Melbourne have gone with a nine-man bench, adding Felise Kafusi, Matt White, Ryan Morgan, Slade Griffin and Young Tonumaipea, while the Sharks have six, adding Sam Tagatese and Joseph Paulo to the pine.The history between the sides makes for grim reading for Sharks fans, as they have only been able to win ten of the 31 matches, and only one of the last four, with all losses being blowouts.
Expert
Turn off the porch lights. Become a member to join in Australia's biggest sporting debate, submit articles, receive updates straight to your inbox and keep up with your favourite teams and authors.Oops! This was for the bubbler. NRL grand final teams. The 2016 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league match between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to determine the premiers of the National Rugby League for the 2016 season.The match was held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Sunday 2 October. It was for the 18,081 days they've been waiting.This was for Nathan Blacklock and Anthony Mundine's somersaults in the 1999 preliminary final at the very same ground.It was for the Steve Renouf hat-trick that denied them in Super League in 1997. For Northies.It's for Harold Holt. We want to see it! It was for '73 and '78. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin team representative, he played most of his club career in the National Rugby League for the Melbourne Storm, with whom he won 2 premierships from 7 NRL Grand Finals.
The Sharks won the match 14–12 in a tight contest before 83,625 spectators, earning the club its first premiership title in their 49-year history. This was for Steve Rogers. Source: FOX SPORTS CRAIG Bellamy has named a team designed to keep the Sharks guessing all grand final week, while Shane Flanagan has flagged a big change to his side. Scott Pryde Expert . Expert The Cronulla Sharks have claimed the 2016 NRL Premiership, defeating the Melbourne Storm by two points on Sunday night.The Storm haven’t been to the grand final since 2012, but that doesn’t stop the experience and talent on display in the side.Cronulla, meanwhile, haven’t been to a grand final since the Super League war, and before that you have to go all the way back to 1978.Melbourne’s form leading into the finals was a little bit shaky, but they got back into form during the last round of the season against the Sharks to win the minor premiership and simply haven’t looked back.In the first week of the finals, they controlled the game brilliantly against the Cowboys for a six-point win, before returning from a week off to beat the Canberra Raiders by two points in a very physical, but excellent, performance.The Sharks also entered the finals on the back of some form that was less than certain, and that was only exacerbated when they lost to the Storm in Round 26.However, after a less than ideal start against the Raiders in the first week of the finals, they bounced back to win a thriller by two, before thumping a tired North Queensland Cowboys side last week.The key battle of this match is certainly between the forward packs, and how they can give field position to creative players – namely Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith, Michael Ennis and James Maloney.Whichever forward pack gives those guys more time to perfect their craft will have a much better chance at putting up the necessary points to win.The Storm are the king of wrestle and physical play though, meaning the Sharks backs, particularly Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird, must get involved through the middle of the field.In team news, there isn’t much to report. featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists. Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work This was for half a century of playing second fiddle. By Michael Chammas. NRL grand final 2016: Cronulla Sharks win first premiership in thriller. Updated October 2, 2016 — 10.16pm first published at 6.55pm. You must provide an email address to create a Roar accountWhen using Facebook to create or log in to an account, you need to grant The Roar permission to see your email address Expert Sun 02 Oct, 2016 Full Match Replays / Round 16 Eels v Rabbitohs. 2nd October, 2016. Cooper Patrick Cronk (born 5 December 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Featuring the 2016 Telstra NRL Grand Final and all 2016 Finals games in full, the Official Premiers Highlights program and a selection of the best games from the Premiers' triumphant campaign, this beautifully-presented DVD set is a fitting tribute to the 2016 Premiers' historic season. 2016 NRL Grand Final highlights: Cronulla Sharks claim premiership 14-12 over Melbourne Storm. It's for every porch light in the Sutherland Shire flickering bright through the night.Skipper Paul Gallen had been waiting 16 years just for a chance to walk out on grand final day, but the man with the biggest impact on the decider had called Cronulla home less than any other Sharks players.James Maloney – arguably the best buy in the club's half-century history – made it two wins from three grand final appearances with as many clubs, continuing his golden season to lead Cronulla to victory.However the resilience of Craig Bellamy's Storm, combined with Cronulla's inability to land the killer blow, saw the Sharks surrender the lead only for Andrew Fifita to send most of the 83,625 fans into raptures with a barnstorming try late in the match.The Sharks had plenty of hurdles to jump, overcoming a horror injury toll that saw Matt Prior and Jayson Bukuya undergo concussion tests, Sosaia Feki's night ending with a leg injury just after half-time and Jack Bird virtually playing the whole game with one arm after friendly fire from his skipper.It was a victory set up after a relentless opening half of football, doing to Melbourne what they did to North Queensland just nine days earlier when they strangled the reigning premiers to oblivion.Melbourne – the kings of grind – weren't given a chance to wrestle the ascendancy off Cronulla, whose up-tempo football troubled the 2012 champions.Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk were largely unsighted.