Sharks vs Dragons Prediction: Back Cronulla to recover from back-to-back beatings

It’s a southern Sydney derby at Endeavour Field on Thursday (19:50 local, 10:50 BST) as the Cronulla Sharks and St George-Illawarra Dragons both look to get back to winning ways after huge defeats in round of 14 of the NRL Premiership.

Craig Fitzgibbon will be expecting his Sharks to come good following back-to-back losses which have hit their hopes of challenging for the top two spots on the ladder. Read on for my Sharks vs Dragons predictions, the latest team news and Betfred’s match odds.

Sharks vs Dragons Odds

Despite successive losses for the Sharks, they remain heavy favourites for the visit of the Dragons. The home side are 3/10 for the win in 80 minutes, implying a 76.9% probability of them coming out on top.

Betfred have St George priced at 13/5 (27.8%) for the upset, while the draw can be snapped up at 22/1.

In the standard two-way handicap, the Dragons are given a 10.5-point start and are 5/6 to make the most of it. The Sharks are a 10/11 shot against the disadvantage.

Team News

Cronulla are boosted by the return from suspension of star winger Ronaldo Mulitalo. KL Iro is out with a pectoral injury though, so Mawene Hiroti slides across to the centres.

Toby Rudolf is back available after being out with a syndesmosis injury, but has initially been named as one of the two reserves in the 19-player squad.

Shane Flanagan’s 19 doesn’t include Origin-bound Valentine Holmes, meaning versatile youngster Nick Tsougranis is in line to make his NRL debut in the outside backs.

Christian Tuipulotu’s hamstring injury opens a spot for Tyrell Sloan on the wing, will Emre Guler starts at prop and Luciano Leilua is in the back row in lieu of the ill Raymond Faitala-Mariner. Hame Sele will get his first NRL action of 2025 if he comes off the bench.

Rugby League Odds

Sharks by 1-12 @ 21/10

After back-to-back losses, conceding 40-plus points both times, it might be tempting for some to tip against the Sharks. But if they need any comfort, it surely comes in the shape of a Dragons side they have beaten with regularity in recent years.

Obviously, their nine straight wins over St George are no guarantee of continued success, but when it comes down to it this Sharks side are much better than the Dragons, as the standings prove, and Craig Fitzgibbon will not have left anything to chance in the build-up.

It will be closer than many of the recent match-ups have been, but there’s no way I can back against the Sharks. And the 21/10 odds which imply a 32.3% probability of them winning by anything up to two scores look good to me.

Dragons under 17.5 points @ 20/21

Simply put, the Dragons aren’t the greatest of offensive sides. They do average 21 points per game this season, but combine that with their poor record in this fixture and the Sharks’ desire to get their house in order after the last two results, and I just don’t see them scoring big.

In none of the last four meetings have the Dragons scored more than 16 points, and they have totalled just 44 in total.

I’m going with that run continuing at an implied probability of 51.2%.

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