Ronaldo Mulitalo concedes he must do more to get involved against Penrith, after one of the NRL’s best kick-returners was frozen out of Cronulla’s last clash with the premiers.
Cronulla’s back five loom as a crucial facet to the Sharks’ hopes of qualifying for next Sunday’s grand final, with data showing they are second only to preliminary-final rivals Penrith for yardage.
The Sharks are already facing the prospect of being without Jesse Ramien for Saturday night due to an ankle injury, while fellow-centre Kayal Iro has been cleared to play.
But what is clear is the Sharks must find a way to win the early-set yardage battle, after Penrith dominated territory in their 42-0 beating of Cronulla in round 12.
Mulitalo, in particular, was silenced that night at PointsBet Stadium with only one of Penrith’s 30 kicks going to the Kiwi international.
And even that was from a short dink in attack, giving the Cronulla winger little room to move and no chance to make an impact.
Instead, 14 were directed at Mulitalo’s fellow winger Sione Katoa, who spilled three of those and offered Penrith cheap possession in the lead up to two tries.
“It was weird, I was saying that (to the coaches) too,” Mulitalo told AAP.
“I didn’t catch any balls. That’s just the type of team they are. They suffocate you.
“That game was round 12, we played a lot of footy since then and learned a lot. For us it is just about getting it right on the night and playing to our strengths.”
The impacts of Penrith’s shut out of Mulitalo were significant.
According to Fox Sports Stats, the 24-year-old is second only to Brian To’o for kick-return metres this year with 34 per game.
The Sharks winger had just one kick-return metre against the Panthers, while his yardage dropped from his season average of 140 metres to 66.
But as far as Mulitalo is concerned, those numbers can’t be left entirely in Penrith’s hands.
He took only three second-tackle hit ups out of yardage and two on the third tackle, something he believes must change on Saturday night at Accor Stadium.
“It’s probably for me to more involve myself in a different capacity,” Mulitalo said.
“That’s what the elite players do, what Brian To’o does and all these players who have been at the top of the game for a while do.
“I’m finding my way that way. I have been lucky enough to be part of some good teams at international level, and that’s probably where they need me the most in the team.
“Just trying to find a way to get involved, especially in these finals games. I don’t want to just sit back and watch the game unfold in front of me. I have to go after it.”
Penrith have also made no secret of their desire to again lock Mulitalo out of the game, and pepper Katoa with kicks.
“(Mulitalto’s) yardage carries are awesome,” five-eighth Jarome Luai said.
“They’ve got some very powerful ball-runners coming out of the back field so (stopping them) is a whole team effort.”
