Match day guide and preview for the 2022 NRL Qualifying Final between the Cronulla Sharks and North Queensland Cowboys.
Match details
- Who: Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys
- When: Saturday 10 September, 7.50pm
- Where: Pointsbet Stadium, Sydney
- Weather: min 12, max 22. 10% chance of rain
- Head-to-head record: Played 53. Sharks 35 wins. Cowboys 18 wins.
Line ups
| SHARKS | COWBOYS | |
| Will Kennedy | 1 | Scott Drinkwater |
| Connor Tracey | 2 | Kyle Feldt |
| Jesse Ramien | 3 | Valentine Holmes |
| Siosifa Talakai | 4 | Peta Hiku |
| Ronaldo Mulitalo | 5 | Murray Taulagi |
| Matt Moylan | 6 | Tom Dearden |
| Nicho Hynes | 7 | Chad Townsend |
| Toby Rudolf | 8 | Jordan McLean |
| Blayke Brailey | 9 | Reece Robson |
| Royce Hunt | 10 | Reuben Cotter |
| Briton Nikora | 11 | Luciano Leilua |
| Wade Graham | 12 | Jeremiah Nanai |
| Dale Finucane | 13 | Jason Taumalolo |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Teig Wilton | 14 | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow |
| Cameron McInnes | 15 | Tom Gilbert |
| Braden Hamlin-Uele | 16 | Coen Hess |
| Andrew Fifita | 17 | Griffin Neame |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| Lachlan Miller | 18 | Jamayne Taunoa-Brown |
| Aiden Tolman | 19 | Tomas Chester |
| Matt Ikuvalu | 20 | Jake Granville |
| Jesse Colquhoun | 21 | Brendan Elliot |
| Luke Metcalf | 22 | Ben Hampton |
The Sharks have named fullback Kennedy to return, with Miller shifting back to the reserves. Finucane, Rudolf and Tracey all return to the starting side after missing last week.
The Cowboys have made just the one change with Hess retuning from suspension and replacing Taunoa-Brown on the bench.
Team profiles
Cronulla Sharks 2nd – 18 wins and 6 losses
Points for: 573 points for (7th in the NRL)
Points against: 364 points against (3rd)
Last 10: 9-1 – WWWWWWLWWW
Home record: 10-2
Away record: 8-4
Average winning margin: 16.1 points
Average losing margin: 13.3 points
Biggest win: defeated Manly 40-6 at 4 Pines Park in round 23
Biggest loss: lost to Canberra 30-10 at Suncorp Stadium in round 10 and Roosters 36-16 at PointsBet Stadium in round 12
Most tries: Ronaldo Mulitalo (16), Sione Katoa (14), Jesse Ramien (10)
Most try assists: Nicho Hynes (17), Matt Moylan (12), Siosifa Talakai, Jesse Ramien and Blayke Brailey (9)
Most linebreaks: Ronaldo Mulitalo (28), Sione Katoa (17), Jesse Ramien (11)
Most run metres: Siosifa Talakai (3,460), Ronaldo Mulitalo (3,172), Nicho Hynes (2,785)
Most tackles: Blayke Brailey (1,020), Cameron McInnes (818), Briton Nikora (768)
Premiership players in 17: Dale Finucane (2 with Melbourne), Wade Graham, Andrew Fifita
Finals record: 19 wins, 29 losses. 38.7% win rate
North Queensland Cowboys 3rd – 17 wins and 7 losses
Points for: 633 points for (4th)
Points against: 361 points against (2nd)
Last 10: 7-3 – WLWLWWWLWW
Home record: 9-3
Away record: 8-4
Average winning margin: 21.1 points
Average losing margin: 12.4 points
Biggest win: defeated New Zealand 48-4 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in round 23
Biggest loss: lost to Roosters 28-4 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in round 4
Most tries: Jeremiah Nanai (17), Murray Taulagi (15), Kyle Feldt and Scott Drinkwater (11)
Most try assists: Chad Townsend (19), Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater (15)
Most linebreaks: Murray Taulagi (18), Kyle Feldt (14), Scott Drinkwater (12)
Most run metres: Peta Hiku (3,588), Jason Taumalolo (3,465), Valentine Holmes (3,214)
Most tackles: Reece Robson (1,000), Tom Gilbert (666), Jeremiah Nanai (620)
Premiership players in 17: Kyle Feldt, Valentine Holmes (with Cronulla), Chad Townsend (with Cronulla), Jordan McLean (with Melbourne), Jason Taumalolo
Finals record: 15 wins, 12 losses. 55.5% win rate
Last 5 meetings
- 2022 round 18: Cowboys 12 – 26 Sharks at Queensland Country Bank Stadium
- 2021 round 15: Cowboys 24 – 26 Sharks at Queensland Country Bank Stadium
- 2021 round 4: Sharks 48 – 10 Cowboys at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
- 2020 round 16: Sharks 28 – 12 Cowboys at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
- 2020 round 4: Cowboys 16 – 26 Sharks at Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Cronulla have dominated the Cowboys in recent times having won the last eight contests against them, including a 14-point victory earlier this season.
The score didn’t properly reflect how close that game was with an undermanned Cowboys side controversially denied a try that would have put them in front during the middle stages of the second half.
The last time these two teams met in a final was back in 2017 where the Cowboys came away with a thrilling 15-14 extra time win over the Sharks.
They also met the previous year in a Preliminary Final that Cronulla won 32-20 and they went onto beat Melbourne 14-12 in the Grand Final.
Pre match predictions
Getting over the Origin Blues: Siosifa Talakai to put his poor NSW Blues performance behind him a try on the big stage. Sharks by 8.
Nicho cuts sicko: Nicho Hynes to play out of his skin with two involvements. Sharks by 10 – Denholm Samaras
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