With Parra winning today's game against the Tigers, they cannot do any better of worse than a 6th spot finish.. This means that the Sharks will most likely play them in the 2nd week of the finals at Aussie Stadium (provided Parra lose to their 3rd placed opponent in week one)...

Looking through the crystal ball, Cronulla's best path to the GF would be for Dragons to beat the Knights in the final round, meaning the Warriors would finish on top of the table (now THAT would be one fantastic feat by the Kiwis..)

The final table should look like this:

1. 40 - Warriors
2. 39 - Broncos
3. 38 - Knights
4. 36 - Sharks
5. 35 - Roosters
6. 28 - Eels
7. 25 - Dragons
8. 25 - Raiders / Storm

Looking at that you would have to think the top 4 will win comfortbly at home.. The Sharks will be in a group with the Eels and the Warriors for a chance to make the GF...

So the early prediction is a Cronulla vs Brisbane Grand Final in 2002...

Gallen was unsuccessful in having his charge downgraded to grade 2... He will now miss the two games against the Roosters.. including the home Quarter Final...

The Roosters had Stevens suspended before their first clash against the Sharks about a month ago, and now they have got their man once more, Paul Gallen - perhaps the form Cronulla forward at this stage into the competition...

Paul Gallen was charged with a grade 3 careless high tackle charge over the weekend... He is expected to plead guilty and have the charge downgraded to grade 2 to miss only one week (instead of two)..

Phil Bailey and Dean Treister were found to have no case to answer after being unceremoniously reported on minor incidents...

Just on Gallen's tackle.. my first reaction was that he should've been sent off... Having seen several replays now, I still stand by that view...

Here are some interesting stats...

Rounds 6 - 12 (the losing streak):
Av. Points scored - 14.000
Av. Points conceded - 38.286
Av. 1st Half Pts scored - 6.571
Av. 1st Half Pts conceded - 17.143
Av. 2nd Half Pts scored - 7.429
Av. 2nd Half Pts conceded - 21.143

Compare that to..

Rounds 13 - 24 (the winning streak):
Av. Points scored - 37.545
Av. Points conceded - 18.091
Av. 1st Half Pts scored - 16.364
Av. 1st Half Pts conceded - 10.273
Av. 2nd Half Pts scored - 21.182
Av. 2nd Half Pts conceded - 7.818

The Sharks have maintained their 4th spot on the ladder, by defeating the North Queensland Cowboys 36 - 14 at home, albeit unconvincingly.. Cronulla, led by fullback and captain Peachey, went into the break up 28 - 10, but never got out of second gear, as they cruised to their 11th straight victory...

Records continue to tumble down at The Shire:

* 11 straight wins is a club record for most wins in a row in a single season..

* Peachey has now scored in each of the last 8 games played, another club record..

In fact, the Peach scored a hatrick of tries against the Cowboys, taking his season tally to 16 in just 17 games this year...

Just on the win on Saturday night.. There were some alarming signs in the second half.. Ball control was just not good enough, and perhaps not adventurous enough against a struggling team.. It seemed like the Sharks were content just to get the 2 points and hit the showers... This is not good enough at this time of year.. especially with the Roosters breathing down our necks (they beat the Premiership leaders in the Warriors 44-0)...

The Bulldogs last night were stripped of 37 competition points, and fined $500,000.. They will receive the wooden spoon for 2002 and not participate in the final series..

The Sharks are now in 4th position and will get a home final provided they beat the Roosters in the last round of the premiership..

How will the Bulldogs salary cap scandal affect the Sharks in 2002?

Cronulla WILL get a home semi final as a result of this.. It is not the most ideal way in which to get one, but we'll take it... As a result, we are likely to play the hapless Roosters twice in a row at Toyota Park..

All year, I have said that the Bulldogs are not a serious chance at the premiership.. I just didn't think they had the right mix of players.. Clearly, they were playing as one magnificent unit.. but a lot of it was on the back of pure luck... Their best players have been their sensational wingers (El Masri and Utai).. which doesn't say much for a club with finals aspirations.. I think with O'Meley back, they get some good forward momentum.. but all in all, their pack can be handled quite easily by any of the top sides in a finals environment.. Overall, they have peaked way too early, and there is no way they can improve on how they have been playing...

But that matters for naught, as it seems imminent that they will take no part in the finals series.. This, I find, a real shame because of... ONE/ there will always be that question of, "what if the Doggies were in the finals series in 2002?".. and... TWO/ I will not be able to prove my theories correct that they are not a very good football team...

The implications of this scandal are far and wide... Cronulla has the best chance since '99 to lift their maiden championship trophy.. but the season will always be tainted by this incident... It may be looked at in the same way the year 1997 is looked at (Super League year)... Not only that, there are serious question marks over how the "penalty" should be handled.. Do all teams who have lost to the Doggies get their points back? What about the teams due to play them in the next 3 weeks, starting with Canberra? Just what is the real "fair" punishment that the NRL can dish out?

Let's just hope that we can get past this in a real hurry.. Come September, finals footy rules... I feel sorry for the Doggies fans, but hey.. this is what happens when you support a club like Canterbury...

