Sharks grateful for early-season Sea Eagles loss / NRL .com
In his career Chad Townsend has never beaten the Sea Eagles. Neither have three of his teammates named to face Manly on Saturday night.
A couple of their Sharks teammates have managed just the lone win while others have only beaten them while at other clubs in years past.
In fact the Sharks haven't beaten their upcoming opponents since 2012 – their lone win in the past 14 games against the Sea Eagles.
However if you ask around, the Sharks are pretty happy with the Sea Eagles.
Not because they like losing. Rather they're pretty thankful for the wake-up call they received back in Round 3 when Cronulla's trip to Brookvale Oval ended in a 10-point defeat.
The Sharks haven't been beaten since, and for Townsend the loss was a "blessing in disguise" as it allowed both he and halves partner James Maloney as well as hooker Michael Ennis to pick apart the side's game-plan.
"Being dusted by the Sea Eagles earlier in the year was honestly a massive turning point in our year. Our combination was still building, obviously it was early in the season, and after that game we sat down as a spine," Townsend explains.
"Michael, Jimmy, myself and the coaching staff – we all had a really good look at the tape and tweaked our game-plan a little bit. From then on, everyone has clicked into gear and haven't missed a beat.
"That was the game I think we needed and it was the one which changed us. They're always such a tough team though. You can never write them off, no matter the form they're in."
We are the Sharks living night mare and they know it .