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Sharks bid to rebound against Warriors

3 minute read

Craig Fitzgibbon wants Cronulla to come out firing against the Warriors after suffering a shock loss to Brisbane in their last NRL game.

Sharks head coach CRAIG FITZGIBBON.
Sharks head coach CRAIG FITZGIBBON. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Craig Fitzgibbon hopes a lengthy break will give Cronulla a chance to come out with a renewed focus against the Warriors on Sunday after suffering an unlikely loss to Brisbane last time out.

After starting the NRL season with five wins from their opening seven games under their rookie coach, the Sharks were stunned by the Broncos in a 16-7 defeat.

Their attack, which until that point had been one of the most dazzling in the competition, came unstuck and the Sharks have a chance to rectify that against the Warriors.

"We've got a long turnaround that has come in handy after a couple of short turnarounds," Fitzgibbon said.

"We've tried to get a bit of gas back into the tank after three games in 12 days, so we're ready to go and we've prepared well this week.

"The effort of the guys (against Brisbane) was really solid to hang in the game.

"It was definitely a flat performance from us, but I was really proud of the way the guys scrapped and we were still in the game the whole way through.

"We just couldn't quite execute when we had to in the second half and we have to be a bit more clinical this week."

The Sharks are helped by the return of lock Dale Finucane after the skipper was ruled out of successive games with concussion and a calf complaint as they welcome the Warriors to PointsBet Stadium.

Fitzgibbon's outfit are undefeated at home this year and have won by an average margin of 15 points across four games.

It's a daunting prospect for the Warriors, whose form line has been up and down all year.

In their past three games, Nathan Brown's have suffered a narrow loss to the Sydney Roosters, been humiliated in a club record 60-point defeat at the hands of Melbourne and then pipped Canberra by a field goal.

But Fitzgibbon is wary of the threats the Kiwi outfit possesses.

"They've got Reece Walsh and Shaun Johnson and they're capable of anything at any time," he said.

"We'll have to keep a good handle on the forward to make sure that they don't get time and space."

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