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St George Illawarra are bracing for a backlash from the embattled Sharks in tomorrow night's derby at Toyota Park.
Cronulla are languishing in last place on the NRL ladder and have endured a fortnight of off-field dramas.
Revelations about their infamous preseason trip to New Zealand in 2002, a debt crisis and then the positive drug test of forward Reni Maitua - among other controversies - have the club reeling.
The group sex allegations stemming from 2002 and other issues have resulted in sponsors withdrawing commitment to the financially embattled club.
The Sharks are in danger of folding. It is believed they have debts totalling $12 million and, to make matters worse, they have played eight games without winning.
In contrast, the Dragons are flying high. They are third on the ladder and equal favourites in premiership betting. But none of that would matter tomorrow, St George Illawarra centre Beau Scott said.
Scott played for the Sharks in 2005-06 and knows exactly what their mindset will be when the rivals clash.
"They always get up for the local derby - they don't like the Dragons too much as a team," he said. "They're struggling a bit for a win at the moment so they'll be really keen to get out on the weekend and knock the two points off."
Winger Wendell Sailor agreed the rivalry would bring out the best in Cronulla, but added his side would be ready for a tough match.
"I think you can throw the form out the window in the local derbies," he said.
"They're going to be tough, we know they're going to turn out, we know they're going to boo us.
"We've got a job to do and we trust our ability to play a good 80 minutes of football and hang in there.
"I think we showed that last week against the Dogs, even though we probably should have put them away a bit earlier. It's part of this culture when we play football we play for 80 minutes, win, lose or draw.
"I hate to say it but they're due for a win and we don't want it to be against us."
Sailor believes the quality of players at the Sharks, who played off for a grand final spot last year, mean they won't stay at the bottom of the table for long.
"I can see them finishing much higher. They've got too good of a roster not to finish much higher," he said.
"At the moment Cronulla are copping a hammering ... but their football team - there's too many talented guys to be running last."
Story here
Cronulla are languishing in last place on the NRL ladder and have endured a fortnight of off-field dramas.
Revelations about their infamous preseason trip to New Zealand in 2002, a debt crisis and then the positive drug test of forward Reni Maitua - among other controversies - have the club reeling.
The group sex allegations stemming from 2002 and other issues have resulted in sponsors withdrawing commitment to the financially embattled club.
The Sharks are in danger of folding. It is believed they have debts totalling $12 million and, to make matters worse, they have played eight games without winning.
In contrast, the Dragons are flying high. They are third on the ladder and equal favourites in premiership betting. But none of that would matter tomorrow, St George Illawarra centre Beau Scott said.
Scott played for the Sharks in 2005-06 and knows exactly what their mindset will be when the rivals clash.
"They always get up for the local derby - they don't like the Dragons too much as a team," he said. "They're struggling a bit for a win at the moment so they'll be really keen to get out on the weekend and knock the two points off."
Winger Wendell Sailor agreed the rivalry would bring out the best in Cronulla, but added his side would be ready for a tough match.
"I think you can throw the form out the window in the local derbies," he said.
"They're going to be tough, we know they're going to turn out, we know they're going to boo us.
"We've got a job to do and we trust our ability to play a good 80 minutes of football and hang in there.
"I think we showed that last week against the Dogs, even though we probably should have put them away a bit earlier. It's part of this culture when we play football we play for 80 minutes, win, lose or draw.
"I hate to say it but they're due for a win and we don't want it to be against us."
Sailor believes the quality of players at the Sharks, who played off for a grand final spot last year, mean they won't stay at the bottom of the table for long.
"I can see them finishing much higher. They've got too good of a roster not to finish much higher," he said.
"At the moment Cronulla are copping a hammering ... but their football team - there's too many talented guys to be running last."
Story here
