Sharks v Raiders: Forward depth tested; Whitehead withdraws

After both suffering their first loss of the season in Round 3, the Sharks and Raiders are looking to return to winning ways when they clash on Sunday evening.

Hammered by the Wests Tigers in a 32-6 boilover last week, Cronulla looked a shadow of the side who toughed out an opening-round win over the Warriors before beating the Bulldogs comfortably the following week.

Errors, 16 of them in total, were the main issue for Craig Fitzgibbon’s side, who completed just 67 percent of their 37 sets and on the back of it struggled to manage the game when they did get chances. 

Canberra likely took more positives out of their 18-10 defeat to the Warriors in Christchurch, which saw them remain right in the contest until the final five minutes. 

In what will be their 82nd all-time meeting, the Sharks will become the team the Raiders have faced the most across their history on Sunday, with the leger currently sitting at an almost perfectly balanced 41-40 record tilted slightly in Canberra’s favour.

Sportsbet Betting Preview - Sharks v Raiders

Team Talk

Sharks: The home side are 1-17 with no changes on game day. Dale Finucane (facial injury), Royce Hunt (calf) and Toby Rudolf (ankle) are all out, forcing Siosifa Talakai to shift from the centres to the back row and bringing Kayal Iro into the outside backs. Tom Hazelton has been named to start at prop. Jayden Berrell is 18th man.

Raiders: No late changes after skipper Elliott Whitehead dropped out on Saturday with a calf injury. Zac Hosking moves into the starting side and Corey Horsburgh joins the bench for his first game of 2024. Seb Kris' return from concussion offsets the loss of Albert Hopoate (arm). James Schiller is preferred to Nick Cotric on the wing.