St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks
14th June 0930hrs
Rugby League – Australia – NRL
Pick Sharks -6 handicap
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 10/11 odds taken 02:17 GMT, Saturday 13th June
The struggles continue for the St George Illawarra Dragons who are still searching for their first win of the season. With the points badly drying up for them, they could be up against it again.
The Sharks meanwhile snapped their winless season by putting down the Sharks in a great success. That was some lift for them and they will fancy their chances of gaining a bit more ground.
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Dragons yet to catch fire this season
Played four, lost four is where the Dragons are. It has been poor all the way from them in their last two games. In those, St George has scored just two points in total.
After an 18-0 loss against the Warriors in round 3, St George made a string of changes to their line up. It didn’t change their fortunes however as they lost 2-22 against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
So that leaves the Dogs stuck to the foot of the ladder. They are the lowest-scoring team in the Premiership. Their average margin of defeat this season across their matches is 13 points.
It’s their severe lack of scoring that is going to come into question again. It’s a big mystery just where that is coming from at the moment and giving the Bulldogs their first win of the season last weekend in a basement battle was just a crushing blow of confidence for St George.
They should be fired up for this derby match, but is the quality there to see them avoid defeat? They are now standing on the brink of going 0-5 from the start of the campaign for the first time in their history.
The directors have stuck with head coach Paul McGregor when many expected the axe to fall. Instead they are looking for ways to support him. It’s a bit of turmoil at the club and team selection is going to stay unkown until late on.
Can Sharks win their derby duel?
The Cronulla Sharks won both Premiership games against St George last season. That is three wins in their last five against them. So they have that going.
But the overall head to head between the two is tight. Cronulla trail 21-20 since 1998 (D1). The Sharks took a 6 point and a 13 point victory over St George Illawarra last season.
Last weekend in round 3 the Sharks posted a 26-16 upset over the Cowboys to move them on a W1 L3 record for the season. They had been competitive even in defeat and it didn’t look as if a win was going to avoid them for too long.
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So the fact that the Sharks took their chances against the Cowboys suggests that they can cause the Dragons some problems as well. Mawene Hiroti comes in as fresh legs on the wings for the injured Ronaldo Mulitalo.
They will be hoping that halfback Chad Townsend is fit to go. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and a bit of restructuring for the NRL season, this is being played at the Campbelltown Stadium.
The Sharks have won 3 of 6 previous trips there. Cronulla have tallied 70 points this season in matches, heavily outmatching the 44 from the Dragons. They will be expected to walk away with the win.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks Betting Advice
It is hard to see anything but a win for the Sharks. Confidence is rock bottom with the Dragons at the moment. Their scoring has been non-existent in their last two.
That is going to change at some point of course. But we can’t see them coming up with enough to beat the Sharks in this derby match up. The Sharks will have renewed wind in their sails after getting their first win of the season.
Key Facts – St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks Betting Tip
- St George Illawarra Dragons are winless this season
- St George Illawarra Dragons have scored 2 points only in their last two matches
- Cronulla Sharks got their first win of the campaign last weekend
The Cronulla Sharks, while only on a W1 L3 record have still been more competitive in matches than St Geroge Illawara and can be backed with a fair degree of confidence.
Do we expect a huge handicap coming up in this one? Absolutely not, but we can lean on the Sharks doing enough to cover a -6 handicap for a quote of 10/11* (betting odds taken from Bet365 at )2:42 GMT on Friday 13th June 2020)
The best betting odds for St George Illawarra Dragons vs Cronulla Sharks
St George Illawarra Dragons to win: 19/10 at Bet365
Draw: 20/1 at Bet365
Cronulla Sharks: 21/50 at Bet365