The Sharks have again named an unchanged lineup to take on the Cowboys on Saturday night.. The team is:

Peach (c), Rieck, McKenna, Franze, Mellor, Mullane, Kimmorley ;
Graham, Bickerstaff, Bailey, Beattie, Treister, Stevens ;
Bench - Nutley, Gallen, Bosnich, Gibson

Another early prediction: Sharks by 32..

A shaky but strong win against the Tigers on Sunday.. In a fiery encounter at Campbelltown, the Sharks pack stood up to the challenge to overcome the fired-up Tigers, led by captain Darren Senter, and John Skandalis.. Cronulla were best served by Nick Graham, Chris Beattie, and rookie Jye Mullane...

We showed signs of a finals-ready team, by withstanding the onslaught and then punishing them with some quick thinking.. After being down 12-6 early, the Sharks clawed their way back to a 18-12 lead by halftime.. and midway through the 2nd half, the victory was sealed with a 34-12 lead.. Full credit to the Tigers though, they did manage to score the last try make it 34-18..

The best thing to come out of this game was the way we handled the "tough stuff".. Wests totally ambushed us, and whilst this was pretty much expected going into the game, the Sharks pack passed with flying colours.. Chris Anderson later remarked that there wasn't too much footy played out there.. but he was more than pleased to be battle hardened going into the finals..

I mentioned Mullane before, and I thought he was great in defence and solid in attack.. If Matty Johns is out for longer than 3 weeks, I am confident Mullane will be able to handle the pressure.. He was clearly targeted by the Tigers but did not give an inch... Well done Jye...

It's funny... Brett Kimmorley is now considered God down Cronulla way... Who would've predicted Noddy could break all sorts of point scoring records this season?? It was not long ago, when he was booed off the field, by an unforgiving Toyota Park crowd, as he was replaced by one Preston Campbell... How times have changed...

You have to feel sorry for Preston.. He has done nothing wrong.. but clearly, Kimmorley is a few levels above him in terms of organising, passing, and kicking - the main traits of a good halfback.. If Preston was a little bigger, I think he would make it as a great winger, or at least a bench player.. But Anderson's style of play dictates that 4 forwards are needed on the bench.. I really hope that Preston can make a good fist of it at Penrith next year, because there aren't too players in the league that can light up the crowd like he can..

Back to Noddy, he has been simply brilliant all year round.. Behind a now dominant pack of forwards, there's hardly a team that can stop him.. The next few weeks will be interesting to see if the opposition can find a way to combat his abilities on the field.. You would have to play it tough and give him absolutely no room to move, and no time to think... The beauty of Kimmorley's play is his diversity.. You never know what he's going to do next.. and when there are runners off him left and right, you know you're in trouble..

So cheers to Noddy.. a shark for life!

Tonight, I'd like to talk about some of the Sharks' weaknesses, that a smart enough team will be able to exploit...

Defensively, Matthew Rieck is not quite up to scratch just yet, especially on the 5th tackle... He will definitely be a bomb target come September... He will need more protection from McKenna (he failed last year when Preston was defending out on the wing in the prelim final - 2 bombs to Preston, 2 tries to the Knights)... Having said that, he is improving every game, and hopefully he can have a little more confidence in his inside men... His one on one tackling is otherwise fine, but needs more work on his positioning...

Nutter has been awesome for us all year.. but his tryline defence is just woeful... (Fittler waltzed straight past him 2 weeks ago!)... I reckon about 50% of the tries let in close to the line this year has been through Nutley either getting sidestepped.. being totally out of position.. or just plainly missing a tackle.... Stevens has to regain his fitness and stay on the field for at least 65 minutes.. to help around the ruck area...

Although it has improved out of sight, our defence around the ruck is still shocking.. A team like Canterbury and their fast, annoying little dummy half runners can carve us up.. I like Treister starting in games as there isn't anyone in the league that works as hard as he does (for someone who does not possess an abundance of talent).. and we need Trent.. umm.. i mean Matty to come back plug those gaps 1 or 2 wide of the ruck...

Goalkicking - I guess you would have to say it has been below par this year.. Kimmorley has definitely improved in this area as the year has gone on, and you can clearly see that he puts alot of work into it every week.. One thing I have noticed is that, he very rarely scuffs the ball.. they are all struck fairly good.. but the direction is sometimes not there... Let's hope he can keep up his recent 70% mark... We have been blessed with the great Mat Rogers in the past, and Noddy, I believe, has the potential to be just a good kicker, but probably not until next year...

Fitness - I don't think we're as fit as some of the super fit teams in the league (see Parramatta, Canterbury, Brisbane), but because of the nature of the flat style, we are tiring the opposition a lot quicker than we are ourselves.. and there lies the secret... We are not naturally gifted in this area, but if we stick to the game plan, Anderson's pattern will pay dividends...

