The finals have come a week early for the Tigers and Sharks, with the winner of this match at Leichhardt Oval to feature in the 2019 finals and the loser left to plan Mad Monday.

The Tigers have finished the season with a roar, posting big wins in the past fortnight, scoring 40+ points in each match. They’re boosted by big ins this week, with Moses Mbye and Robbie Farah both named as reserves.

They play a Cronulla side that could have all but assured themselves a finals position if not for Aidan Sezer’s sharp kicking skills that saw them go down 15-14 in golden point. Shaun Johnson has been included in the starting side after a quad injury in warm up saw him miss the Raiders game. Matt Moylan is another named, although on the reserves list.

This game pits two clubs with opposing handicap records against one another, with the Tigers third in the NRL at 14-9 covering the line, with the Sharks third last at just 9-1-13, including a poor 3-8 mark away from Shark Park.

Cronulla has the wood over Wests in recent matches, winning five in a row against the joint venture, dating back to 2015. Wests have the longest finals drought of any team in the competition and The Wolf thinks a packed Leichhardt crowd, in what could be Robbie Farah’s final ever game for his beloved club will be enough to see them feature at the pointy end for the first time in eight years.

Wolf Facts

H2H: Tigers ($2.07)

Value: Tigers 1-10 ($3.30)

ERL Prediction

Wests Tigers for the win