Cronulla Sharks have done enough to book a home elimination final, but will their middling form be enough to stop the charge of a Sydney Roosters side that miraculously made the finals with five straight wins?
The Sharks have won four of their last five, recovering from a 32-6 belting at Newcastle to finish with a wet sail against a 12-man Canberra in a 24-6 win.
The latter ended a five-match losing streak (the last four of which were by 26-plus margins) against fellow Top 8 sides.
The Sharks have named an unchanged 17, though Will Kennedy is in the reserves and is expected to replace in-form fill-in Connor Tracey, who suffered a knee injury against the Raiders.
On the ropes in 14th with the NRL’s worst attack in mid-July, the Roosters have turned things around with out-of-sorts big guns James Tedesco, Brandon Smtih and Joseph Suaalii rediscovering their mojo and Sam Walker’s return to the No.7 in recent weeks has also made a difference.
The Roosters walked the tightrope with five consecutive wins over teams who would go on to miss the finals, displaying impressive composure and intensity to finish over the top of South Sydney 26-12 in a virtual Top 8 playoff last Friday.
Like the Sharks, their last win over a fellow Top 8 finisher was against the Knights mid-season.
Game-breaking centre Joey Manu is racing the clock to be fit but has been named with Corey Allan dropping to the reserves.
Daniel Tupou is still out, giving Junior Pauga – sensational against Souths – another opportunity on the wing. The Roosters are otherwise unchanged.
Cronulla snapped a seven-match losing streak against the Roosters courtesy of a 22-12 result at home in Round 7, dominating the second half.
The clubs have met just twice at finals time, with the Roosters grabbing hard-fought wins in 2002 and 2018.
Essentially a head-to-head pick ’em, this is arguably the hardest match of week one to get a read on.
The Sharks’ straight-sets exit in 2022 after finishing second may still be lingering in the back of their minds and more rests on Nicho Hynes’ shoulders than any individual Rooster.
A packed house in the Shire may give Cronulla a crucial boost, but the Roosters’ momentum and vast finals experience (despite losing four of five matches since winning back-to-back titles in 2018-19) should be more decisive factors.
The post Cronulla Sharks vs Sydney Roosters Tips and Odds – NRL 2023 Second Elimination Final first appeared on JustBetting.com.au.
