Cronulla Sharks vs Canterbury Bulldogs Prediction: Sharks should fight back to the top

When they play home to the Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday, the Cronulla Sharks will be looking to get back on track after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Melbourne Storm the week before. The odds are strongly stacked in favor of the Sharks heading into this encounter, whereas the Bulldogs are having a difficult time winning matches.

When the Cronulla Sharks host the Bulldogs, who are having a rough season, at PointsBet Stadium on Sunday, they will be more motivated than ever to get back on track after suffering their worst loss in almost two years. When Craig Fitzgibbon took over as head coach of the Sharks a year ago, the team had a strong showing in what was Fitzgibbon's first year at the helm, but this season, the Sharks have struggled with both consistency and defense. The Cronulla Sharks have now lost two consecutive games, with their most recent setback coming at the hands of the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park last week, where they were routed by a score of 54-10. Prior to that, they were defeated by the Brisbane Broncos by a score of 12-20. Nicho Hynes' chances of being selected for his team's Origin were seemingly dashed by that defeat; however, the good news for the Sharks is that their star halfback will be eligible to participate on Sunday.

Because Cameron Ciraldo is having a difficult time in his first season as a head coach in the NRL, the Bulldogs haven't been able to get their season off to a good start. The forwards for Canterbury are missing in punch, and the rest of their attack is still struggling; none of their combo plays are really working. The Bulldogs were never in the hunt during last week's game against the Parramatta Eels, which ended in a 34-12 loss for them. This week, they will go to a venue where they haven't won since 2011. A try and a conversion goal scored by Matt Burton were the best things for the Canterbury Bulldogs to come out of that half of the game, but they were still trailing by a score of 6-24. However, with a similar bad performance in the second half, Matt Burton scored a conversion goal once more, while Perham did well to score a try, and the half ended with the score 6-10 in favor of Eels' team. The Canterbury Bulldogs currently hold the 15th slot in the NRL standings heading into this match, having accumulated 12 points through a total of 14 games played.

Sharks have prevailed in each of the clubs' most recent four encounters. Since 2015, the Bulldogs have only twice been victorious over the Sharks. Since 2011, the Bulldogs have not been successful at PointsBet Stadium.

Given the results that the Bulldogs have been getting in their most recent matches, it will be extremely challenging for them to triumph against a team like the Cronulla Sharks. On the other hand, I anticipate the Cronulla Sharks to play with a lot of enthusiasm in this match. Even though this match might appear to be evenly matched, the fact that they are playing at home gives them a significant edge that tips the scales in their favor.