Paul Gallen in heated TV clash with Phil Gould over startling revelation about Cronulla Sharks
Gould believes Penrith's attack will simply be too much for Cronulla to handle.
Having buried one hoodoo with last week's breakthrough finals victory, Cronulla must confront further mental demons as they prepare to meet Penrith for a spot in this year's grand final. The Sharks won their first play-off match in six years in disposing of the North Queensland Cowboys in the semi-finals, but now must overcome the best side of the NRL era if they are to make the decider for the first time since 2016.
And their recent record against Ivan Cleary's men does not make for pretty reading. In the last seven head-to-head battles between the two clubs, stretching over the past five years, Penrith enjoy a 6-1 advantage with a combined scoreline of 250-65.
Just as concerning, Cronulla has not beaten a Nathan Cleary-led Panthers side since 2019. The Sharks' sole victory over Penrith between 2020-24 came in round 14, 2021, when Cleary watched from the stands as a late Shaun Johnson field goal handed Cronulla a 19-18 win.
The halfback was one of several Penrith players rested that night after playing in the Origin opener 48 hours earlier. As if meeting the Panthers in a grand final qualifier is not daunting enough, Cronulla go in having scored just 10 points against them in their last four encounters. In three of those games, the Sharks were kept scoreless.
Phil Gould believes Sharks can't stop Panthers' purring attack
It's that Penrith relentlessness that has Phil Gould predicting a fifth straight grand final appearance for his former club. "The Panthers won't be as easy to crack (as the Cowboys). If you give away a penalty or you give away a dropped ball, Panthers turn into a different beast," he said on 100% Footy.
"Once they come to your end of the field, they're really hard to contain. They're very good at what they do. I don’t think the Sharks have got the defence to counter that.
"The Sharks' best defence is to keep the Panthers out of their half, which has to be a single-minded approach to grinding the Panthers and making sure every time they get the ball it's at their own end of the field, It’s not going to be easy to do for 80 minutes but the more you do it, the more chance you've got of maybe causing an upset."
Sharks legend Paul Gallen took umbrage at suggestions Cronulla is incapable of stopping Penrith, telling Gus: "Sharkies were the second-best defensive side in the competition." Gould replied: "Paul, too many stats for me, mate. You've got stats coming out your backside."
Gallen countered: "It's also facts." An unconvinced Gould responded: "Alright, we'll see how they go this week." Melbourne or the Roosters awaits the winner in the grand final on October 6.
