Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks Prediction: 13/5 bet says there’s more pain for Sharks

The NRL Premiership’s Multicultural Round begins on Thursday with a meeting of two sides who suffered defeats in round four as the Canberra Raiders host the Cronulla Sharks at GIO Stadium (10:00 BST, 20:00 local).

Ricky Stuart’s Raiders lost to the previously-winless North Queensland Cowboys, while the Sharks were outdone by the top-of-the-table Canterbury Bulldogs. Below are my Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks predictions, along with full team news and Betfred’s match odds.

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks Odds

Despite having won their two designated home games so far this season, including their on-the-road win in Las Vegas against the New Zealand Warriors, the Raiders are not backed to continue that form when the Sharks visit the capital.

You can get 6/4 with Betfred for a Canberra win on Thursday, implying just a 40% chance of ‘Sticky’ leading his side to victory.

The Sharks, by comparison, are 4/7 for the two competition points, with their two losses in 2025 having come against the reigning-champion Penrith Panthers in Vegas and then last week at home to the red-hot Bulldogs.

The draw is on the slate at 18/1, while the two-way handicap offers up a 3.5-point edge to the Raiders. In that context, Canberra are 20/21 with the Sharks available at 5/6 against the narrow start.

Team News

One-cap England international Morgan Smithies is back available after concussion and returns to the bench, with Trey Mooney missing out on the matchday squad. Josh Papali’i moves up to the starting line-up.

Danny Levi and Jed Stuart are included in the 19 as reserves.

Rugby League Odds

The Sharks are somewhat ravaged after ending the 20-6 defeat to the Bulldogs with a 15-man rotation.

Kayal Iro misses out after limping out of the action at Shark Park, while Siosifa Talakai is under concussion protocols after missing the second half with a head injury.

Mawene Hiroti comes in for Iro, while Tom Hazelton is included after returning from a back injury and will replace Talakai in the 17.

There’s a further issue for head coach Craig Fitzgibbon as Teig Wilton is out due to illness, with Billy Burns moving up into the second row at late notice.

Raiders by 1-12 points @ 13/5

I love the look of what the Betfred odds compilers are offering here.

The Raiders have won five of their last six home games dating back to July 2024, and the last season in which they lost more than they won at home – aside from the relocation-heavy Covid season of 2021 – was back in 2015.

The atmosphere generated in the ACT, complete with pre-game Viking Clap and horn ceremony, lends itself to the Green Machine being difficult to beat. And with that in mind, I see the 6/4 for a home win being more than generous.

But with that in mind, and with the Sharks unlikely to be easy-beats, the 13/5 about a 1-12-point home win looks great value.

The Raiders’ recent five-game winning streak over Cronulla came thanks to winning margins of two, 12, 16, five and four points, and this could well be a very similar type of contest. I see the 27.8% implied probability of a result that has come in in four of six editions of this fixture as a potential win for the punter.

Sharks Under 22.5 Total Points @ 11/10

I’m normally right behind the Sharks, but last week against the Bulldogs they looked a shadow of what they can often be with ball in hand.

Sure, the Dogs’ defence was at its brilliant best, but Cronulla really didn’t offer enough. It probably didn’t help things that they lost tryscorer Iro and Talakai relatively early in the piece, nor that Reed Mahoney’s two offences didn’t result in at least one sin-binning, but even taking that into account it wasn’t a great Sharks display.

While I back Fitzgibbon to get it right sooner or later, I can’t envisage that quick a turnaround given how they couldn’t turn decent territory into tries only five days ago.

So I can well see the Sharks fallen shy of four converted scores against a Raiders side who can be so strong at times on home territory.

You can read all our latest Rugby League Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights Rugby League content hub.