Sharks wary of the post-Origin Broncos

It’s a match which has slipped under the proverbial radar with State of Origin dominating the news cycle, however the hype will be real come Saturday night when the second placed Sharks, host the third placed Broncos, in a round 14 blockbuster at PointsBet Stadium.

With Brisbane players in Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo, Tom Flegler and Patrick Carrigan named to return following Origin duty, while Sharks half Nicho Hynes is also expected to back up after receiving limited minutes on Wednesday night, and the premiership credentials of both teams will potentially be revealed in the top of the table clash.

Well rested following a round 13 bye, and with their confidence buoyed after consecutive wins over the Sea Eagles and Knights, as coach Craig Fitzgibbon explained, the Sharks have the utmost respect for their opponents and will be up for the challenge come tomorrow night.   

“They’ve been front runners for most of the year, so it’s a good challenge and we’re looking forward to it,” Fitzgibbon said. “They’re a big physical team and we want to be physical ourselves and get into a good contest.”

While Fitzgibbon declared Hynes good to go at his Friday morning press conference, five Broncos were a part of a bruising encounter on Wednesday night, however the Sharks coach expressed a belief that Brisbane know how to navigate the Origin period better than most.

“If you looked at the Broncos, as a club they have done Origin for a long, long time, with players coming in and out,” Fitzgibbon said.

“They know what it’s about, players who do back up, the players who also step into that role also know what it’s about, and its fraught with danger to assume anything will be different other than a hard game.”  

Similarly, Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo was under no illusion as to the task his team was facing.   

“Great club, prestigious club, they’ve been around for a long time and been successful for a long time as well. They’ve got some great players over there, talent in their back line, in their forward pack as well, its going to be tough game,” Mulitalo expressed.

After starting the season with two wins from five games, the Sharks have now won their past two, and five of the last six and at seven-and-four at the halfway point of the season are sporting an identical win-loss record as at the same point from 2022.

In the head-to-head record from matches played between the two clubs, the Broncos hold the advantage, with 39 wins, as opposed to 22 from the Sharks, in the 61 games.

Brisbane won the most recent encounter 16-7 in round 8 of the 2022 season, while also winning the past three, and six of the last seven matches at PointsBet Stadium.

The Sharks have won just one match against Brisbane at home since 2009, the victory coming in their Premiership winning season of 2016.

Rather than dwelling on home results against the Broncos, the Sharks recent record against all opponents at PointsBet Stadium is much more encouraging, dating back to the start of last season the Cronulla team has won 11 of 15 matches in the Shire, including the last two.

In delving deeper in the statistics, the Sharks are scoring the most tries, points and making the most line breaks this this season, with their 299 points scored the second most through 11 games (301 in 2016) in Club history. The Sharks are also missing the fewest tackles per game.

As for the Broncos, after winning their opening five matches, they have won two of their past five, including last week’s 26-22 victory over the Warriors.

In trimming their squad down to 19 players, the Sharks report no team changes, with Connor Tracey and Braydon Trindall retained on the extended reserves list.