NRL veteran — and fan favourite — Dale Finucane will celebrate his 250th game when the Sharks take on the Bulldogs at PointsBet Stadium on Friday night.
It’s a fitting opponent for Finucane given his first grade career started at the Bulldogs back in 2012. He played 66 games for the club before joining the Storm for seven seasons.
He arrived at the Sharks in 2022 and has been co-captain of the team for the last two seasons.
The 32-year-old will lead Cronulla out for their first home game of the season after travelling to New Zealand in Round 1 to upset the Warriors.
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It was a statement performance from the Sharks to kick off their 2024 campaign after two years of questions about their ability to compete against the top sides.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are hunting their first win of the season after going down to the Eels last week.
There was a lot of curiosity surrounding the Bulldogs heading into 2024 given the arrival of Stephen Crichton, Blake Taaffe, Josh Curran and others. But the hype fell flat following a lacklustre Round 1 performance.
Despite the loss, coach Cameron Ciraldo has stayed loyal to the same team, with the only change being a forced one. Star winger Josh Addo-Carr is out due to a shoulder injury and new recruit Connor Tracey comes in to replace him.
The Sharks have been forced into a change too with Royce Hunt ruled out due to an illness. That’s opened the door for emerging prop Tuku Hau Taphua to make his club debut — and play his first NRL game since 2021.
MATCH CENTRE: Bulldogs vs Sharks teams, video, stats
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TEAMS
Sharks: 1. William Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Toby Rudolf 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Dale Finucane 15. Jack Williams 17. Thomas Hazelton 19. Tuku Hau Tapuha. 18th man: 18. Kayal Iro
Bulldogs: 1. Blake Taaffe 2. Blake Wilson 3. Jacob Kiraz 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Connor Tracey 6. Matt Burton 7. Drew Hutchison 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Poasa Faamausili 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon 14. Kurt Mann 15. Samuel Hughes 16. Josh Curran 17. Kurtis Morrin. 18th man: 19. Bronson Xerri
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