Lock in Roosters and Sharks

Here’s a statistic to gladden the hearts of Canterbury-Bankstown fans.

Since winning the NRL premiership in 2013, the Sydney Roosters have won 14.28 per cent of their matches when Ben Cummins has been one of the referees, as was the case in last Friday’s loss to the Melbourne Storm.

In matches refereed by men other than Cummins, the Roosters’ winning percentage is 75.55.

Lo and behold, Cummins will be one of the two referees when the Roosters meet the Bulldogs in Friday’s elimination semifinal at Allianz Stadium.

A record such as Cummins’ is rare, in these days of centrallycontracted referees and referee coaches. Going back a generation or so, others such as Greg Hartley and Barry Gomersall were regularly accused of being partial to certain teams, which only added to the theatre.

So it will be interesting to see how Cummins and fellow ref Matt Cecchin rule on Friday, particularly given Roosters coach Trent Robinson’s trenchant criticism of a week ago. He said the referees had made no attempt to rule on illegalities, particularly in the ruck, and were merely there to pick up errors such as knock ons.

Robinson’s biggest issue is that the Roosters simply didn’t play very well against the Storm. There was too much one-out running and the Roosters lacked their usual cohesion.

Halfback Mitchell Pearce has again been ruled out by injury, although that shouldn’t stop the Roosters from beating the Bulldogs. Of the six teams still in contention, the Bulldogs have offered the least all season.

Their attack continues to be clunky, at best, while their lasttackle plays have often been poor as well. A St George Illawarra side with no discernible attacking game of their own almost knocked the Dogs out a week ago, so the Roosters should be far too potent. Cummins or not.

Which leads us to Cronulla. There’s an irresistible look to the Sharks at the moment and having already beaten North Queensland home and away this season, you’d expect them to do it again in Townsville on Saturday night.

The Cowboys have fought hard to raise their game in recent weeks and finally did, in last Saturday’s clash with Brisbane. Sadly, it still wasn’t enough to win.

Despite being at home and having the outstanding Johnathan Thurston at halfback, it’s hard to see the Cowboys having the stomach to stick with the Sharks.

TVTCronulla don’t outplay you, but they definitely test your resolve and the Cowboys appear to have run out of some of that.

Love Paul Gallen or hate him, a Sharks win would represent a per- sonal triumph for the lock forward. Rarely out of the headlines, he’s created a team in his own abrasive image and no team will relish playing them as this finals series wears on.