Madimack Matchups - Sharks v Roosters
It's arguably the match of Magic Round – the ladder-leading Sharks against the red-hot Roosters at a heaving Suncorp Stadium.
Cronulla are aiming for a seventh consecutive victory while the Roosters have secured three wins on the bounce in which they've scored a total of 138 points.
There are a myriad of stars across both line-ups as well as lesser lights who have well and truly taken their opportunity to shine. With that said, here are Sharks Media's head-to-head Madimack Matchups to monitor in Round 11.
The graphics below show season statistics for the players in the spotlight.
Madimack Matchups - Round 11
Ronaldo Mulitalo v Dom Young
Two of the NRL's finest finishers will face off with Sharks winger Mulitalo set to mark Young. Both men have produced a plethora of miraculous tries over the years and could light up Magic Round with their acrobatics in the corner.
Mulitalo has scored eight four-pointers in nine games this year, with Young crossing six times in seven starts. The Roosters flyer has bagged four tries in his past three games including a double against the Warriors last week.
Daniel Atkinson v Luke Keary
Atkinson's composure belied his inexperience last Saturday as the rookie five-eighth steered Cronulla to a famous victory over the Storm in the absence of star halfback Nicho Hynes. He was flawless with the boot, coolly landing four conversions and a clutch field goal in just his sixth first-grade appearance.
He will do battle at a packed Suncorp Stadium with three-time premiership winner Keary, who is retiring at the end of the season but playing in stellar form, so much so that his name has been floated in NSW Origin discussions.
While Keary has done it all before on the big stage, Atkinson has shown so far in his promising NRL career that he won't be overawed in key moments.
Oregon Kaufusi v Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Tries are usually few and far between for Cronulla's Kaufusi, but the floodgates have opened for the Sharks prop with two in the past two games.
He'll be hoping to snag another meat pie to celebrate his 100th NRL match on Saturday night. Kaufusi has been rock-solid all season through the middle with an average of 85 metres per game and a tackle efficiency rate of 96.1%.
Roosters firebrand Waerea-Hargreaves may be 35, but he still leads the way for his troops in terms of aggression and energy in the engine room. The Kiwi international and Kaufusi will go toe-to-toe in the opening exchanges.
