week in a row the Sharks feature on a Thursday night in the first game of the round when they travel to Brisbane for a showdown with a resurgent Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.

A victory over the Sea Eagles, in a match where the Sharks were totally dominant for 40 minutes but less than convincing during a second half where they let their opponents back into the contest, has the Cronulla side looking for a more complete performance against a Brisbane team which broke a four-game losing streak in beating the Bulldogs.

“Like us, they’ve had moments, they’ve got key players who are very dangerous and anytime you go to Brisbane you know it’s going to be physical,” Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. “We have to make sure we’re playing at a high intensity and make sure we stay at it for the entire 80 mins.”

The Sharks skipped out to a 32-0 lead at half time over Manly with some exciting attacking football, before some of the gloss was taken off the win as the Sea Eagles scored 22 second half points, while one night later the Broncos came home over the top of a depleted Bulldogs outfit for their third win of 2022.

But what wasn’t lost on those to see the Sharks v Manly game was the standout performance from back rower-turned-centre Siosifa Talakai.

As a result of his exceptional display, plenty of headlines have since featured the hard-running Shark, however the coach has no doubt Talakai will ignore the hype and turn up ready to go again tomorrow night.

“He’s very humble, quite shy. He’s getting a lesson with the attention at the moment in how to handle himself,” Fitzgibbon began.

“But he thinks he can get better, he thinks he can improve, so he’s not getting distracted by it. We want to maintain his consistency and make sure he’s crystal clear on his roles.”

Also needing to carry out their roles to a high standard will be the Sharks forwards, against a Broncos pack featuring size and quality, something that certainly wasn’t lost on prop Toby Rudolf.

“They’ve got the likes of Payne Hass, Thomas Flegler, (Keenan) Palasia in the middle, they’re a strong, athletic, physical pack and we’ll work hard to not let them dominate us and to take it to them,” Rudolf said.

Helping the Sharks cause will be the return of Dale Finucane and the potential inclusion of Wade Graham who has been named on the extended reserves bench.

Braydon Trindall has also been retained in the Sharks 19-man squad, with decisions as to the final make up of the team to be made an hour ahead of the game tomorrow.

In detailing the history of the Sharks v Broncos match up, in the 60 games between the two teams, Brisbane holds the advantage with 38 wins to 22, while in more recent times the Broncos have won eight of 11 since 2015.

The Sharks however have won two of the past three, including a 24-16 victory in round 24 last year,

Brisbane’s win last Friday night, their second over the Bulldogs in 2022, snapped a four-game losing streak, while the Sharks have won five of seven to start a season for the first time since 2017. They were also 5-2 in their premiership-winning season of 2016.

In a player milestone, Talakai, who has scored five tries in his past five games, and twice in four matches against the Broncos, makes his 50th NRL appearance. Eleven of those matches were for the Rabbitohs before he joined the Sharks in 2020.

Ronaldo Mulitalo has also been in strong try-scoring form, the Sharks winger crossing for six tries in six games this year, including five in his past three matches. Mulitalo has also notched a try-scoring double in consecutive weeks.

The Sharks v Broncos match is scheduled for a 7.50pm kick-off at Suncorp Stadium, with the two 19-man teams listed below.

Round 8 - Round 8 - Thursday 28 Apr

Full Time

Broncos

Sharks

Team Lists

Backs

Fullback for Broncos is number 1 Te Maire Martin

Fullback for Sharks is number 1 William Kennedy
Winger for Broncos is number 2 Corey Oates

Winger for Sharks is number 2 Sione Katoa
Centre for Broncos is number 3 Kotoni Staggs

Centre for Sharks is number 3 Jesse Ramien
Centre for Broncos is number 4 Herbie Farnworth

Centre for Sharks is number 4 Siosifa Talakai
Winger for Broncos is number 5 Selwyn Cobbo

Winger for Sharks is number 5 Ronaldo Mulitalo
Five-Eighth for Broncos is number 6 Tyson Gamble

Five-Eighth for Sharks is number 6 Matt Moylan
Halfback for Broncos is number 7 Adam Reynolds

Halfback for Sharks is number 7 Nicholas Hynes

Forwards

Prop for Broncos is number 8 Corey Jensen

Prop for Sharks is number 8 Toby Rudolf
Hooker for Broncos is number 9 Billy Walters

Hooker for Sharks is number 9 Blayke Brailey
Prop for Broncos is number 10 Payne Haas

Prop for Sharks is number 16 Royce Hunt
2nd Row for Broncos is number 11 Kurt Capewell

2nd Row for Sharks is number 11 Briton Nikora
2nd Row for Broncos is number 12 Jordan Riki

2nd Row for Sharks is number 12 Teig Wilton
Lock for Broncos is number 13 Kobe Hetherington

Lock for Sharks is number 15 Cameron McInnes

Interchange

Interchange for Broncos is number 14 Cory Paix

Interchange for Sharks is number 10 Aiden Tolman
Interchange for Broncos is number 15 Rhys Kennedy

Interchange for Sharks is number 14 Jack Williams
Interchange for Broncos is number 16 Thomas Flegler

Interchange for Sharks is number 18 Braydon Trindall
Interchange for Broncos is number 17 Keenan Palasia

Interchange for Sharks is number 19 Wade Graham