NRL Round 12 Preview and Prediction - Cronulla Sharks v Canterbury Bulldogs @ Shark Park

Cronulla Sharks v Canterbury Bulldogs @ Shark Park
 
Preview - Both the Sharks and Bulldogs will be missing key players when they clash at Shark Park on Saturday night. With Origin 1 on Wednesday night, the Sharks are missing 4 senior players compared to the Bulldogs 3, as the Sharks look to solidify their place in the Top 4, while the Bulldogs look to scratch their way back into the Top 8. The Sharks have had the good habit of winning ugly this year, and never was that more the case than last week when they came from 14-0 down to topple the Cowboys 18-14 at Shark Park. The Sharks, once again, made several unforced errors and gave away cheap penalties, however defended their goal line really well and showed that toughness and winning mentality that has been part of their culture over the past 18 months. The Bulldogs went down to bitter rivals, the Roosters, for the second time this season, losing 24-16, despite a valiant 2nd half come back which saw them get within 2 points of the Roosters in the final quarter of the game. Despite their competitiveness this year, the Bulldogs have just 5 wins from 11 games and are in danger of missing the finals for the first time in Coach Des Hasler’s 6 seasons at the helm if they can't start to string some wins together shortly. 
 
History - The Sharks have won both of their 2 clashes against the Bulldogs, however they were both only narrowly by 2 points on each occasion. However, apart from that, it has been all the Bulldogs of late, winning 8 of their last 11 against Cronulla as well as a remarkable record at Shark Park having won 6 from their past 7 at the venue. However, this is the first time in 6 years the Bulldogs have played at Shark Park after the Clubs met just once in each of the past 5 seasons. 
 
Cronulla Sharks’ Scouting Report - The Sharks are missing their four Origin stars in Jack Bird, James Maloney, Andrew Fifita and Wade Graham. With Paul Gallen having retired from Origin last season, he will be a vital inclusion here for a Shark side missing some class and experience. Fa'amanu Brown comes into the five eight role for the Sharks, with Edrick Lee slotting on the wing, and Kurt Capewell winning a start in the back row. 
 
Canterbury Bulldogs’ Scouting Report - The Bulldogs will be missing senior players Brett Morris, Josh Jackson and David Klemmer who will line up alongside the 4 missing Sharks players in the NSW Origin Team on Wednesday night at Suncorp Stadium. For the Bulldogs, Marcelo Montoya comes back on to the wing with 23-year old Francis Tualao set to make his debut from the interchange bench. In the forwards Adam Elliott comes into the starting back row with Danny Fualalo to start at lock. 
 
Verdict - Bulldogs 1-6 in a low scoring game

 I'm going to go for the Bulldogs here as I think the stakes are much higher for them than they are for the Sharks at this point of the season. The Sharks can afford a loss or two and still sit comfortably on the higher echelons of the table, whilst the Bulldogs desperately need a win to stay in touch with the Top 8. The Sharks have been getting away with playing poorly and scratching out victories plenty of times this season and I think without 4 key players they might struggle to put points on the board this week. The Bulldogs form is far from convincing so I expect this to be a pretty low scoring, tight game for the majority of the contest. The fact the Bulldogs need a win, plus their 6 from 7 record at Shark Park, just sways me to a tight Bulldogs’ victory by a try or less.