Sharks squad to take on the Wests Tigers this Sunday:

Peach (c), Rieck, McKenna, Franze, Mellor, Mullane, Kimmorley ;
Graham, Bickerstaff, Bailey, Beattie, Treister, Stevens ;
Bench - Nutley, Gallen, Bosnich, Gibson

Early prediction: Sharks by 26...

Sunday, 11th August, 2002 will go down as a famous day in the history of The Shire..

Not only did the Sharks send out a clear message to the Rugby League world, but they did it with style and undeniable class.. If there ever was a perfect game of football, the Sharks yesterday were pretty damn close to it..

The scoreline, in the end was 64-14, with Newcastle going in for 2 late tries.. But it definitely was Brett Kimmorley's day.. His first half performance has been touted as one of the most dominant individual displays of the modern era.. He had a hand in all 7 of the first half tries, scoring 2 of them himself.. His points tally of 28 is the most in Cronulla's history, and his 10 goals equal's the club record.. It was a tad disappointing seeing the Peach point to the sticks for the penalty kick so that BK could get his record.. It would've been nice to get to 70 points, just to rub it in to Joey and the Knights, and with 7 or so minutes remaining, you would think the Sharks would've gone in again.. Instead, the Knights scored 2 late tries to close the gap..

But that was about the only negative aspect of the game.. I'm sure all Sharks supporters (far & wide) were in dreamland for the 80 minutes yesterday... It just made it all the sweeter as it was against those Knights of Newcastle.. Sweet revenge for the shallacking they handed out earlier this year.. and sweet revenge for last year's prelim final loss...

This is what I thought of all the players...

Peachey - simply brilliant.. he is THE best captain we have ever had.. his first try, chasing the grubber, was out of this world...

Rieck - great intercept try in the 2nd half.. but was caught out on a number of occasions against Tahu...

McKenna - he is our rock in the midfield.. he got stood up by Heggarty last week, but bounced back with a great defensive performance...

Franze - a little quiet in this game, but he is slowly maturing into a quality player.. will be one of our strike weapons in the finals...

Mellor - a five star performance.. which one is he? a wrecking ball? or Frankenstein?! his 2nd try, palming off Quinn 3 times, will long live in my memory...

Mullane - signs of a promising future.. he stood up to the challange on his debut in a big big game...

Kimmorley - nothing more can be said about his performance...

Graham - his assignment marking Joey did not go unnoticed.. in attack, he didn't get much ball, but nothing can be done when your halfback is so dominant on the field...

Bickerstaff - some terrific hits and gained valuable metres coming out of our own half.. his hard hitting defence will play a major role in the finals...

Bailey - showed glimpses of why I regard him so highly (the next Hindmarsh).. but he needs to get involved more and work on his fitness...

Beattie - got away a couple of neat offloads.. you can really tell he has been working on this.. his defence was at his punishing best...

Treister - what a fighter! no one tries as hard as he does on the footy field.. he was again fearless against the bigger forwards...

Stevens - proved again that he is the best prop in the game today.. the little things might go unnoticed by the commentary team, but not here Jase!

Nutley - another tireless display.. his defence around the ruck was much better, and it'll have to be when the whips are cracking...

Gallen - made a couple of good breaks.. upper body strength impresses me no end.. support play is also improving...

Bosnich - the unsung hero of the team in my opinion.. he plays a roaming role, and has the strength and the footwork to be very valuable...

Gibson - his passing from dummy-half is faultless, which is important when playing a flat style.. a copybook tackling style, and not afraid to mix it with the big boys...

Add to that Johns, Campbell, Firman in the halves.. Best, Prince, McGoldrick, Taylor in the backs.. Bird, Sargent, Paterson, Pierce, Hilder in the forwards.. you have one awesome squad leading into the final series... I cannot wait!

Just saw Paul Mellor palm off Anthony Quinn 3 times on route to a 80 metre run to the tryline.. That's his 2nd for the afternoon, and the 11th for the Sharks.. With 7 minutes remaining, the Sharks are leading 62-4.. Pinch me, I'm dreaming!!

The Rooster surprised the Broncos with 28-18 win last night.. meaning that the Sharks must win to stay in 5th position..

Gotta love that Matty.. A man of many talents.. not a bad footy player, either...

Even the great Reg Reagan made an appearance on the Footy Show tonight.. and looks like loverboy Jase (on his date) had a case of the runs all night long...

While on Matt Johns, he is very much in doubt for the big clash against his brother and former club.. It's a nerve problem and Jye Mullane is expected to fill in should he not pass the fitness test.. I personally would go for Graham at 5/8 and Greg Bird on the bench, or even Preston to start..

Preston looks to have signed a 3 year contract with Penrith..

Only a few weeks left til the finals.. A mighty win against the Roosters.. We just wore them down and then wore them down some more... You can really see now, the benefits of the flatline offence.. and we are coming home strong in all of our games..

Another huge test against the Knights this week, and this is the line up:

The Peach (c) ; Rieck, Hymie, Franze, Mellor ; Trent, Noddy ; Graham, Bails, Bicks ; Beattso, Deano, Stevo.. Bench: Nutter, Gallen, Bosnich, Gibson...