St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks Verdict
Cronulla have won 13 of the last 15 meetings dating back to 2019 and beat the Dragons 34-12 earlier this season. More of the same is predicted with the Sharks -15.5 on the line and to pass 30.5 points the best bet.
- Cronulla have won 13 of the last 15 meetings against St George Illawarra and beat the Dragons 34-12 earlier this season.
- The Sharks rank second for points and first for completion rate, while the Dragons rank 17th for points allowed and run metres conceded.
- Cronulla have averaged 38.8 points across their last five and are 7-1 against bottom-nine teams with an average winning margin of 24 pts.
- William Kennedy scored in the previous meeting and has crossed in 3 of his last 5, while Teig Wilton attacks a Dragons edge defence giving up tries all over the park.
Head to Head Stats
Cronulla have owned this matchup, winning 13 of the last 15 dating back to 2019.
The Sharks won the Round 14 meeting 34-12 and have won four of the last five overall, with St George Illawarra's only recent win coming by eight points last season.
St George Illawarra Dragons Form
The Dragons lost 28-22 to the Dolphins last week, taking their season loss tally to 17.
They did enough with the ball to hang around, completing 19 of 21 sets in the first half and finding tries through Setu Tu, Tyrell Sloan, Clint Gutherson and Ryan Couchman.
That still does not change the bigger problem. St George Illawarra rank 17th for points scored, 17th for linebreaks and 17th for points allowed.
They have averaged 18.4 points scored and 24.0 conceded across their last five, which is not enough against a Cronulla team that can put points on in chunks.
Cronulla Sharks Form
Cronulla beat South Sydney 32-16 last week for their fifth straight win, and the attack was built through the halves and forwards.
Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes were on song, Briton Nikora ran a strong line for the first try, Blayke Brailey scored from dummy half, and Addin Fonua-Blake crashed over for his first try of the year.
The Sharks have averaged 38.8 points scored and just 12.4 conceded across their last five, which is the exact profile needed to cover a big number.
They are first for completion rate, second for points and fourth for points allowed, and their ball control should be enough to pin the Dragons in bad field position for long stretches.