16.05.08 10:35 Age: 35 min
Five-eighth Brett Seymour will celebrate this week's re-signing with the Sharks by taking on his old club the Brisbane Broncos at Toyota Stadium on Saturday night.
Seymour, who agreed to a new contract which will see him remain at the Sharks for a further two years, was dumped by the Broncos back in 2006 before being given a lifeline by the Sharks.
Despite some ups and down during his time at Cronulla, Seymour has now cemented a first grade berth in the number six jersey, with his form good enough to push Australian and NSW five eighth Greg Bird into the back of the scrum.
While keen to help steer the Sharks to their first home field victory of 2008 against the Broncos, Seymour harbours no grudges against his former club.
"There are no hard feelings, it’s over now and I’ve moved on," Seymour told Big League Magazine. "It’s always good to play against the old team though and I’ve just got to treat it as another game."
The Sharks v Broncos match will be a test of depth for both clubs, with the Broncos missing five players selected in the State of Origin game next Wednesday, plus captain Darren Lockyer who is out for an indefinite period with a knee injury.
Similarly, the Sharks will miss the services of their back row pair of Paul Gallen and Bird, with both players chosen to play for NSW next week.
In place of the two representative players the Sharks have brought in Fraser Anderson and Dustin Cooper, two former outside backs who are successfully making the transition into the back row. Anderson in particular has been outstanding this season for the Sharks, presenting plenty of problems for opposition defences with his strong charges on the edge of the ruck, scoring a smart try of a Brett Kimmorley half break last week in the win over the Cowboys.
Paul Stephenson, the 18th man in Townsville last weekend, and the reliable Bryan Norrie have been included on the interchange bench, while veteran Adam Peek returns to the starting line up after missing the Cowboys game due to illness.
The Sharks will be also looking for new recruit Kade Snowden, impressive in some 35 minutes on the field last weekend, to again have an impact when thrown into the contest.
Despite facing a somewhat weakened Broncos side the Sharks will be extremely wary of their opponents considering their recent record against them. While they managed to spilt their two clashes last year at one win apiece, Brisbane winning 38-8 at home and the Sharks coming out on top at Toyota Stadium 16-8, the previous six games have all gone the way of the Queenslanders.
The match takes on extra importance when considering both teams are on 12 competition points with the winner to consolidate their position in the top eight.
The Sharks were winding up their preparations today in Kiama with a final field session scheduled for this morning, with Ricky Stuart and his team having spent a week in training camp down in the South Coast town.
The Sharks go into the match as the bookies favourites, giving the Broncos 3.5 points start.
The referee for the match, which kicks off at Toyota Stadium at 5.30pm, will be Jared Maxwell. In the earlier games the Toyota Cup Sharks take on the Broncos, beginning at 3.15pm, while the NSW Cup Cronulla Cobras will also be in action at Toyota Stadium. They play the Central Newcastle Knights at 1.15pm.
Gates to Toyota Stadium open at 1.00pm.
