Canberra Raiders vs. Cronulla Sharks: Will the Sharks finally beat the Raiders?

Canberra Raiders will be playing their first match in 2022’s National Rugby League. They will be up against Cronulla Sharks on 11 March 2022, Friday at Gio Stadium, Australia.

While the Raiders have to redeem themselves after a disappointing run in 2021, it seems that the Sharks will put up a strong (and probably, a winning) fight since they just merely missed the finals last year.

The only thing that the current standings of the two teams tell us is that that Friday’s match is surely going to be nail-biting and a very close call! After all, the Raiders currently rank at 10th position, with ten wins and fourteen losses. The Sharks are currently at 9th position with the same win-loss ratio!

However, while the Sharks have won two matches among the last four they played, the Raiders have only won one – the prior one to Friday’s match.

While 2021 was a disappointment for the Raiders, it managed to put up a strong pre-season this year. Their trial matches had great results, where the team thrashed both Roosters and Manly. But, will this performance continue in the actual matches?

Friday’s match will be the first for James Schiller and Adam Elliot, who are making their club debuts. Considering that Jamal Fogarty will not appear in the match following a knee injury, the pressure is high for the newbies to perform.

The match will also see seasoned players like Captain Elliot Whitehead and Brad Schneider grace the field. However, Sebastain Chris will also be unavailable due to COVID-19. This puts the Raiders in a very tricky position.

If the Raiders have had a good pre-season, the same can be said for the Sharks as well! They were impressive against the Bulldogs as they won comfortably by 30-6.

Nicho Hynes performance has been the highlight so far. Denan Kemp, a former professional rugby player, believes that Hynes has the power to put Sharks within the top four positions.

 “I believe he’s the best seven at the club right now. I also believe he’s shown enough ability to adapt to different positions,” said Kemp.

The coach of Cronulla, Craig Fitzgibbon, will also be unavailable for the match owing to COVID-19. The baton has been handed over to assistant coaches Steve Price and Josh Hannay.

“After a carefully planned pre-season, most of the preparations are complete, and we have three more than capable coaches to take care of the group for a couple of days," said Fitzgibbon.

While the absence of the head coach might put the Sharks in a tough spot, the fact remains that since the switch has come so late, the chances are that Fitzgibbon has already relayed his gaming strategy to the team. Therefore, he will be there with them, in spirit.

However, James Fogarty’s absence, on the other hand, seems much more detrimental to the Raiders’ performance, and hence their chance of winning.

While they might have won against the Sharks in the previous battles, things seem different this time.