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Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL Tips - Sharks tipped to win in battle of the forwards

Ryan Tucker

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Last updated: Tue 01 Apr 2025 13:03

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Ryan Tucker 01 Apr 2025

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Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks expert predictions for Thursday’s Round 5 NRL game
Kick off is at 8:00 PM (AEDT) at GIO Stadium
Cronulla Sharks are favored to win against Canberra Raiders as road favorites.
Sharks have strong recent defensive performances, despite a setback against the Bulldogs.
Canberra Raiders face challenges in consistency, particularly in defense and attack.

Ryan's top picks for Thursday night NRL footy!

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks, Round 5 2025 - Expert Prediction

The Sharks will put their woeful performance against the Bulldogs behind them by taking the victory against Canberra as road favourites this Thursday night.

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks, Round 5 2025 - Expert Prediction
Head to Head
Canberra Raiders Form Analysis & Betting Trends
Recent Form
2025 Betting Trends
Canberra Raiders Team News
Canberra Raiders Team List
Cronulla Sharks Form Analysis & Betting Trends
Recent Form
2025 Betting Trends
Cronulla Sharks Team News
Cronulla Sharks Team List
Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL 2025 Round 5 FAQ’s

Favourites on the road have a winning record this season going 6-5 over the first 4 rounds of competition. Canberra have shown once again their inconsistencies in both attack and defence over the past two weeks and now come up against a Sharks team ranked equal 4th in opposition scoring.

In both of their wins so far this year Cronulla held their opponents to just 12 points signalling a strong defensive mindset and solid structures. That was put to the test last weekend against the Bulldogs but they still managed to dominate territory and hold their opponent to just 1339 Run Metres.

My expectation is that this game will be close, the head to head trends suggest the team with momentum will take the victory and the predictive modelling is siding with the Sharks by around a converted try.

What will decide the outcome is how well the forward packs of each team make metres up the field to allow their playmakers the opportunity to attack the goal line and put the defence under pressure. I have a bigger belief in the Sharks pack to do just that.

Take Cronulla to cover the line with the Game Total staying Under thanks to the defensive efforts of the Sharks. Cronulla have scored first in 3 of their 4 games, we like Briton Nikora to repeat his tryscoring efforts from Round 3.

The Sharks have won and covered the last 3 in a row against Canberra.
The Raiders have averaged just 13.2 pts in losses at GIO Stadium over the past 2 seasons.
Cronulla have scored the first try in 3 of their 4 games played this season.
Briton Nikora has scored in 2 of his last 3 games against Canberra.

Head to Head

Canberra have the better head to head record dating back to the start of the 2019 season having won 9 straight from 2019 - 2023. The Sharks though turned the tables and have themselves won the most recent 3 matchups in a row.

The Over has hit in 8 of 12 games played during the same span with all three Sharks victories being by 13+.

Canberra Raiders Form Analysis & Betting Trends

Recent Form

Last 5 W/L	Last 5 ATS	Last 5 O/U
2-2	2-2	3-1

Since starting the season 2-0 beating the Warriors and Broncos, Canberra have looked worse for wear in their two straight losses to the Sea Eagles and Cowboys.

Two weeks ago they were held to just 12 points and gave up 40, while last weekend they allowed another 30 point effort from their opponents, this time putting 20 on the board themselves. Consistency at both ends of the park has been a sticking point with the Raiders the past few seasons and is a major reason they have not reached their full potential.

There were a combined 90 missed tackles in the game against the Sharks, Canberra accounting for 39 of them as well as 11 errors and 7 penalties given. Corey Horsburgh made 121 Metres off 16 runs while making 31 tackles, the best performance of any forward in the team.

2025 Betting Trends

ATS	Over/Under	1-12	13+
2-2	3-1	1-1	1-1

Canberra Raiders Team News

Josh Papali’i and Joe Tapine both escaped suspension after their high tackle reports over the weekend, they have been named to partner each other in the front row.

Corey Horsburgh has been a standout this season so far and retains the lock forward role ahead of the returning Morgan Smithies who is named on the pine. Simi Sasagi replaces Trey Mooney in the other change to the lineup.

Canberra Raiders Team List

1. Kaeo Weekes

2. Savelio Tamale

3. Matthew Timoko

4. Seb Kris

5. Xavier Savage

6. Ethan Strange

7. Jamal Fogarty

8. Josh Papali'i

9. Tom Starling

10. Joe Tapine

11. Hudson Young

12. Matty Nicholson

13. Corey Horsburgh

Interchange

14. Owen Pattie

15. Simi Sasagi

16. Morgan Smithies

17. Ata Mariota

Reserves

18. Danny Levi

19. Jed Stuart

20. Pasami Saulo

21. Trey Mooney

22. Adam Cook

Cronulla Sharks Form Analysis & Betting Trends

Recent Form

Last 5 W/L	Last 5 ATS	Last 5 O/U
2-2	1-3	1-3

Cronulla suffered their second loss of the season last weekend, falling 20-6 to the Bulldogs who were missing some of their stars.

Despite having less possession than their opponents the Sharks controlled the territory and held the Dogs to just 1339 Run Metres which in most other games would result in much fewer points being scored. They did though give up 6 linebreaks as well as 31 missed tackles on the day.

The Sharks had 15 errors and looked clunky in attack, unable to convert their chances despite having 28 tackles in their opponents 20m zone. On the season they are averaging a try every 8 tackles inside their opponents red zone but failed to live up to that average in this game.

2025 Betting Trends

ATS	Over/Under	1-12	13+
1-3	1-3	0-1	2-1

Cronulla Sharks Team News

Mawene Hiroti comes in for the injured Kayal Iro who will miss a few weeks with a hammy. Siosifa Talakai is out with a head knock and has been replaced on the bench by Tom Hazelton who returns from a back complaint.

Cronulla Sharks Team List

1. Will Kennedy

2. Samuel Stonestreet

3. Jesse Ramien

4. Mawene Hiroti

5. Ronaldo Mulitalo

6. Braydon Trindall

7. Nicho Hynes

8. Addin Fonua-Blake

9. Blayke Brailey

10. Oregon Kaufusi

11. Briton Nikora

12. Teig Wilton

13. Cameron McInnes

Interchange

14. Daniel Atkinson

15. Tom Hazelton

16. Toby Rudolf

17. Tuku Hau Tapuha

Reserves

18. Jayden Berrell

19. Chris Vea'ila

20. Hohepa Puru

21. Jesse Colquhoun

22. Billy Burns

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL 2025 Round 5 FAQ’s

How to watch Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL 2025 Round 5?

You can watch the Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL 2025 Round 5 game via Fox Sports or Kayo Sports. If you are watching from outside of Australia the WatchNRL app is the perfect solution.

How to buy tickets to Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL 2025 Round 5?

To buy tickets to the Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks NRL 2025 Round 5 game check the NRL website or the official Canberra Raiders site.

Verdict

Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks

Take Cronulla to cover the line with the Game Total staying Under thanks to the defensive efforts of the Sharks. Cronulla have scored first in 3 of their 4 games, we like Briton Nikora to repeat his tryscoring efforts from Round 3.

Cronulla -4.5

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